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The main purpose of the Selected Highlights or Achievements sections in your resume is to display your measurable accomplishments clearly and cleanly. You want to make a hiring manager curious enough to find out more through an interview. Selected Highlights or Achievements sections are supposed to generate inquiry, and helps to fulfill the purpose of the resume, which is to trigger a call to action.

Good responses from hiring managers include:

  • "Wow, I can clearly see what this candidate has done for their past employers. I need to bring this candidate in for an interview"
  • "The stats are impressive, but I need to learn more. I'm not too convinced yet, I need to know how they did these things. I want to find out."
  • "Did this candidate really do all this? I need to find out the truth. I am going to schedule a call with the candidate."

Of course, there are many more responses that could occur, but in the end what's most important is that you get the call and land that opportunity to speak with the decision-maker.

Remember, with your resume, you are demonstrating that you are proven performer, and because numbers don't lie, the best way to do so is to section off those accomplishments that include metrics, so that they are clearly visible.

To minimize "questions," you can provide brief detail on the "how." For example, one bullet can read, "Achieved $6 million in revenue within 1 year, representing a 150% increase over the prior year." This is a great stat, but the question from a hiring manager may be "how?"

You can provide that information, but remember, resumes are reviewed initially within 30 seconds by HR and hiring managers, so too much detail may actually be a detriment to the success of your resume. Achieving a balance to effectively present "what you did" and "how you did it" can be a challenge. I would err on the side of focusing more on the "what" (i.e. numbers / metrics), than the "how."

Written by Alex Soto — December 08, 2011

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Whether you're looking for your next job opportunity or seeking to attract new clients for your business, you need high-impact documents that present what you offer to decision-makers in the best light. Drawing on my unique marketing communications background, I write professional resumes, executive biographies, social network profiles, sales letters, and other marketing documents for individuals at all career stages and businesses seeking to expand.


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