Employers only care about your past as it relates to helping them realize their future. And what employers want is results – sales made, people served, market share increased, patients healed, houses sold, productivity improved, dollars made or raised.
What’s the common denominator in all of these items? Measurability.
Most of the items are measurable in numbers while others are measured in degrees of change. Degrees of change are when something was improved, increased or reduced. This indicates that you have made a real difference for an employer. You were responsible for changing something for the better. And if you had real impact before, you’re likely to repeat that performance in a future job.
Many people think they don’t have measurable accomplishments or impact. That’s not the case. Everyone has some kind of impact on their organization or company. The easiest way to figure out your impact is to ask “so what?”
List your responsibilities. Then ask “so what?” So what if you did those things? Did it matter that you did them? Why did it matter? How could people tell that you did it? If you look back, can you see that your effort shifted anything?
Here’s an example: you’re responsible for ordering office supplies. So what? Maybe you streamlined the process. Or reduced costs by centralizing purchasing and standardizing the type of things that are bought and used – aligned with the organization’s brand. Those are all impacts. If you hadn’t been in the job, those things wouldn’t have happened.
Give it a try and see what your impact is. Then put it in your resume and proceed to wow prospective employers.
