By JM Auron

Your resume has to stand out on a first read through to get a second read, and the critical call back for an interview.

From my years as a recruiter, and as a professional Resume Writer, I don’t believe that flashy formatting or tricks will accomplish that. What made me stop and give a resume a second look when I was recruiting – and what I strive for in every resume I write as a professional Resume Writer – is strong, deep content.

Your achievements – what you’ve produced or delivered that impacted bottom line – is what will make a hiring authority read your resume with care, and impel the hiring authority to give you that crucial first call.

So make those achievements clear, and include numbers whenever you can – numbers make achievements concrete and memorable. The more you can clearly and accurately quantify your achievements, the more your resume will “pop” – and stick in the mind of the hiring authority.

Here are 3 important tips on ways to quantify, and communicate, the achievements that make your career unique.

1) Be certain to clearly quantify your results. This is often more challenging in a technical career than in a more sales oriented role, so here are a few questions to help focus your resume writing process.

Did the projects you delivered save money? If so, how much? Was this a one time cost savings, or year-over-year
Did you improve processes, streamline efficiency, or reduce time to market? If so, then give adequate detail on those improvements. Every hiring authority is interested in bottom line (especially in the current economy), so efficiency is more crucial than ever before.
Did you build products that increased revenue, market share, or contributed to bottom line growth? Again, be as specific as possible. If you designed and launched a product that grew market share by 33% (for example), that’s a valuable differentiator.

Once you’ve determined the quantifiable results you’ve delivered throughout your career, here are a couple of tips to communicate those results rapidly, for maximum impact.

2) Always find – and lead – with your “wow” achievements. Needless to say, I read a lot of resumes in the course of a week. Many have a simple, easily repaired issue.

The achievements are placed randomly.

If you catch the hiring authority’s attention with big achievements, the smaller add to your image of effectiveness. But if you lead small, the reader may not get to the big ones! Always organize your achievements with the most dramatic first, and then place the others in descending order.

As an example, if you have had projects that delivered $2M, $500K, and $100K in cost savings, include the achievements in that order.

3) Use the larger number. If the percentage improvement is huge, but the dollar number is small, use the percentage. On the other hand, if you’ve saved hundreds of thousands – or millions – of dollars, put that front and center.

So remember! Numbers count – quantifiable achievements are much stronger, and more memorable. And you do want your career to stick in the Hiring Authority’s memory!

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My goal is to help technology’s “best and brightest” take their careers to the next level.

As a technical resume authority and former recruiter, I am committed to crafting compelling resumes, cover letters, and other career documents that capture your career essentials, seize and hold the hiring authority’s attention, and open the door for the 1st interview.

For more information, please contact me at http://www.quantumtechresumes.com.
Follow me on twitter at http://twitter.com/QuanTechResume.