How To Improve your Resume's Job Duty Statements

When it comes to writing about what you did at each of your jobs on your resume, I'll admit that there is conflicting information regarding what your job duty statements should include. Most resume owners list their responsibilities, duties or a combination of both. Other experts claim a resume should include only one's accomplishments (sometimes called achievements). These statements distill how you excelled at the job. I have found one other recommendation by a recruiter: describe in detail projects you have completed and explain how you used your skills on these projects.

I have always found that resumes which only list a job's responsibilities to be weak and uninspiring. I have seen resumes where the responsibilities appear as if they were copied directly from a job ad or an occupational specialty handbook. A list of responsibilities do not tell a recruiter much about your capabilities. I always recommend taking a list of responsibilities and summarize them into one sentence as the opening statement of job duties.

For example, this list of responsibilities for an administrative assistant include the following:

• Preparing and revising leases, lease-related documents (i.e. amendments, extension agreements, termination agreements, letter agreements, lease summary sheets), other documents, letters and memos which attorneys and paralegals have drafted
• Providing clerical support such as filing, faxing, copying, opening mail, making travel arrangements, ordering supplies and answering phones
• If applicable, maintain a follow up system and send follow up letters on files in a timely manner

The above list could be summarized for inclusion on a resume in the following way:

• Provided office and administrative support for attorneys and paralegals in a commercial real estate office.

Some resume owners are unsure of what to include or exclude in a list of job duties. So, they put in everything: responsibilities, skills, accomplishments and mix them altogether! What they fail to realize is that most recruiters do not read resumes. Rather, they read or skim resumes in an inverted triangle manner. What I mean by that is they assume a resume owner has placed the most important and relevant information at the top of a job duty entry and the least important at the end of it. In addition, the reading turns into skimming by the end of the entry.

For example, this is a list of job duties for a computer support specialist:

• Worked with teachers and staff on hardware and software issues
• Experience shopping and ordering parts
• Responsible for over 400 computers, 60 printers, and 60 projectors
• Scheduled and worked on school-wide computer projects
• Experience with LANDesk Network Management software.
• Experience with troubleshooting and wired and wireless networks
• Experience with Windows Server 2000,2003, and 2008
• Managed Active directory on all servers and client computers 

 The above list could be re-ordered in an inverted-triangle, relevancy format in the following way:

• Experienced with Windows Server 2000,2003, and 2008, and LANDesk Network Management software. Managed Active directory on all servers and client computers
• Troubleshooted and wired and wireless networks
• Worked with teachers and staff on hardware and software issues for over 400 computers, 60 printers, and 60 projectors
• Ordered supplies and replacement parts.

A list of one's accomplishments or achievements is the most challenging part of a job duty statement. The most common problem with writing these statements is the point of view. Most resume owners write accomplishments from their point of view instead of a recruiter's point of view. What this causes is the following types of accomplishments:

• One of the youngest Lab Managers in the company
• Promoted after consecutive high performance years
• Displayed strong leadership abilities 

While the above statements are meaningful to the resume owner, they are meaningless to a recruiter who has specific requirements she must fulfill prior to forwarding a resume to a client for consideration.  Accomplishments are statements of excellence measured against a standard. (If this standard has a numerical basis, all the better.) The fact that this job seeker was one of the youngest lab managers in the company only says he is probably a bright kid with some ambition. But, it could also mean he was darn lucky! What a recruiter really wants to know is what kind of "high performance" is he talking about? Give some detailed examples. In addition, he alleges to have strong leadership abilities. Well, this can mean different things to different people. He needs to give examples that demonstrated strong leadership. In other words, show don't tell.

The above list could be improved in the following manner:

• Successfully led laboratory through 3 major external audits including the planning of initiatives to resolve audit findings. Result: improved the laboratory's productivity by 30% as measured against the company's ISO 9001 quality management system.
• Provided timely data with highest ethical integrity and presented data to refinery blending team for potential profit maximization. Result: Production blending error was averted and a cost savings of $250,000 was obtained.

The goal of job duty statements is not simply to tell the resume screener what you were responsible for or what tasks you performed. Rather, they are meant to "sell" you to the recruiter who will then speak in favor of your job candidacy to the employer.