We are in a highly competitive job market; many employees do work that is similar to yours. How do you differentiate yourself? Through the use of accomplishments.
Accomplishments are different than duties; duties tell what you did; accomplishments tell how well you did it. Most employers want to see your successes—and hope that you will bring that same success to them!
One way to think about accomplishments is to use the CAR method. CAR stands for challenge-actions-result. Here are several examples:
Challenge: Accidents increased by 25% over the past year.
Actions: Updated internal safety plan, created and distributed a new safety guide for staff, and instituted new training program for employees to reduce accidents and injuries.
Results: In just 3 months, employee accidents were reduced by 30%–the lowest in more than 5 years.
Challenge: Customer complaints about slow response times.
Action: Developed a new ticketing system and trained staff on efficient workflows.
Result: Reduced average response time from 48 hours to 12 hours
Challenge: High costs in the supply chain.
Action: Negotiated new contracts with vendors and optimized inventory management.
Result: Cut supply costs by 15% annually
Ideally, the accomplishments you identify should relate to the role you’re pursuing. Here is a guide to writing CAR accomplishments:
- Identify the Challenge
Start by thinking about situations where you faced a problem, a goal, or a responsibility. The challenge doesn’t have to be dramatic—it could be anything from improving a process to meeting a tight deadline.
- Describe the Actions You Took
Next, explain what you did to address the challenge. Focus on your specific contributions, not just what the team did. Use strong action verbs like improved, initiated, created, led, or developed.
- Show the Results
Finally, describe the outcome of your actions. Whenever possible, quantify your results with numbers, percentages, or other measures. If you can’t quantify, describe the positive change or recognition you received.
CAR accomplishments are not just for your resume; they work for interviews as well. Using strong accomplishments—and quantifying your impact—on the challenges you faced, the actions you took, and the results you achieved, you’ll present yourself as a proactive and successful candidate—exactly what employers are looking for!
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