When recruiters and hiring managers scan a CV or resume, they often come across work experience sections that resemble a collection of job descriptions or simple lists of responsibilities. While these summaries may explain the scope of your role, they rarely provide insight into how you performed or what value you brought to the company. In today’s competitive job market, it’s no longer enough to simply tell potential employers what you were responsible for in previous roles. Instead, you need to demonstrate where you made a difference, highlighting specific achievements that show how you added value.
Why Achievements Matter
Including achievements on your CV does more than just list your past duties—it brings your work experience to life. It provides evidence of your success and illustrates why you are a standout candidate. Highlighting your accomplishments is crucial because it shifts the focus from what you were expected to do to how you exceeded expectations and contributed to the success of the business, team, or project.
Think of your achievements as proof points. They show employers what you can do, rather than just telling them. By focusing more on your specific results and writing them in a compelling way, you vastly increase your chances of securing an interview. Achievements are concrete indicators of your abilities, demonstrating why you are the best fit for the role you're applying for.
Structuring Your Achievements: The Feature-Action-Benefit Framework
A great way to present your achievements is by using the Feature-Action-Benefit structure. This framework allows you to clearly communicate not just what you did, but how you did it and the positive impact it had. Let’s break it down:
The Feature (How You Did It):
This element focuses on how you approached a task or responsibility. Start with a strong adverb to describe the way you performed your work. Words like consistently, successfully, efficiently, actively, and continually can help convey that you performed your tasks with purpose and skill. This sets the tone for the achievement and highlights the quality of your work.
The Action (What You Did):
This is where you describe the specific action you took. It’s important to use a power verb that conveys a sense of impact and accomplishment. Strong action verbs such as maximised, minimised, exceeded, revitalised, created, launched, or coordinated show that you were proactive and results-driven. Following this verb, briefly describe the action itself, focusing on what you did rather than just what was expected.
The Benefit (The Result):
The final part of the statement highlights the positive outcome of your action. This is where you communicate the impact your efforts had on the company, team, customer, or project. Whenever possible, quantify the benefit using numbers or percentages, as this adds credibility and demonstrates the tangible value you brought to your previous employer. For example, stating that you "increased sales by 20%" is more powerful than simply saying you "improved sales." Quantifiable results are far more impactful and make your achievements stand out.
Example of a Feature-Action-Benefit Achievement:
"Continually exceeded monthly personal sales targets, helping the team to perform over target for the first time in 5 years."
In this example:
The Feature is "continually," showing the consistent nature of the performance.
The Action is "exceeded monthly personal sales targets," demonstrating a concrete achievement.
The Benefit is that this contributed to the team’s overall success, which had not been achieved in the past five years. This adds a layer of significance to the individual’s accomplishment.
How to Apply This Structure to Your Own Experience
To create a strong list of achievements on your CV, follow these steps:
Reflect on Your Past Roles:
Take time to think about your past work experiences. For each role, ask yourself: Where did I go above and beyond? How did my efforts help the team or company achieve its goals? What positive outcomes were directly tied to my actions?
Use Specific, Quantifiable Results:
Try to quantify your achievements as much as possible. Did you increase revenue? Improve efficiency? Reduce costs? Quantifying your results gives hiring managers a clearer picture of the impact you had. For instance, instead of saying “improved customer satisfaction,” specify by how much: “Increased customer satisfaction scores by 15% over a 6-month period.”
Write Achievement-Based Bullet Points:
When listing each job in the work experience section, use bullet points to outline your key achievements. Each bullet should follow the Feature-Action-Benefit structure to create a concise yet powerful statement. For example:
Successfully revitalised a stagnant marketing campaign, leading to a 30% increase in leads within three months.
Actively coordinated cross-functional teams to launch a new product, resulting in $500K in sales in the first quarter.
Tailor Achievements to Each Job Application:
Not all achievements will be relevant to every job. When applying for a specific role, carefully read the job description and identify the skills and qualities the employer values most. Then, select the achievements from your CV that best match those requirements. By aligning your accomplishments with the language and priorities in the job posting, you show that you understand the role and are a strong fit.
Make It Personal and Relevant:
Don’t just list generic achievements—make sure they reflect your unique contributions. For example, instead of saying “worked as part of a team to improve project timelines,” be more specific: “Proactively streamlined project workflows, reducing average project completion time by 25%, leading to a 10% increase in client satisfaction.”
Why This Approach Leads to Success
By focusing on achievements rather than responsibilities, you distinguish yourself from other candidates who may only describe what they were hired to do, rather than what they actually accomplished. A CV rich with well-written, compelling achievements makes it clear that you are not just capable of performing a role, but that you excel at it and bring measurable value.
Incorporating the Feature-Action-Benefit structure into your CV can transform ordinary job descriptions into powerful success stories. It helps you showcase not only what you did but also how you did it and the impact you made—qualities that every employer is seeking.
In conclusion, a strong CV or resume isn't just about outlining your past responsibilities—it's about showing potential employers how you can add value to their organization. By highlighting your achievements using the Feature-Action-Benefit structure and tailoring them to each role, you'll make a lasting impression and greatly increase your chances of landing that interview and, ultimately, the job.
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