“A dynamic and passionate professional who approaches all …………..” 

When you read the volume of resumes I do, you quickly grow tired of the above two adjectives. Fortunately,  I have the luxury of being able to re-write that which makes me cringe.  No such option exists for the hiring managers reading your resume and rolling their eyes yet again at two of the most overused words by todays job seekers.

Being dynamic / passionate is all well and good but…

What have you done before? 
What results have you produced to provide value to your organization? 
What have you created, developed, realigned, improved, increased or decreased to improve their bottom line? 

How well did you do it?

Can you do any or all of it again?
Can you back it with dollar amounts or percentages? i.e. Can you "show them the MONEY?

Sadly, very few people know their numbers.  Even the many clients I've had in sales - the easiest thing to quantify- very seldom knew their numbers or commissions.  

Quantify, Quantify, Quantify!
"But I'm not in sales! - What results can I show"
Show results leading to increased earnings or decreased losses your organization and/or clients.

The Obvious (what went up?)

How much money was brought in related to your efforts?

What were the Sales totals?

How many new clients?

How many new sources for clients?

What new products were successfully introduced / invented / created/ launched?

What fundraising goals were achieved / exceeded?

What Awards and Recognitions did you receive or help your organization achieve?

What Improvements were made to processes, employee safety, working conditions etc

What if anything increased morale?

The Less Obvious But Still Quantifiable 

In what capacity have you succeeded where no one else has before?

How many Conflicts were reduced and/or agreements successfully negotiated? 

Did you convince adversaries to work together? 

How did you increase attendance / participation at programs/ events to levels previously unheard of?

What processes were streamlined to improve efficiency?

Losses found / prevented.

Problems solved / eliminated

Time saved

Money saved

Complaints reduced

Product returns reduced

Frauds prevented

Staff turnover reduced

Injuries reduced

The list goes on.  It's very easy to fall into the trap of thinking "I'll do that every day how could I forget?". The answer is you do.  Keep a tally of your projects, and contributions and the value they provided be it monetary or otherwise.  This is useful both for resume content and for documentation when negotiating a salary increase at your current job.