What do you see when you look at your resume? Are the pages just words? If you answered yes, it’s time to beef it up. Incorporating numbers or metrics into your resume can help you stand out during the interview process and keep track of your achievements throughout your career journey.
We want to help you showcase the impact you’ve made on the job and how you can add value to any company by incorporating metrics on your resume.
Metrics Matter
No matter what field you work in or what amount of experience you have, there is always something on your resume that can be paired with a metric. Having the right kinds of metrics on your resume can help recruiters and hiring managers better understand what kind of candidate you are and how you will fit their company’s needs. Remember, your resume should always tell a story.
Finding the Metrics
So, you may be thinking, how do I find numbers and data for all the things I’ve done? If you work in sales or finance or do inventory the numbers can be easily visible and accessible. If you work in a field where you’re not used to quantifying the things that you do, this will be a new exercise for you. Take some time to sit down and think about what you do on the job from day to day. Do you oversee a team? Note the size of the team you led. Are you proud of a significant project you worked on? Draw attention to the length of time spent on the project and the approximate number of people who saw it after it was finished.
Justifying the Metrics
Recognize that the metrics you include on your resume will need to be supported. Most likely, the recruiter or hiring manager will ask you to walk them through the numbers. Be careful not to lie or fudge the numbers. Any number you include on your resume must make sense and add up. You don’t want to go through the interview and be unable to defend the information on your resume.
Updating the Metrics
Metrics are everywhere and it is up to you to take advantage of them on your resume.
Now that you are aware of how identifying metrics on your resume can help you succeed in your job search, make sure to regularly update your resume even while working at your current position so you won’t need to rush to find the data when you’re ready to look for a new opportunity. To help your profile stand out on LinkedIn, don’t forget to add those stats there too.
What important metrics can you be proud of? What other advice do you have about including metrics on a resume? Let us know in the comments section below!
