Have you ever noticed how much we depend on numbers to help us place in perspective what is going on in our lives? This is especially true when it comes to the world of business.
Consider how operational numbers such as profit, revenue, return on investment (ROI) and labor cost contribute to a company’s bottom line. Then there are labor market numbers such as those discussed in the ABC News report, “Average Jobless Now Out of Work 40 Weeks.”
In the article, Dan Arnall writes that the Labor Department announced there were 103,000 new jobs added in September, the national unemployment rate sits steady at around 9% and the average duration of unemployment has more than doubled over the course of the last three years to 40.5 weeks.
As a job seeker, many of these numbers are important to you. However, even more important are the numbers you can use to quantify your work experience and to demonstrate to employers why they should hire you.
Focus on Why You Would Hire You
The number one reason why employers hire people is not just to do a job, but to perform in a way that will further the organization’s goals. Employers look for people who can help the company be successful.
As suggested in the article “The Best Resumes List Achievements: Going Beyond Education & Experience by Highlighting Accomplishments,” there is a shared belief among people who hire others that past behaviors predict future performance. For this reason, it is beneficial to use your resume to capture what you have achieved in your career.
However, it needs to be more than just a bunch of flat sentences about all the tasks you complete day in and day out. Instead, think about why you would hire you. What skills, abilities and experiences do you have that an employer can bank on? A lot of job seekers may do what you do. Set yourself apart from your competition by expressing it in numbers to make it more significant.
Creating a Resume that Quantifies Your Qualities
Let’s look at customer service, for example; a department frequently subjected to metrics such as average handle time (AHT), daily call volume and quality control measurements.
Consider the number of customer calls you take or the number of orders you process during a normal eight-hour day. If the department AHT goal is 420 seconds per call and your average AHT is 390, this is important information you can share with the hiring company to further show how your skills exceed the company's goals.
Maybe you single-handedly coordinated the annual sales meeting for 50 sales reps and their significant others on time and under budget. Perhaps you saved the company money, found an alternate method of doing something or were one of three people who received a special award for an achievement. You may have been part of the team that went 365 days without an on-the-job accident.
Even if you spend your entire day typing reports you can quantify your typing speed, number of pages completed, your accuracy rate and the number of reports you finish each week compared to department goals or your coworkers achievements. There are many ways to quantify what you do.
The fact is that numbers further define your work experience and help to tell the complete story about your skills and abilities. Utilizing numbers allows you to communicate to hiring companies what you are truly capable of achieving and why they should hire you.
Deborah S. Hildebrand - Deborah S. Hildebrand is a freelance writer & HR consultant with 20+ years in human resources & a Bachelor's degree in Business.
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