Student Employment & Cooperative Education

Cascade Career Services

Student Employment & Cooperative Education

CascadeCareerCenter

PCC Cascade Campus – Student Services Building Room 104

For General Information & Appointments - Call 503 978-5600

Résumé

Developing Accomplishment Statements

Strategies for making the most of YOUR assets

I.Identify Your Strengths

Identify your obvious strengths

These are the things that are uppermost on your mind – your strengths that are easy to think of.

Identifying your strengths through identifying what you love

If you are thinking about a past job and want to identify your strengths, think about what you loved about the job. The good things can help you identify strengths. For example, if you loved your co-workers, that may indicate teamwork.

Identifying your strengths by paying attention to what other people say.

What positive things have your supervisors said to you? What complements do you get from co-workers? Customers? Teachers?

Identifying your strengths by (yes, really) identifying your weaknesses

For example:

You hate to be micro-managed. This indicates you are able to work independently.
You hate chaos. This indicates you may be good at developing or at least implementing and following systems.
You can’t stand constant interruptions. If this is the case, you probably are good at sticking with a task and following it through to completion.

II.Document Your Strengths

The Obvious –Certificates from work or school, awards, grades & school-related recognitions

Keep copies of all the documentation you have handy. I recommend a three ring binder with sheet protectors.

Don’t forget volunteer work, Religious affiliations

You may have political or religious affiliations that are good sources for documenting accomplishments. But what if you are concerned about disclosing your affiliations? Use the activity and refer to the organization as nonprofit or faith-based organization. Also think about clubs or sports activities.

Writing

Have you written articles for newsletters, web sites or periodicals?

Can you use any of the following:

College papers

Instruction or training manuals

Brochures, ads or other marketing pieces

Business letters

Reports

Speaking

Is public speaking a skill you can document?

Do you have any of these:

Program

Videotape

Pictures

Evaluations

Professional Development

Document all of the continuous education that demonstrates your commitment to lifelong learning. Set up a document and list your trainings with the most recent first. As you add to the list, the oldest information drops down to the bottom.

Endorsements

Utilize quotes from customer comment cards, employee evaluations, classroom evaluations and reference letters to highlight the characteristics you are trying to document.

III.Turn Responsibilities and Work-related Duties into Accomplishments

The following is from Career Builder

Duties and Responsibilities Versus Accomplishments

Your duties and responsibilities refer to the general scope of your job, such as "sales" or "selling." Accomplishment statements give specific examples of tasks you finished. The following chart shows the difference.

Duties and Responsibilities / Accomplishments
Was responsible for sales in Western Region. / Terminated two salesmen, yet increased sales six-fold in three months despite reduction in force.
As HR Director, was responsible for saving money on corporate benefits. / Shopped for a long-term disability insurance and found package that saved 10% over present costs.

Typing 85 words per minute isn't necessarily an accomplishment. It's a skill. But quickly typing a 50 page report in two hours so it can be mailed by 5 p.m. is an achievement.

Being an excellent manager isn't an accomplishment. It's a skill. But leading a task force that develops a new money-making product in less than two months is an accomplishment.

Maintaining productivity is not necessarily an accomplishment, but maintaining productivity under adverse circumstances is.

Use lists of Action Verbs or Power words. If you get overwhelmed, remember, any time you increase something good or decrease something bad, that’s an accomplishment.

Accomplishment Statementsby real PCC Students

Student 1:

Honor Roll Student, ParkroseHigh School
Outstanding Math Student & Tutor
Fluent Russian
Fluent Ukranian

Student 2:

Over 15 years’ COMMUNITY SERVICE locally, nationally and developing countries

Student 3:

Accomplishments

Sold $15,000 of Windows in one week

Top Salesperson for retail giftware including glass

*Produce, book, negotiate fees, set up equipment and MC for all comedy events at the McMenamins Restaurants and hotels

*Completed 39 college credits in 3 semesters

Finalist 2004 Portland Comedy Contest

Student 4:

*Saved multi-million contract with a 24 hour turn-around by

Outstanding interpersonal skills
Thoroughly addressing client’s needs & concerns
Building on past positive relationships
Demonstrating excellent follow through

Student 5 (using quotes from a supervisor):

“She shows the boys that their personalities will shine through as long as they are making good choices”

“She allows children to learn …that rules are not punishment but critical problem solving”

“She continues to display an amazing attention to detail…”

Name

Address

City, State Zip

Phone

E-Mail

Objective: Exact Job Title

Highlights of Qualifications:

-Accomplishments

Education:

Degree – Major

Institution City, State Year

Degree – Major

Institution City, State Year

Experience:

Job Title

Company Name City, StateDates

-Accomplishments

Job Title

Company NameCity, State Dates

-Accomplishments

Job Title

Company NameCity, State Dates

-Accomplishments

Real Examples of Addressing Various Resume Challenges

Examples of self-employment:

Owner/Operator, Residential Cleaning Service, Portland, Oregon (01/2006 – present)

Property Manger, $10 Million Portfolio, Oregon & Washington (1985 – 2005)

Example of leaving out an employer’s name to avoid bad associations such as “Enron”

Owner/Operator, $1.7 Million 5 Star Diamond Restaurant, Portland, Oregon

(1999 – 2003)

Example of combing temp work together

Floral DesignerFlowers R Us2002-2003

Temporary ServicesVarious Employers1999-2000 (as needed)

Department ManagerKmart1998-1999

Person

addy 97266

503-111-1111

Accomplishments

Chairperson, Oxford Northwest Women’s Training Convention, Current

Oregon Recovery HomeLeadership Summit, 2006

Project Independence, Portland Community College 2006

Shaping the Future Training Course, 2005

Cognitive Self-Change Program Certificate, 2002

A Framework for Breaking Barriers, State of Oregon, 2001

Pathfinders Certificate, 2001

Certificate of Completion, Introduction to Treatment and Recovery Concepts, 2000

Competencies

*Over 10 years experience in Food Service

Cash handling up to $5,000
Open & close
Ordering & stocking perishables
Interview, schedule, train, termination & recommendation for promotion
Food preparation for over 500
Kitchen equipment usage & maintenance

Education

Sociology Major, PortlandCommunity College, Portland, Oregon (01/2006 – present)

Experience

Cashier, Burger King, Portland, Oregon (12/2005 – present)

Telemarketing, Office Supply Store.com, Portland, Oregon (10/2005 – 11/2005)

Packing Lead, Sapa, Inc., Portland, Oregon (06/03 – 08/05)

Lead Production Cook/Cook, Coffee Creek, Portland, Oregon (05/2002 – 05/2003)

Server, EOCI, Pendleton, Oregon (08/2000 – 05/2002)

Assistant Manager, Steak Escape, Portland, Oregon (05/1998 – 06/1999)

Student

Addy 503-111-1111

Beaverton, Oregon 97006

Accomplishments

Operations

Consistently exceeded expectations for knowledge & skills related to reception & clerical duties
Recognized for accuracy of production reports

Wellness & Recreation

Coordinated a Health & Wellness fair for seniors; found vendors, organized raffle; organized seminars

*Event beat previous year’s contributions

*Event beat previous year’s attendance

Prepared crafts, marketing flyers, decorations and set up for “Daddy-Daughter Dinner Dance” and “Dinner with Santa” event

Volunteerism

2 years as Football Team Parent; coordinated annual banquet, team weigh in, recruited volunteers and linesman and acted as parent contact person
2 years as Baseball Parent; coordinated fundraising, purchasing & snacks
2 years as SOLV Volunteer
1 year as a Reading Tutor

Personal Fitness

Power Walker; successfully participated in Portland to Coast walking team

Qualifications

Over 10 years of Excellent Customer Service

Human Resources

Provided Orientation to new hires
Processed new hires including I9s and W2s
Responsible for quarterly Affirmative Action Reports
Point of contact for employees for various insurance benefits
Responsible for distribution of paychecks
Supervision

Computer Skills

MS Word, advanced
MS Excel
Publisher
Proprietary software for medical insurance coverage
Data entry
Research
Operations manual
Lotus notes

Inventory Control

Managed 550 item inventory
Supervised staff of 7 in quality control, billing, stock & personnel

Selected Experience

Group Membership Administrator, Regence Blue Cross Blue Shield, Portland, Oregon (12/2005 – present)

Clerical & Customer Service, Tualatin Hills Park & Recreation District, Beaverton, Oregon (04/1998 –