How To Quantify Your Resume (With Examples)

Quantifying the bulleted information you include in your resume can be the difference between a glance and scheduling an interview.

Your resume should be easy to digest. It should be a quick read without dense paragraphs of information.

Don’t just droll on about your job duties and vague accomplishments. Quantify your achievements. It strengthens your resume and gets the attention of the people who matter most: your potential employers.

Key Takeaways:

• Quantifying your resume provides proof of your capabilities and helps make your resume be unique.

• Brainstorm your professional responsibilities and achievements to find quantifiable bullet points for your resume

• There is a formula you can use to quantify your resume: action word + number = quantified achievements

• Increases, frequencies, and volume are all good areas to find quantifiable numbers.

Why Quantify Your Resume?

You should quantify your resume because it builds credibility and helps you stand out to hiring managers.

It is one thing to say you did something and quite another to demonstrate your abilities. Quantifying your accomplishments and responsibilities helps to legitimize them.

Quantifying can take something from abstract concept to concrete proof. It shows what you’ve accomplished, what kind of impact you’ve had at your previous companies, which, in turn, shows a potential employer what you could accomplish for them.

The numbers highlight the impact you had, and the results yielded. They add professionalism and build credibility in the eyes of the hiring manager.

Quantifying your resume also gets the hiring manager’s attention. It provides them with information to compare against other candidates. So be sure to not only quantify your resume, but present it in the best possible terms.

How to Choose Resume Bullet Points

Sure, it sounds simple. Add some numbers, and boom, your resume will give that recruiter the ol’ razzle-dazzle. Interview landed.

If only.

For some, it may be that simple. Those working in sales or marketing have easily quantified achievements they can list out without much thought.

If your position doesn’t necessarily yield results that are easy to quantify, on the other hand, it can be a little complicated.

There are steps you can take to simplify this process:

1. Brainstorm. The first step is figuring out what you want to include in your resume. Brainstorm a list of potential bullet points for each position you are including.

   Try to think of more statements than you’ll need; you’ll be paring the list down as you go on.

   You will, of course, need to include your responsibilities. But you should focus on your measurable accomplishments as they pack a bigger punch. Both can be quantified — see below for how.

2. Separate. Next, you’ll need to determine which of your responsibilities and accomplishments could potentially be quantifiable. Which of the listed items can you attach a definitive number to?

   It may not be immediately apparent, so don’t rule anything out yet. You just want to identify the most straightforward items to quantify for now. You can go back and worry about the other statements later.

3. Quantify. Time to add your numbers. If you’re not quite sure how to do that, see below. I’ve got you covered.

   Expert tip: Use the actual numbers and signs instead of writing them out. Eight percent is not nearly as eye-catching as 8%.

4. Provide context. As tempting as it is to list out a bunch of numbers, you will need to provide a little context for each quantified achievement. Your potential employer needs to understand the impact in addition to the numbers.

Once you have your list of potential bullet points and you’ve identified all the easy to quantify items, it’s time to dig a little deeper.

Remember, you don’t want to toss the bullet points you’re not sure about. Some will still be quantifiable, and the rest may still be necessary. Not every bullet point needs to be quantified. In truth, some couldn’t possibly have a number attached to them.

That doesn’t mean they’re not necessary. You will have to judge what you need to include and what you can leave off. Make sure that you are painting a complete picture of your potential.

How to Quantify Your Resume

There is a relatively simple formula you can use to quantify your resume:

Action word + number = quantified achievements

You also need to provide context for your numbers, but this formula describes what you’ll be doing in the simplest of terms.

From this formula, you need to add some numbers. There are different ways to find numbers in your professional experience. You can:

• Show an increase. Whether you increased sales numbers, employee retention, efficiency, or something else, you can quantify it.

  Percentages can accomplish this: “Grew Australian market by more than 200%”.

  Or, you can use a numerical increment; remember to provide context: “Increased YTD sales by $2M, surpassing sales goals by 10%”.

• List a ranking, standing, or award. Achievements, in this case, don’t necessarily have to be numerical. Specific awards can be considered quantifiable achievements. Being the first, last, youngest, etc., still counts.

  The context here would be the year you won the award. Employers want to know you still possess the skills to repeat this achievement.

  Including an award you received six years ago doesn’t tell them much. Leaving a year off, on the other hand, tells them a whole lot.

• List frequency. This is a simple way to quantify your responsibilities. Show how often you completed a complicated task.

  This can be daily: “Drafted and published four articles per day.”
  Weekly: “Completed a full database backup each week.”
  Monthly: “Crafted and executed 50 email campaigns per month and generated over $800,000 in revenue over three months.”
  Quarterly: “Generated 2,000 new leads in Q3 2021.”
  Yearly: “Organized 20 events for 250+ people each and raised over $1M in 12 months.”

• Show volume. This is another way to quantify your responsibilities. You can show the volume of work you completed, the number of employees you supervised, how many accounts you were in charge of, etc.

  For example: “Managed 80-100 inbound customer calls per day.”

As the simplified formula mentions above, you will need to include action words with each bullet point. Action words, sometimes referred to as power words, are verbs used to describe your skills, tasks, and achievements.

Your word choice matters greatly here. The right words can help to make the statement more impactful.

Don’t say, “Wrote six white papers that earned 25,000 downloads”.

Instead, say, “Authored six white papers which resulted in 25,000 downloads”.

The second statement is much more powerful. Powerful statements will get you more attention from the hiring managers. Choosing the right action words and quantifying can help make a lasting impression that has the hiring manager reach for the phone.

Examples Of Measurable Accomplishments And Action Words

Measurable accomplishments include:

• Revenue generation

• Lead generation

• Sales growth

• Closed sales

• Efficiency

• Publications

• Conversions

• Contracts won

• Turnover rate

• Order value

• Customer acquisition

• Customer satisfaction

• Customer retention

• Expenses

• Tickets

• Hold time

• amp; many more

Action words to include in your resume:

• Managed

• Increased

• Controlled

• Coordinated

• Executed

• Organized

• Planned

• Produced

• Created

• Designed

• Established

• Implemented

• Incorporated

• Spearheaded

• Diagnosed

• Consolidated

• Yielded

• Boosted

• Amplified

• Delivered

• Generated

• Improved

• Converted

• Overhauled

• Restructured

• Streamlined

• Directed

• Recruited

• Guided

• Enabled

• Acquired

• Negotiated

• Advised

• Resolved

• Assembled

• Evaluated

• Forecasted

• Identified

• Tracked

• Ensured

• Monitored

• Verified

• Attained

• Reached

• Succeeded

• Targeted

• Merged

• Partnered

• Created

• Delivered

• Crafted

• Drafted

• Maintained

• Authored

• Collaborated

Don’t write off your responsibilities, though. These, too, are important, and many can be quantified. Your potential employers need a well-rounded view of your experience and potential. That means including duties and achievements for each position, not just one or the other.

Quantify Resume Frequently Asked Questions

1. How do I quantify my resume?

Quantify your resume by providing measurable responsibilities and achievements. Think about your past professional experience and come up with a list of quantifiable bullet points. Provide the most relevant information to match the job description and list the most impressive information first.

2. What are important numbers for a resume?

Numbers related to time, finances, locations, and size are important numbers for a resume. Numbers related to time can show how long or short a project lasted. Finances can show how you saved or made money for your company. Locations show a diverse experience. Size provides information that can be compared against other similar bullet points.

3. Does everything on a resume need to be quantified?

No, not everything on a resume needs to be quantified. However, it is best to have as many, if not all, bullet points be quantified. Quantifiable information adds credibility to your skills and experience. Quantifiable information also helps your resume stand out to hiring managers by giving them information unique to you.

Final Thoughts

Your resume and your cover letter are what stand between you and an interview. Your cover letter serves as your introduction, but your resume is what drives potential employers to consider you as a potential candidate.

By quantifying your resume bullet points, you can stand out as an ideal candidate, primarily if you focus on the job duties and achievements that most strongly display your potential in your applying position.

Choose your statements wisely and quantify when it makes sense. Your application will be more robust, and you’ll earn more interviews.

Author

Samantha Goddiess

Samantha is a lifelong writer who has been writing professionally for the last six years. After graduating with honors from Greensboro College with a degree in English & Communications, she went on to find work as an in-house copywriter for several companies including Costume Supercenter, and Blueprint Education.

Expert

Don Pippin, MHRM, CPRW, CDCS

Don Pippin is an executive and HR leader for Fortune 50 and 500 companies and startups. In 2008, Don launched area|Talent with a focus on helping clients identify their brand. As a Certified Professional Resume Writer, Certified Digital Career Strategist, and Certified Personal Branding Strategist, Don guides clients through career transitions.