Riffing on Resumes, Part 11: Accomplishments

In part 9 of this series, I mention that starting bullet points with achievements rather than tasks may benefit you more. Which of the two sentences below about work on a major municipal landscaping project has greater impact?

1. Managed the $75-million Central Park landscaping project that achieved substantial completion two months before the targeted date.
2. Achieved substantial completion two months before the targeted date for the $75-million Central Park landscaping project.

The answer depends on several considerations, including:

• Whether the project management is a greater achievement than the reaching early substantial completion. The mere fact that you managed such a high-visibility project may exceed other considerations.
• Whether the resume makes clear that you are a project manager. Sentence 1 does; Sentence 2 does not. Nevertheless, if the sentence appears under a heading titled Projects Managed, you may prefer Sentence 2.
• Whether you achieved early substantial completion on smaller projects, making the accomplishment repetitious or, worse, marginalizing the significance of this accomplishment.
• Whether change orders were involved, increasing project costs. If you did not have a single change order, quite unusual for urban landscaping projects, then you missed the mark entirely. You might have written, Managed the $75 million Central Park landscaping project within budget and two months before the targeted substantial completion date.
• Whether achieving substantial completion for a major urban landscaping project is more important than the quality of the results. If the project received negative press about its aesthetics or usefulness, you might not want to mention it at all.  

In any event, accomplishments are vital indicators in your resume. Not only do they tell your reader you can meet or exceed the job requirements, but they illustrate how you think about yourself as a professional.