How to add quantifiable results to your CV when you think you don't have any
4 minute read | Jane McNeill | Article | Job searching CV & Cover letters
Most jobseekers understand the importance of showcasing quantifiable evidence of their skills and competencies on their CV. Stating the percentage increase in new sales, clients or website visitors that you were personally responsible for, for example, serves to demonstrate to a potential new employer your expertise and the value you could bring to their organisation.
Such outcomes are easy to measure over time, and thus equally as easy to assign an impressive numerical figure to. Of course, impactful numbers can be incredibly compelling in the context of a CV – they help you to tangibly and undeniably prove to the reader that you’re the right person for the role you are applying for.
But evidencing quantifiable results can be far easier for some than it is for others. Some roles just don’t lend themselves to this type of measurement. So, if this is the case for you, how should you go about adding tangible, numerical evidence to your CV?
Following are a number of other, equally powerful metrics you can share, which are still quantifiable in their own way, and will help you to demonstrate the positive impact you’ve made in all your roles to date and the value you can bring to the next:
Team or stakeholder management 1. The number of team members you have managed/supervised
2. Staff retention rates
3. Staff promotion rates
4. The number of internal and external stakeholders you’ve worked with in X locations or X departments
Project/account management 5. The number of projects or accounts managed
6. The number of programmes you’ve successfully delivered
7. The percentage of projects delivered on time/ahead of schedule
8. The percentage of accounts/clients/customers retained
9. The number of new accounts or projects you took on over time
10. Budgets managed
11. Dollar value of contracts you negotiated
Productivity/effectiveness 12. The volume of work/tasks you delivered in a given timeframe
13. The number of sales calls you typically made in a given timeframe
14. Your response rate for queries
15. The number of customers (internal/external) or clients you typically served within a given timeframe
16. The impact of process improvements you made
17. The number of meetings you chair, including the number of delegates
18. Money saved from negotiations with suppliers
19. Cost/time reductions achieved
20. Increase in market share
21. Percentage of targets hit
22. Percentage of issues resolved
Personal development 23. The number of training courses you’ve attended
24. The number of new qualifications you’ve gained
25. The number of new skills you’ve learnt in a given timeframe
26. The number of awards or accolades you’ve won
27. The number of members of staff you have trained, coached or mentored
28. The number of times you’ve been promoted/progressed
Hopefully, it is now clear that even if no quantifiable results immediately spring to mind when writing your CV, if you think a little more creatively you can pinpoint some powerful ROI to add to your CV.
No matter the role, the tangible results are there to be evidenced and showcased – you just might need to look a little harder to find them.
Jane McNeill, Director, Hays Australia, joined Hays in 1987 as a graduate trainee in their London head office after graduating with an MA (Hons) in Psychology from Edinburgh University. She began her career recruiting accountancy & finance professionals, before spending 11 years recruiting senior permanent professionals for London’s banking & finance sector. During this time she quickly progressed through management roles and in 1992 she was appointed Director after leading the London city business to a phenomenal post-recession recovery.
Jane transferred to Perth, Western Australia, in 2001. Over the next decade she grew Hays’ business in that state from a team of 15 to nearly 250 staff. She also established and managed Hays’ banking & financial services business.
She was appointed to the Hays Australia & New Zealand management board in 2007. Now based in Sydney, Jane oversees Hays’ operations in both NSW and WA. She is responsible for 400 staff located in two states that are separated by a five-hour flight and a three-hour time difference. At the same time, she retains her keen interest and passion in banking & financial services recruitment by adding national responsibility for Hays Banking and Hays Insurance to her remit.
