Accomplishment Statements

Writing strong accomplishment statements for the bullet points on your résumé communicates to the employer the scope of your work history and projects and demonstrates position and career-related competencies.

Strong accomplishment statements start with an action verb (see Action Verb list) and include context (amount, size, or occurrence) of your work, as well as the result or impact. You want your statements to follow a modified version of the S.T.A.R. method, which is traditionally used for behavioral interviewing:

  • S – Skill – What skill or competency are you highlighting? Which action verb showcases it best?
  • T – Task – What is a strong example of a task/duty/responsibility you’ve done that highlights your skill?
  • A – Action – Give us a taste of how YOU used the skill to complete the task. Remember bullet points shouldn’t be very long.
  • R- Results – What was the outcome of that task? What was the result of your skills and actions?

If you know your CliftonStrengths, think about how you can build that in to your résumé as well to describe your personal approach or take in using that skill.

Here are some examples to get you started.

Role/responsibility bullet point: Helped distribute food to needy people

Okay, but what skill did you use and what did you accomplish or achieve while doing that role??

Competencies the candidate wants to highlight Leadership, communication

Stronger: Packaged and distributed over 2000 pounds of food to 10 communities at risk for hunger

Skill/duty from previous experience that shows the skill needed: Answered Phone for front desk at large company

Action verb (related to duty but highlighting skill): Operated multiline phone system

Task/Action (what is an example? explain how I did this. quantify when possible): one day the three lines were constantly ringing, I had about 100 calls total to transfer, take messages or redirect based on the schedules/needs of the office

Results: I didn’t miss a single call and it all was directed/answered easily

Finished: Operated multi-line phone system with ~100 calls a day to take messages, transfer and prioritize based on staff schedule ensuring efficient operation of office and 100% answer rate

Role/responsibility bullet point: Assisted customers by greeting them as they entered and left the restaurant.

Okay, but what skill did you use and what did you accomplish or achieve while doing that role??

Competencies the candidate wants to highlight: Communication, Professionalism, Work Ethic

Stronger: Communicated menu specials to 125+ customers daily with 50% success rate 

Skill/duty from previous experience that shows the skill needed: emailing venders/staff/students as an Orientation leader

Action verb (related to duty but highlighting skill): Draft

Task/Action (what is an example? explain how I did this. quantify when possible): multiple emails per day to about 3 different stakeholders on logistics

Results: right information was shared accurately and on time

Finished: Drafted 3+ emails each day to vendors, staff and students to provide details on orientation needs and logistics ensuring accurate information was shared on-time

A few other methods to brainstorm bullet points are:

  • Action + Project + Results
  • Accomplished [X] as measured by [Y] by doing [Z]