Prove your worth worksheets

Prove your worth worksheets
Want to really impress someone with your resume? Use these worksheets to back up your claims with some solid numbers.

by Joyce Lain Kennedy
excerpted from Resumes for Dummies

The easy part of resume creation is reading about it. Now comes the tough part: inventing accomplishments. You'll have to summon up your best creative talents to design workplace successes that are impossible to check. Of course, I'm kidding. But that's what a reader will think you've done if your resume alleges wondrous deeds without the support of verifiable evidence:

Highly creative in home arts area; excellent communications skills; more than a decade of experience in writing and publishing; nationally recognized as lecturer and consultant...

And? So? Why should anyone care? What's wrong with this word picture? Answer: The tribute is nice enough, but the description neglects a key factor -- measurable good results!

Quantify your accomplishments when you want to persuade.Use these three main quantitative methods to boost the plausibility of your accomplishments: numbers, percentages, and dollar amounts.

Quantifying the above example, the word picture now moves into the first-rate class of self-marketing materials. The numbers are for illustrative purposes only, but here's how someone like billionaire celebrity Martha Stewart might do it:

Led my company to a 1999 public stock offering which opened at $18 a share and zoomed to $35. Created Martha Stewart Living, a home arts magazine with more than $50 million annual ad revenues. Featured in Martha Stewart Living, a syndicated television program distributed to more than 150 stations. Author or contributor to 51 home arts books. Give 12 lectures per year at substantial honorariums. Completed $1-million-a-year consulting contract to K mart stores.

I repeat: quantify, quantify, quantify. Look at the following statements in the three categories of numbers, percentages and dollar amounts. Fill in the appropriate blanks. You're doing this as an exercise to remind you to quantify your accomplishments and results -- anything you're proud of. This numbers game works in virtually any occupation or industry.

Supporting your high performance with numbers, percentages or dollar amounts takes the sting out of bragging. Regardless of your line of work -- a trainer counting 5,000 people instructed, a molecular biology manager sequencing 10 dsRNA genes of reovirus serotype 3, or a fast-food manager noting $3,000 in janitorial supplies saved -- don't forget to make your numbers!

Say it with numbers
Say it with percentages
Say it with dollar amounts

Joyce Lain Kennedy is the author of the Los Angeles Times Syndicate's column "Careers." She is the author or co-author of eight books, including Resumes for Dummies, Cover Letters for Dummies, Job Interviews for Dummies and Joyce Lain Kennedy's Career Book.

Worksheet: Say it with numbers
Use this worksheet to quantify your good qualities on your resume.

by Joyce Lain Kennedy
excerpted from Resumes for Dummies

1. ________ (#) years of extensive experience in ________________________ and ______________________________________________________________.

2. Won ________(#) awards for _________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________

3. Trained/Supervised _____ (#) full-time and _____ (#) part-time employees.

4. Recommended by ________________________________________________ _______________________________ (a number of notable people) as a_ ___________________________(something good that they said about you) for excellent _______________________(an accomplishment or skill).

5. Supervised a staff of ____________(#).

6. Recruited ____________ (#) staff members in _________(period of time), increasing overall production.

7. Sold ______ (# of products) in ______ (period of time), ranking ______ (1st, 2nd, 3rd) in sales in a company of ___________ (#) employees.

8. Exceeded goals in _____ (#) years/months/days, establishing my employer as ________ (number - 1st, 2nd, 3rd) in industry.

9. Missed only _______ (#) days of work out of _______ (#) total.

10. Assisted _______ (#) (executives, supervisors, technical directors, _____________ others).

Worksheet: Say it with percentages
Use this worksheet to help you quantify your good qualities on your resume.

by Joyce Lain Kennedy
excerpted from Resumes for Dummies

1. Excellent (your top proficiency) skills, which resulted in ____________ (%) increase/decrease in (sales, revenues, profits, clients, expenses, costs, charges).

2. Recognized as a leader in company, using strong skills to effect a/an (%) increase in team/coworker production.

3. Streamlined ____________________ (industry procedure), decreasing hours spent on task by __________ (%).

4. Used extensive (several skills) to increase customer/member base by __________ (%).

5. Financed (%) of tuition/education/own business.

6. Graduated within the top __________ (%) of class.

7. Responsible for an estimated __________ (%) of employer's success_in __________(functional area/market).

8. Resolved customer relations issues, increasing customer satisfaction by___________ (%).

9. Eliminated (an industry problem), increasing productivity by __________ (%).

10. Upgraded (an industry tool), resulting in __________ (%) increase in effectiveness.

Worksheet: Say it with dollar amounts
Use this worksheet to help quantify all those good things on your resume.

by Joyce Lain Kennedy
excerpted from Resumes for Dummies

1. Supervised entire (a department) staff, decreasing middle management costs by ___________________($).

2. Purchased computer upgrade for office, saving the company ________ ($) in paid hours.

3. Eliminated the need for ________ (one or several positions in company), decreasing payroll by ________ ($).

4. Averaged ________ ($) in sales per month.

5. Collected ________ ($) in memberships and donations.

6. Supervised the opening/construction of new location, completing task at_________ ($) under projected budget.

7. Designed entire ________ program, which _earned ________ ($) in company revenues.

8. Implemented new ______________________________ system, saving ________ ($) daily/weekly/monthly/annually.

9. Reduced cost of ______________________________(substantial service) by developing and implementing a new _______________________ system at the bargain price of ________ ($).

10. Restructured __________________________________________(organization/system/product) to result in a savings of ________ ($).