If your résumé contains the phrase “responsible for,” then you’re doing it wrong.
Your résumé shouldn’t read like a job posting. Anyone could be responsible for monthly reports. But what did you do with that duty? Why was it important? What’s different about how you did the job from anyone else? What benefit did the company gain from you doing it? What would have happened if you didn’t?
Accomplishments are what get the employer’s attention—not a list of duties.
How do you form an accomplishment? There's a formula for that. It's called CAR/PAR (or sometimes STAR, or another variation of that). The most basic version is:
Context/Problem + Action = Result
Think of when there was an issue or something at work that you fell on you to handle. That's your context/problem. You can also think of this as a story--beginning, middle, and end.
Next, recall what you did to solve that problem. Try to recall all the details (though they won't all make it in the bullet point).
Finally, think about the result. Go beyond the obvious here. How did you solving this problem or dealing with this task impact the company/customers? Said another way, what would have happened if you had NOT solved this problem/completed this task? That's your result! Bonus points if you can demonstrate how this saved the company time or money, or if you can include significant data points (% increase in sales, number of employees trained, etc.).
Numbers are NOT necessary to include in every bullet point. But if it makes sense and adds more depth to the accomplishment, then you should!
The formula is a great place to start. If you find that you're struggling with your accomplishment bullets (and perhaps wondering how many you need per job), get in touch! Email me at copyeditqueen@gmail.com to see if we are a good match to work together!