How to Use Metrics in Your Resume When You Have None

Measurable data is the best way to show you create value for companies. But what if you don’t have numbers, stats, or metrics? How do you still work figures into your resume to show what value you create?

Highlight What You Have Accomplished

Maybe you haven’t boosted sales by 85% or saved the company $1.5 million in lost revenues. That doesn’t mean you can’t utilize metrics on your resume to help position yourself as the choice candidate. Find things you have done that can be quantified and work them into your resume. Perhaps you have written successful grant applications or won awards. Perhaps you are in the top ten percent of performers in your current job. Find areas where you have strengths or abilities that can be quantified and do it.

What Can You Use?

Even if you don’t have these types of metrics, there are still ways to utilize metrics in your resume. Perhaps you have seven years of proficiency with the primary piece of software that the company uses, or perhaps you have performed an essential task X number of times. Maybe you have served a specific number of customers—or even helped your company to retain some clients. Virtually anything that looks great on a resume and can be quantified can be a metric, and it should be. Employers want to see measurable results and data, and they will use these to determine whether the value you can create will offset the cost to employ you.

Great Questions to Ask

Using metrics on a resume when you have none to speak of can be a bit of a challenge, but with careful thought, you can. After all, you didn’t become an excellent candidate for the position by doing nothing, so take a look at what you have done. What talents do you possess and how long have you had them or how proficient are you? What successes have you had that make you ideal for the position? Take the time to think about where you have been and what you have accomplished, and you will be able to find useful metrics that will help you substantiate your experience.

Looking for more tips to freshen up your resume in 2017? Check out this article: 3 Tips for Freshening Up Your Resume in 2017.

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