10 Personal Achievements Examples to Boost Your Resume

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One famous study has shown that employers review your resume for less than 10 seconds. To impress hiring managers and stand out from the competition, you need to include personal and professional accomplishments along with your job responsibilities.

Topics	Details
1. Student and Educational Achievements	details...
2. Leadership and Management Successes	details...
3. Sales and Customer Service Accomplishments	details...
4. Professional Milestones and Major Accomplishments	details...
5. Personal Development and Skill Advancements	details...
6. Volunteer and Non-profit Resume Accomplishments	details...
7. Creative and Artistic Achievement Examples	details...
8. Human Resources Achievements	details...
9. Innovation and Problem-Solving	details...
10. Awards, Recognitions, and Certifications	details...

In this article, we will share 30 examples of resume accomplishments and explain how to sell your past successes to employers. All achievements are grouped by categories for your convenience. Click on the category you need and explore specific examples.

What are professional achievements?

Personal accomplishments demonstrate that you made a measurable impact for your employer or client. They mean that you went beyond completing your job responsibilities and exceeded what was expected of you, or achieved outstanding results in something. Exceeding sales targets or completing the project ahead of schedule are examples of achievements.

Listing personal achievements on your resume is more important than you think. 75% of hiring managers want to see specific results in your work experience. What's more, a hiring manager can interpret the lack of achievements as a sign that you didn't perform well in your last position.

Here are some more achievement examples:

• Increasing sales, revenue, or profitability
• Re-organizing processes and improving efficiency
• Enhancing customer satisfaction
• Implementing new systems or procedures
• Receiving a promotion, award, or honors
• Developing a creative solution to an issue
• Training and coaching new hires or interns
• Saving time or money for the company.

Why list personal accomplishments on your resume?

Highlighting measurable accomplishments is equally important for a recent graduate, seasoned professional, and a manager. Here's why achievements matter for prospective employers:

• Build trust and credibility. Showing the evidence of your success shows that you are capable of getting things done and achieving results. This is what companies look for in most job seekers.
• Showcase your impact. Listing personal achievements proves your worth as a professional. A significant accomplishment can set you apart from the competition and even help negotiate a better salary.
• Predict future success.Proving potential employers that you tackled similar challenges makes them believe in you. They will anticipate that you will achieve great results for them, too.
• Prove your skills. Saying that you have customer service skills and showing that you increased customer satisfaction by 30% are completely different things. Numbers make the hiring manager take notice.

Adding the right personal accomplishments can eventually help you land more job interview calls, and lead to better career prospects. Are you intrigued? Then, let's move on to specific examples and tips on how to make your personal accomplishments shine on a resume.

10 Personal Achievements Examples to Add to Your Resume

The best resumes feature at least 1-2 achievements for each job. You can list achievements next to your daily duties and responsibilities. Here are some examples of achievements for various careers:

1. Student and Educational Achievements

Writing a student resume is always a challenge. You don't have much work experience yet, so employers cannot evaluate your fit for the job. There is a solution to this problem - focus on academic achievements during your years of study. Accentuating academic awards and results will show that you're a result-oriented, committed to success, and driven individual.

1. Maintained a GPA of 3.7 or higher during the four years of study in my Computer Science program
2. Conducted independent research in Germany for 4 months, focusing on the impact of artificial intelligence on arts and improving my cultural awareness
3. Graduated Summa Cum Laude and received the Dean's List award
4. Completed in-demand Google Ads and Google Analytics certifications while studying Marketing in college
5. Volunteered at New York-Presbyterian Hospital, improving the quality of patient care.

2. Leadership and Management Successes

Managers and senior executives typically can boast an excessive list of past successes. No need to list all of them. Prioritize your achievements and include the ones that are most relevant to the job description.

Remember that emphasizing leadership skills is not for managers only. Hiring managers value proactive individuals with leadership traits who can take the initiative and guide others.

1. Led a team of 7 software developers to complete a new e-commerce project, ensuring the project delivery on time and within budget
2. Developed a marketing campaign for a new personal care product, leading to a 43% increase in website traffic and a 17% increase in revenue
3. Managed a $350,000 budget for the company and slashed costs by 20% by re-negotiating contracts with vendors
4. Created an enterprise-wide planning and scheduling program that ensured the increase of on-time project delivery from 65% to 93%.

Teamwork is one of the key qualities employers seek in your resume. Read our guide: How to say that you're a team player on a resume.

3. Sales and Customer Service Accomplishments

Sales professionals have clear targets and work to exceed expectations. In this highly competitive industry, it is even more important to speak through examples and prove your relevant skills with numbers and percentages. The good news is that the achievements of a sales rep or customer service rep are easy to find by simply looking into your CRM.

Here are some resume accomplishment examples you might want to add:

1. Increased sales by 32% in FY 2023 by implementing a new CRM system resulting in streamlined communication and higher customer satisfaction

1. Led a team of 9 sales reps to consistently exceed quarterly sales targets by 12% on average per salesperson
2. Developed upselling protocols, resulting in an average transaction increase by 15%
3. Entered new markets in Argentina and South Africa by building relationships with global distributors, resulting in a 25% revenue growth in one year.

4. Professional Milestones and Major Accomplishments

Emphasizing professional growth and development is key to a successful resume. Hiring managers favor candidates who are driven, action-oriented, and aimed at career growth. Professional milestones mean achieving some meaningful result in your career that sets you apart from other candidates with similar skills.

1. Started a part-time freelance business as a Social Media Marketing consultant, gaining experience in SEO strategy and content creation and generating a $4,500 revenue in five months

1. Minimized customer complaints by implementing a new customer service system that resulted in a 35% increase in customer satisfaction
2. Won the Teacher of the Year award in 2023.

5. Personal Development and Skill Advancements

Personal achievements and milestones showcase your personal qualities and interests. All in all, hiring managers evaluate your personality in addition to your hard skills. By displaying that you are committed to personal growth, expanding your horizons, and working independently, you'll get a higher interview chance with potential employers.

1. Learned German to B2 level in one year and successfully engaged in conversation with native speakers during the trip to Berlin

1. Studied abroad in Mexico for six months, becoming proficient in Spanish
2. Contributed my articles to Fortune and Business Bulletin Magazine

6. Volunteer and Non-profit Resume Accomplishments

Large companies value volunteer work and non-profit experience on your resume. Doing community service is especially important to highlight if you're a recent graduate or changing careers. Remember to illustrate unpaid experience with numbers and highlight accomplishments to better sell your skills.

1. Organized a fundraising event for a local animal shelter that raised $7,000 in donations, exceeding the initial goal by 15%

1. Authored a new educational program, serving 1,500+ community members with a low income
2. Consistently volunteered for the local food bank for six months, contributing to meal preparation for those in need and helping increase membership by 10%.

7. Creative and Artistic Achievement Examples

Graphic designers, video editors, copywriters, and other creative professionals can share their past achievements related to their respective fields. Creative achievements reflect your ability to find non-trivial solutions and design something new that benefits the organization. You can write achievements as follows:

1. Created 10+ compelling visual presentations for client meetings, resulting in closed deals and a sales increase of 25%
2. Authored a series of blog posts that increased website traffic by 32% and generated new leads.

8. Human Resources Achievements

Human resources professionals manage payroll and benefits, oversee the recruitment process, design company policies, and handle employee relations. A successful HR professional should highlight achievements related to these aspects of work to prove their skills. It is important to show how you saved money for the organization, implemented new processes, or contributed to employee well-being.

1. Boosted employee retention rates by 25% over 3 years by implementing a new onboarding program and organizing team-building events four times a year.
2. Designed and implemented the employee wellness program that led to a reduction of healthcare costs by 22% in two years.

Related:How to describe your remote work experience on a resume?

9. Innovation and Problem-Solving

Finding creative solutions to problems is an invaluable skill in today's turbulent economy. Give examples of personal accomplishments that reflect your ability to innovate, think outside of the box, and proactively resolve issues.

1. Implemented a new workflow for the customer service process, reducing processing time by 30% and improving efficiency by 21%
2. Led a cross-functional team to develop a creative solution to improve product launch timelines, resulting in a 2-week reduction in launch time.

10. Awards, Recognitions, and Certifications

Winning a prestigious award or contest is a huge accomplishment, so make sure that your resume reflects it! Getting recognition from your employer, obtaining a prestigious certification, or being recognized at an industry conference also counts as an achievement. You can list such an achievement as a resume bullet point, or create a separate section for awards if you have plenty of them.

1. Promoted to Senior Sales Manager for doubling sales after only one year in the company
2. Awarded the Marketing Excellence Award in 2022.

This extensive list is to show you how to format your achievements and make them appealing to employers. It provides a comprehensive view of various types of achievements for the most popular industries and professions. However, you can use the same format for any job and career level. Below, we'll talk about how to understand your professional strengths and how to list measurable achievements on your resume.

How do you identify your professional accomplishments?

Are you one of those people who think "I'm not sure if I have any personal achievements at this point"? Then, it's time to reconsider your professional experience and reach out to your HR manager or supervisor for more information. Here are some strategies to help you uncover your accomplishments:

Reflect on your experience

Look back at your career journey and think about the most important career milestones. Write down a list of all your jobs and responsibilities so that you don't overlook anything. Here are some thought-provoking questions to ask yourself:

• What were the most challenging or rewarding projects I worked on?
• What are my biggest successes?
• Have I coached or trained anyone?
• Did I receive recognition, awards, or bonuses at work? Why did I receive them?
• What workplace goals have I exceeded?
• What skills did I develop that I'm particularly proud of?

These questions will help you identify moments where you made a significant impact.

Ask questions

In addition to reflecting on your experience, it helps to reach out to your coworkers, managers, or clients and ask for their feedback. Ask about what your professional qualities they value most, what projects you worked on they found particularly impressive, or where you exceeded their expectations.

Asking these questions will provide you with important insights you could have overlooked. Plus, it will help strengthen your confidence - when you hear other people speaking positively of you, you'll feel more confident when presenting your achievements on paper.

Review your performance reports

Look through your performance reviews, annual reports, or any other documents at work. These documents often contain your achievements, quantifiable data about your impact, and feedback from your boss. For example, looking into a CRM system can give you information about your performance as a sales representative.

If you struggle to find any measurable accomplishments, schedule a 1:1 meeting with your boss to discuss your performance at work. During the meeting, you can get valuable insights and important data for your resume.

Now, let's see how to make your personal accomplishments shine on your resume.

How to effectively highlight your achievements to impress hiring managers?

Quantify your achievements

Employers expect to see numbers and percentages as they make your achievements more impactful. Moreover, providing specific personal achievements nurtures credibility. There is one more reason to add numbers to your achievements. When looking through your resume, recruiters pay special attention to numbers, therefore, your resume will get more consideration from them.

Add them to your resume summary

Adding your resume accomplishments to the Summary section is another good strategy to catch the employer's attention. The Career Summary section is located at the top of the resume. Employers often read it to decide whether they should continue reading the other sections.

Focus on 1-2 most impressive accomplishments or relevant awards and incorporate them in your career summary. For example, if the company is looking for an HR manager who can set up the department from scratch, emphasize achievements that relate to this skill.

Incorporate action verbs

When describing your personal achievements, use powerful active words. Thus, your accomplishments will sound more dynamic and impactful. Good examples of strong action verbs are implemented, initiated, developed, enhanced, orchestrated, and achieved. Active words emphasize that you took the initiative and went above and beyond to achieve results. Here is our list of 185 Resume Action Verbs that will make your resume awesome.

Use 1-3 resume accomplishments per job

As you list your past employment, add at least one achievement next to your job responsibilities. You want to show that you made a difference for each of your employers in the past. Moreover, a track record of personal achievements positions you as an ambitious professional who is oriented at delivering results. Such a candidate is more likely to get a job interview.

Tailor them to your target job

In 2024, generic resumes don't work. You need to customize your resume content for each job posting to get noticed on the job market. The same goes for accomplishments. Tailor the achievements to match the skills and qualifications the target employer is looking for. Thus, you will prove your ability to address the specific challenges of the role you're targeting.

Add a matching cover letter

60% of employers expect cover letters along with a resume. Moreover, you can use a cover letter to explain any career issues and show your motivation for joining the company.

Don't reiterate the resume content in the letter. Instead, expand on your most notable achievements and experiences. For example, if you delivered that important software development project ahead of the schedule, you can expand on how you achieved this result. Like in your resume, be concise and closely tailor your cover letter content to the job.

Key Takeaways

• Personal achievements are an asset of any modern resume. If you don't add any, prospective employers may doubt your professional skills.
• Be sure to add at least one professional achievement per role to show your ability to deliver results and outperform.
• It is also essential to adapt the achievements for the job description so that your resume is tailored and showcases relevant traits.

Need some help perfecting your resume?

Writing an interview-winning resume is challenging, and boasting your accomplishments is just one of the many challenges. If you are not sure if your resume sells you well, send it to us for a free resume review. Our experts will evaluate your resume content, format, and style and send you a detailed feedback, which you can use to perfect your resume further and land more interviews.

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