[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cS7RA7MOelo?rel=0&hd=1&w=560&h=346]

The Script Anyone can claim to be a big league pitcher, with a freaky curve ball and a blistering fast ball. To back it up, you need solid numbers in the ERA, strikeout and home run columns. The same's true for resumes. I'm Cat Miller, and this is DiceTV. On paper, most applicants look highly qualified. They view their resume as a marketing tool, with lots of action verbs to describe their capabilities and experience. So why don't they land more interviews? A lot of the time, it's because they don't offer PROOF to back up their claims. Including metrics in your experience and accomplishment statements substantiates your overall premise. It also allows reviewers to reach their own conclusions about your expertise. In other words, don't simply SAY you're an expert e-commerce specialist. Back up your claim with a data-rich example: Say you "Increased monthly online orders from 630 to 882, a 40 percent rise that exceeded plan by 13 percent and produced additional revenue of $3 million." Here's another example: Any project manager can claim to deliver on time. You should say you "delivered phase one of a $3 million ERP project within the promised 90-day timeframe at 70 percent of budget." How do you come up with these metrics? First, ask yourself why each one is significant. What improvements did you achieve? Who benefitted from your work? What was the bottom line impact? Always link them to your company's success, and quantify your business impact. Those results will transfer to other jobs and industries. Your project plan is a great source of metrics, because it spells out what you needed to achieve and when you needed to achieve it. Your bonus plan might be another source of indicators. If you don't have a written performance plan, compare the situation you inherited to its current state. That can help you quantify your improvements. Bottom line: Validate your success by including data in each accomplishment statement, and describe the specific outcomes you achieved. I'm Cat Miller, this has been DiceTV, and we now return you to your regular desktop.