The document provides guidance on developing accomplishment statements for a job search resume and interview preparation. It recommends having 20 or more accomplishment statements in an inventory. Each statement should include a benefit to the employer stated quantitatively, and the action taken to achieve that benefit. Examples of accomplishment statements are provided covering a wide range of benefits such as increased sales or profits, reduced costs or errors, and improved quality, customer satisfaction or processes.

1. PROFESSIONAL EMPLOYMENT NETWORK (PEN) WRITING ACCOMPLISHMENTS
CREATING YOUR ACCOMPLISHMENTS INVENTORY
Developing and writing your accomplishments is a very important step in the Job Search
process. Besides creating accomplishment statements for your resume, this step is a positive
one that helps you realize you were an important asset to your company, even though you
may have left in less than desirable circumstances.
PEN and many recruiting agencies recommend that you have twenty or more in your
accomplishment inventory. Work to state them in a way that is accurate, concise and relevant
to a prospective employer.
A well-formulated accomplishment statement has two parts:
1. The BENEFIT to your employer. This benefit should be stated in terms of the values or
interest to the employer. It should be stated in a tangible and quantifiable manner.
2. The ACTION you took - what you did - to achieve the benefit. The action should be
stated in general terms, not what steps you took or what techniques you used. You want
the interviewer to ask you about the details of your action.
Format of an Accomplishment statement:
BENEFIT to the employer "BY" ACTION you took.
Always begin the accomplishment statement with the BENEFIT to the employer. And then tell
what ACTION you took to accomplish the benefit. Review examples of accomplishment
statements on pages 3 and 4. Most, but not all, are completely formulated accomplishment
statements with a BENEFIT and an ACTION. Some state just the BENEFIT, whereas others
state just the ACTION. PEN recommends you use a completely formulated accomplishment
statement, if possible.
Benefits you can expect from this exercise:
1. A much better awareness than you have ever had before of your professional profile.
This self-knowledge is the database and the foundation on which you will erect the
whole structure of your effort to find the position you want.
2. Concrete credibility to everything that you claim in the way of qualifications and
capabilities. You will have simple and effective documentation of the value you bring to
an employer.
3. Greater confidence in presenting yourself to potential employers. You will understand
better that you are not out "asking for a job" but rather you are offering the capability of
making a contribution to an employer.
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2. PROFESSIONAL EMPLOYMENT NETWORK (PEN) WRITING ACCOMPLISHMENTS
POSSIBLE ACCOMPLISHMENTS
Which of the following did you ACCOMPLISH?
- increase sales - accomplish the same thing with less
- increase profits - accomplish more with the same
- increase market share - accomplish more with others
- reduce costs - prevent a problem
- reduce errors - protect against a hazard
- reduce losses - provide new resources
- enlarge a market - save the day
- enlarge capacity - solve a chronic problem
- improve quality - develop a new process
- improve reliability - establish a new procedure
- improve maintainability - create something from scratch
- improve customer satisfaction - overcome obstacles
- improve customer relations - receive an award
- improve labor/management relations - find a new market
- make things smoother - find a new opportunity
- make things easier - improve employee performance
- make more good things happen - improve empolyee relations
- make fewer bad things happen - improve teamwork
- speed things up - find an easier solution
- foresee a need - find a cheaper solution
- foresee a problem - do what couldn't be done
- foresee an opportunity
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3. PROFESSIONAL EMPLOYMENT NETWORK (PEN) WRITING ACCOMPLISHMENTS
EXAMPLES OF ACCOMPLISHMENT STATEMENTS
1. Achieved an 85 percent success rate in contract arbitrations from documentation and
briefs I prepared.
2. Increased the quality of vendor shipments 90% by reducing defects through an
enhanced inspection program.
3. Saved $140,000 on the proposed purchase of new equipment by designing a more
effective system costing $4,000.
4. Achieved a 10 percent cost reduction by leading an award-winning Work Simplification
team.
5. Improved client relationships through use of sketches and diagrams, drawing on a
hobby of painting and illustration.
6. Reduced costs $100,000 by initiating a computerized material substitution procedure for
using surplus materials.
7. Personally negotiated and collected $750.000 from previously considered not collectible
past-due accounts.
8. Reduced turnover of personnel from 17 percent to 9 percent a year by initiating a
progressive employee development program.
9. Performed the financial planning that led management to build a $50 million
manufacturing facility.
10. Arranged travel and accommodations for a sales staff that logged a cumulative total of
over 2,000 travel days a year.
11. Reduced reject rate from 50 percent to less than five percent by revising and simplifying
the manufacturing process.
12. Saved $200,000 annually by automating the application of freight rates.
13. Designed and wrote manuals for use by workshop leaders and participants.
14. Decreased operation costs 25 percent by developing and implementing a departmental
accounting system in a large agency.
15. Created and administered over one million lines of free newspaper and magazine
publicity, helping to maintain top T.V. ratings.
16. Prevented a potential loss of over $100,000 by identifying technical and marketing
problems that were inherent in a planned new product.
17. Increased sales by 26.7% a year over 11 years in an industry growing at 14%.
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4. PROFESSIONAL EMPLOYMENT NETWORK (PEN) WRITING ACCOMPLISHMENTS
EXAMPLES OF ACCOMPLISHMENT STATEMENTS (Continued)
18. Saved millions of dollars in possible damages, and prevented embarrassment by
discovering potential bankruptcy of a supplier.
19. Proved a $2.2 million inventory shortage predated the acquisition of a division.
20. Improved office productivity 30% by initiating a new interoffice filing system which
provided quick access to current and past correspondence.
21. Increased cash flow 15 percent by developing and implementing a new billing and
collection system.
22. Increased sales and profits 67 percent by organizing and training the sales force 10
selected marketing territories.
23. Planned and coordinated weekly recreational activities for 30 youths over a four - year
period.
24. Attained 185 percent of my sales quota in my assigned territory.
25. Designed and taught courses in public speaking, media writing, communications, and
copy writing.
26. Increased agency revenues from $230,000 to $1,000,000 in four years by writing seven
successful proposals.
27. Avoided delays in construction when procurement problems arose by developing
possible substitutes.
28. Reduced utility bills 18 percent by combining services, eliminating waste, reducing peak
loads, and converting from electrical to gas heat.
29. Extended die life from six weeks to 11 months by identifying and correcting the cause of
rapid wear.
30. Tutored six "underachievers" in remedial reading; all six finished in the upper 20 percent
of the class by the end of the year.
31. Increased sales by 42% during one year by creating a distribution network.
32. Reduced sales distribution expenses 14 percent, while maintaining volume by creating
and implementing an innovative distribution procedure.
33. Cut linen lasses in half for 130-bed hospital by developing and implementing a new
linen service with effective controls.
34. Established the necessary sales and service organization in the principal Midwestern
and eastern market areas, with 75 percent of sales now derived from those areas.
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