Knowing the difference between job duties and achievements is very important, especially before you write a resume.
Since both these sections (job duties and achievements or accomplishments) need to be part of the resume, it is imperative to draw a line where one ends and the other begins.
What is the difference between job description and achievements?
The difference is huge – a duty is something that you do each day of your work life, and achievement is the result of an effort that you made in a professional capacity.
Why is it important to write both?
Well, employers are aware of the duties that you will perform when hired at a certain position. It is important to list them nonetheless.
However, the achievement is particular to the person applying for a job. Each individual’s achievements will be different than the others, and this is the information that a hiring manager needs to process.
Painting a picture of your abilities and skills is very important, which is where achievement statements come in.
Is it possible to convert your duties into achievements?
Absolutely yes! The good news is that you can actually look through your work duties and determine what you have accomplished through them.
It might not be possible to do this for every duty that you have listed down, but you will get a fair chunk out.
Job responsibilities are usually listed in a straightforward manner, suggesting that you planned something, or provided support to an individual or a department.
However, an achievement will need to include words or phrases such as devised, implemented, met goals, approved, and introduced – along with many more.
How does one actually convert job responsibilities into achievements?
Now that you know what path to take, look at it this way – by going through your job duties, you will be able to pick up at least one or two statements that led to some kind of contribution to the company. Look at the following job duty sentence:
Create and implement core marketing strategies in accordance with the company’s policies and procedures.
This sentence can be converted into an accomplishment like this:
Increased the company’s customer base by 35% by implementing well-placed marketing strategies and initiatives.
Both these statements outline that you did something significant – but the latter is what highlights the fact that the end result of your work benefited the company.
By using numbers and percentages, you can actually make a standard job duty statement come alive as a job-related achievement!