Crafting the perfect resume can be an overwhelming task. A resume’s often intimidating objective is to showcase as many workplace skills and accomplishments as possible in a professional, limited format. The length of a resume alone inspires resume-writing jitters; trying to fit who you are in a 1-2 page document requires prioritization of skills and forces you to make incredibly tough choices about which elements of your work experience and education to emphasize or cut. What are the best accomplishments to keep on your resume? Do some industries like specific skill sets more than others? Which resume bullet points make the biggest impact on your career search?

The answer to each of these questions can be found within a single word: metrics. Metrics are numerical, quantifiable data points that highlight your professional impact in terms of dollars, volume, percentage, and time. Including metrics on your resume allows you to showcase achievements supported by actual facts and figures instead of sweeping generalizations. They provide a reference point and proof behind your claims in ways standard, nonspecific resume bullet points cannot. 

What’s the best way to include metrics on your resume? Start by identifying your ideal career path and the metrics that will matter to your future employers. Each industry has a different set of metrics they tend to value more than others. You want your resume to represent both your unique background and the priorities of your potential employers. Let’s walk through a few examples.

Resume Metrics for New Graduates

New graduates have the privilege of showcasing fresh, up-to-date education and internship opportunities on their resumes. As a new graduate, you may not have years of industry-specific experience under your belt, but you definitely have a plethora of skills to showcase when applying for your first job in the industry of your choice. The best way for new graduates to include metrics on their resumes is with thoughtful, creative application of quantifiable accomplishments. 

• Projects – Quantify group projects and volunteer experiences by crafting metrics based on time and impact. Example: Completed a 6-month-long partnership with 6 local, nonprofit refugee shelter leaders to build 3,000 homes for the 2k strong regional refugee population.
• Teams – Create metrics that highlight the number of people you’ve worked with to accomplish a single goal. Example: Collaborated with 40+ graduate students to increase visibility for an overseas vaccination program by developing a new marketing campaign.
• Travel – Global work-study or learning abroad opportunities provide instant metrics related to the number of places and cultures you learned from. Example: Obtained over 120 hours of study from 6 different European countries speaking a combined total of 8 different languages. 

Resume Metrics for Promotion Opportunities

Rising through the ranks is a common goal for most employees, especially in industries like education, healthcare, and manufacturing. Ensure your resume appropriately captures your impact and potential by focusing on values you know are important to the role you’re attempting to attain. Think of your skills in terms of tangible projected growth and intentionally highlight proof of success with factual, quantifiable data. 

• Volume – Capitalize on large class sizes, patient populations, or factory output using size and volume metrics. Example: Led and instructed four separate class subjects with an average of 36 students per class. 
• Influence – Showcase conflict resolution and leadership-like influence by including metrics around elevated test scores, resolved billing inquiries, and supplier delay rectification. Example: Achieved 90% `-touch resolution rate by answering and resolving 36k monthly patient inquiries with under 30-second hold times.
• Engagement – Prove your skills extend beyond peer or direct report levels with carefully-crafted examples of community engagement, patient satisfaction, and shipping or delivery collaboration. Example: Networked and attained an exclusive 25% discount rate with 3 primary suppliers by inciting price match guarantee program over course of 36 months. 

Resume Metrics for Managers and Executives

Managers and executives heavily depend on metrics to gauge project and team success. As leaders in your industry, your resume should include metrics at multiple levels of the organization. Focus on highlighting the biggest and best achievements in clear, concise ways.

• KPIs – Key Performance Indicators are critical to measuring the performance and health of an organization; using them in your resume indicates a high level of strategic goal planning and quantifiable success. Example: Achieved $1.2 million in company-wide net revenue in Q1, a $250k increase over the previous year. 
• Teams and Subordinates – A leader is only as good as their lowest-level team member. Show off your ability to manage a team by including team-specific metrics in your resume. Example: Oversaw development and continued education of 15 direct reports, including 3-star team members recognized for exceptional service. 
• Individual Achievements – Your hard-earned years of service are worth mentioning and supporting with clear, individually-earned metrics. Example: 25 years’ experience accelerating business growth, generating $100k sales each quarter. 

Metrics help your resume stand apart from the crowd and capture the attention of potential employers. Skip the overused, generalized bullet points and focus instead on your numerical professional impact. Struggling to find the right way to quantify your experience and accomplishments? Reach out to Zoetic Resume and Writing Services here. As a professional resume writer, my goal is to walk you through your unique career skills and find the best, most impactful metrics to showcase your potential as an employee. Together we can translate your workplace skills into figures, data, and dollars.