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I used a free resume review service and was kind of disappointed from their review. The person who reviewed it kept mentioning that the way I worded my resume make me look like a "Doer" but not an "Achiever". Of course he is talking about my job experience and the Projects section.

The problem is I didn't lie in my resume and that's the closest description to the truth. In my current company and my position there is no way to achieve something, there is no room for progress (it's like working for McDonalds). It's true I am a hard worker and I work 200% more then my co-workers and I do the job in half the time they take. But I am not sure if it's a good idea to say it that way on my resume.

I work as an Instrumentation Engineer (I do what I am told to do), so I can't say like other job experience description that 'since I came to the company we made twice the money we usually make or saved them 30% in expenses' ..etc

So what's the best approach to improve my resume in this area?

optimusprime619
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Rahim
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    As a former McDonalds employee, I can assure you, even at McDonalds, there are a lot of things that you can choose to do "well" or "poorly" – David Aug 02 '19 at 07:19
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    "The problem is I didn't lie in my resume.." You should never lie on your resume, but you should present yourself in a manner that draws attention - Wording plays a big role in that matter.. Try to put emphasis of what you think are your strengths which a future employer can benefit from.. – iLuvLogix Aug 02 '19 at 07:37
  • https://workplace.stackexchange.com/questions/13412/what-should-a-recent-graduate-list-on-a-resume-if-they-have-no-work-experience and many links from there –  Aug 02 '19 at 09:51
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    @David I meant no insult, It's just an example that I imagined in my head ( I have no idea how is the work enviroment in reality at McDonalds) – Rahim Aug 02 '19 at 10:49
  • @Rahim Well, how would a software developer feel if I used the example of "these dudes who sit for eight hours on a chair typing on a computer like monkeys without really doing anything"? My account would probably be banned for using those words – David Aug 02 '19 at 10:52
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    @David You are right, please accept my apology to you and to all McDonalds employees, If you can help me with my question : How can I list acheivements if in my job I do only what I was told to do, and I get shutdown if I try to be creative, or should I just ignore the CV expert and keep my resume the same – Rahim Aug 02 '19 at 11:07
  • I think Juliana Karasawa Souza's answer is a good guideline – David Aug 02 '19 at 11:09
  • The McDonalds example is helpful, specifically because it isn't true. It is a highly relatable cross-culture example and allows us to better understand where the OP is coming from and the some of the incorrect conclusions they have come to about the nature of their own job. – P. Hopkinson Aug 02 '19 at 11:48
  • @Rahim one thing you could do is think about some of your ideas which have been shut down. Why were they shut down, were they good ideas, and was it correct for your employer to shut them down despite them down despite them being good ideas? If you can think of a couple of good examples of things that you would like to have done and what you learned from trying to implement them this will yield some good talking points (although these will probably more suitable for an interview than a CV). – P. Hopkinson Aug 02 '19 at 11:51
  • @P.Hopkinson I live in a 3rd world country and work for a company owned by the goverement, my ideas was really good ( propably not that impressive for advanced countries), my company (oil and gas) spend ridiclous amounts of money on old hardware on the same time we don't have duct tape for electrical wiring , I brought a lot of solutions that will save them a fortune but because it's owned by the goverement no one cares and the decision makers don't consult with us when they buy something – Rahim Aug 02 '19 at 15:30
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    You might be surprised to hear how familiar your predicament is to first world employees (it happens a lot!). Try to think of your proposed solutions as achievements in and of themselves. A good interviewer will be able to determine whether or not they think the proposed solutions are credible and will understand that you do not have the power to force through these changes unilaterally. Just be candid and trust them to recognise your business sense. – P. Hopkinson Aug 02 '19 at 16:07

3 Answers3

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First and most important advice in writing CVs and resumes: WRITE FOR THE POSITION YOU'RE APPLYING and frame it in a way that's attractive for that position. Essentially, you need to "sell" yourself to the recruiter and the hiring manager. Do your research and understand what they're looking for.

As a hiring manager (I'm not a recruiter, mind, I'm their client), what I look for in a resume is a very simple framework of 3 topics:

Context: what was the job about, when and where. Sometimes the job titles are not really straight forward and you cannot understand off-the-bat what it means and where you place them in your own organization

Action: your key responsibilities within that job, and if you worked on something extra or other side projects, what was your role in them

Results: what kind of results and improvements can be directly attributed to your contribution. There NEEDS to be a clear causal relationship between your actions and the results.

You can and you should always look for ways of making your work more efficient and easy, if not for yourself, for your internal and external customers, and the results of that can be put into your resume or CV.

Juliana Karasawa Souza
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    I'll give you a +1 for "selling", as the CV/Resume is a "sales brochure", although I think you could offer more practical advice to help OP. Maybe an Instrumentation Engineer position example showing what you mean by your 3 points. Otherwise, this is a clear and concise answer. – Justin Aug 02 '19 at 07:57
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    I agree, but unfortunately the "Context" part is a bit missing :) OP says they work as "Instrumentation Engineer" but also "I do what I'm told to do" which are two conflicting statements in the organization framework I'm used to work with (I work in consumer goods manufacturing). I do not hire engineers to "do what they're told to do", I hire engineers to think outside of the box and bring new solutions. So I'm missing more context on what "instrumentation engineer" means. – Juliana Karasawa Souza Aug 02 '19 at 08:03
  • Fair point Juliana. OP, have a look at this example (random search) https://www.greatsampleresume.com/job-responsibilities/instrumentation-engineer-responsibilities/ and try to tailor it to your own circumstances using Juliana's answer.. – Justin Aug 02 '19 at 08:10
  • @Justin instrumentation engineer can be programming led displays ie « just » coding to building analogue gauges with 6 or more jewels for bearings so a simple title with many possibilities behind... – Solar Mike Aug 02 '19 at 08:15
  • Thanks @SolarMike; I didn't know that. I would have searched more extensively, but I kept hitting work's internet filter. – Justin Aug 02 '19 at 09:51
  • @JulianaKarasawaSouza What I didn't mention in my question is I live in a third world country, I am hired as an Insturmentation Engineer only because the client we work with require it in the contract, but in reality I am doing a technician job ( and get paid less then him), there is no room for improvement when ever I think outside the box and bring new solutions I get shutdown and told to do my job, and the solutions that I find to make my job easier (without needing resources from my boss) can't be talked about in resume but showed in real life – Rahim Aug 02 '19 at 10:48
  • @Rahim I was born and raised in a third world country and worked for most of my career in a third world country, so I guess is more something particular to your specific industry instead of third world x first world. I suggest you intentionally evaluate your daily work and put some numbers and backing behind the solutions you find to make your job easier, especially the differences you observe comparing now vs. when you started your job. If you want to make a step change in your career, well, this is one of the things that separate the "just good" from the great employees - business focus – Juliana Karasawa Souza Aug 04 '19 at 17:59
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Being on the high end of "doing" is an "achievement".

What you have to do is look at the results, which is typically some form of work product, how it is delivered (you say faster and better than your peers), and how that impacted your employer (things delivered faster, better, cheaper, more revenue, greater profit).

Those are your "achievements".

I gave a "hire this person" recommendation to a manager recently because the person I interviewed fit that description - faster, better, cheaper - perfectly. He was hired, and it wasn't a mistake to hire him.

Julie in Austin
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I find a couple items of interest based on your question:

  1. You base everything on the opinion of one. Who is this person? What does he do? Is he just browsing resumes on this free site? What sort of qualifications he/she has?
  2. He offers no improvements to your resume except to say you're a "doer."Whatever that means in the context of what you're trying to do I have no idea. That's sort of like pointing at a random car and saying it's a "goer" not a "racer."

My thoughts: apply to the jobs you want and see what you get back. Unless your resume is filled with fictional information or something, you should get back some hits in time.

Dan
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  • Thanks for your answer, simply this person is from resume writing service and they offer a free resume evaluation , allegedly they are professionals and they know what they are doing, at first I thought that their reveiw is just a template sent to all users, but it's very detailed and long which mean they really spent time on it, but I think I will take your advice for the moment – Rahim Aug 02 '19 at 15:33