A winning resume is more than just a piece of paper documenting your work experience.It’s a sales presentation, only that the product being sold is yourself.
Your resume is meant to show your value and potential to prospective employers. It should not only stand out to recruiters, but it should convince them that you’ll perform well from your first day on the job. One of the best ways to achieve this is by incorporating KPIs and achievements when describing your work history.
Adding figures alongside key accomplishments adds an extra layer to your qualifications, making your claims more credible through real evidence. It’s become especially popular to include these in resumes, so not adding them will make you seem less prepared than other candidates. In fact, most online resume builders include KPIs in their examples and templates.
An easier solution would be to get resume writing services from third-party service providers. However, here you can learn the best way to add your accomplishments to your resume, as well as how to use metrics to impress recruiters.
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What Metrics Should I Add to My Resume?
Before learning how to write KPIs in your resume it’s necessary to cover which metrics it makes sense for you to include.
Studies have shown that recruiters only spend an average of 7.4 seconds looking at each resume. This means that hiring managers will usually just quickly scan your document for key terms, phrases, and numbers that are relevant to the job position.
To ensure that all the metrics you include in your resume are related to the role you’re applying for, check the job description and research similar positions online. Below are some examples of KPIs that you can add to your resume divided by different industries:
Marketing KPIs
- Customer lifetime value (LTV)
- Customer acquisition cost (CAC)
- Digital marketing return on investment (ROI)
- Landing page conversion rates
- Organic website, mobile, and social media traffic
- Cost per click (CPC)
- Marketing revenue attribution
- Click-through rate
- SEO rank
Finance and Accounting KPIs
- Net profit margin
- Cash conversion cycle (CCC)
- Debt vs equity ratio
- Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA)
- Days sales outstanding (DSO)
- Operating cash flow
- Quick ratio
Sales KPIs
- Deals closed
- Number of prospect meetings generated
- Proposals issued
- Cost per lead
- Lead-to-sale conversion rate
- Client acquisition rate
- Purchase value
- Cost of sale
- Contribution margin
- Meeting conversion rate
- Contact attempts
- Average deal size
Human Resources KPIs
- Employee satisfaction
- Absenteeism rate
- Overtime hours
- Utilization rate
- Number of new hires
- Cost per hire
- Employee turnover rate
- Response to open positions
Manufacturing KPIs
- Machine downtime rate
- Cycle time
- Demand forecasting
- Changeover time
- Throughput
- Demand forecasting
How Do I Include KPIs on a Resume?
Adding metrics to your resume is already a great way to impress recruiters. However, to get the most out of your achievements, it’s important to formulate these in the right way.
When writing KPIs, you want to go further than just listing the metrics you achieved. It’s essential to add context to the figures you include so that it’s clear to readers why they are impressive and relevant.
Make sure your KPIs have the following qualities to help boost your chances of success:
- Detailed: KPIs should be worded in a specific and clear manner, explaining exactly what you achieved, when, and how
- Quantifiable: use percentages, dollar amounts, and raw numbers to make the metrics measurable for readers
- Relevant: it should be clear how your achievements helped the organization to reach key business goals
Now that we’ve covered how to add KPIs in the right way, let’s look at some examples to help inspire you for your own resume writing:
- Increased organic website traffic by 12% in the first three months of entering the role via the implementation of SEO optimization strategies
- Created a new sales pitch deck to increase the number of prospect meetings generated by 15%
- Reduced the cost per hire by 24% through the creation of an employee referral program
Wrap up
In summary, adding KPIs to your resume is a great way to showcase your potential and capabilities. However, it’s important that you write them in a detailed, quantifiable, and relevant manner, to ensure that recruiters are impressed with your achievements. For more guidance on how to write the perfect resume, check out our article on skills you shouldn’t add to your resume.
About Carson Derrow
