How to Write Achievements in Your Resume [+Tips & Examples]

Resume achievements are work successes that are both measurable and unique to an applicant’s experience. Achievements in resumes are often undermined as many applicants struggle to think of key achievements to list on their resumes.

Adding achievements or awards on resumes can show your prospective employer how well you have performed in the past. Additionally, most employers who seek out particular talents are aware of your experience and previous job descriptions. Therefore, listing achievements on your resume can increase your chances of getting noticed by recruiters.

Writing resume achievements for the first time can be a bit overwhelming. One of the most detrimental mistakes applicants often make is listing old and irrelevant achievements in resumes. Moreover, some achievements may reveal sensitive and exaggerated information, which can cause rejections from recruiters or prospective employers. 

The purpose of answering these questions is to demonstrate your past successes in measurable and quantifiable metrics. 

1. Work Experience Section

Listing your work experience in quantifiable accomplishments can help employers see why you are a successful candidate to be considered for the job. 

2. Resume Summary/Objective

Resume summary or objective is the first section recruiters look at, so it can be a great place to include your key achievements in this section. 

3. Projects Section 

The Projects section highlights your past projects, and therefore it is a great section to implement your key achievements.

4. Education Section

You can add academic achievement examples in the education section to highlight your key achievements as a fresher. 

5. Awards & Achievements Section 

The awards and achievements section is useful if you have a handful of impressive achievements to show the recruiters and prospective employers. 

Personal achievements can be awards, competitions, volunteering, and any sports events you have achieved in the past.

Many freshers worry that they do not have enough experience to make a list of meaningful achievements. However, achievements in resumes for freshers can be any activities, projects, or team sports applicants have experienced during their college years. These achievements to put on resumes don’t have to be medals or awards. It can be an experience where you demonstrate growth, leadership quality, and teamwork.   

1. Project Manager Achievements

• Led Unique Talent Acquisition Team and saved $5000 in operation costs.
• Developed three database management programs.
• Hired and trained three new team members based on various project needs. 

2. Accountant Achievements

• Identified and fixed recurring accounting problems and saved $1.2 million a year. 
• Performed detailed cost analysis and saved the company $1.5 million from 2014 to 2017.
• Prepared tax returns for 100+ clients. 

3. Customer Service Achievements 

• Reorganized warehouse design and reduced inventory time by 20%.
• Made 15% more retail sales from the previous year. 
• Improved customer satisfaction rate by 20% in the last 6 months.

4. Sales Representative Achievements Examples

• Maintained 50+ customer relations to improve company image.
• Exceeded sales target by 20% and gained 20 new clients. 
• Made 100 cold calls daily to expand customer database.  

5. Achievements of an Administrative Assistant

• Developed new administrative policies and reduced 50 hours on scheduling appointments for the company.
• Trained two new interns in various office tasks. 
• Maintained and organized 5+ meetings every week. 

6. Human Resources Accomplishments Examples

• Led a talent acquisition team and made 50 successful new hires for the company. 
• Developed a new hiring protocol and saved the time for the hiring process by 20% for the company.
• Researched and adapted new benefits programs for employees and increased employee satisfaction rate by 7%. 

7. Marketing Achievements Examples

• Successfully carried out Y marketing campaign and decreased the budget by 5%.
• Managed marketing campaigns for 4+ SaaS clients in FinTech.
• Created 10 different marketing strategies for company X.

8. Teacher Achievements Examples

• Created two new teaching methods and improved students’ overall exam records by 20%.
• Guided and supported over 20 SEN students to improve special needs program.
• Reinforced and maintained classroom management by incorporating 5 seminars per week.

9. Nurse Achievements Examples

• Supervised intensive patient care unit 3 days per week. 
• Earned the Best Nurse Award at X Hospital from 2015 to 2018.
• Assisted and supported two different teams to provide care to residents at all times. 

10. Graphic Designer Achievements Examples

• Developed 300+ new logo designs for various in-house and international projects. 
• Boosted customer satisfaction rate by 20%.
• Trained and guided three new interns for in-house design tasks.

💡 Use descriptive resume adjectives.

Descriptive resume adjectives are action words that can describe your resume achievements in a short and powerful manner. 

💡 Use quantifiable results.

Use metrics such as time, money, and percentages to quantify achievements in your resume.

💡 Mention any relevant awards.

Make sure to include relevant awards that can complement your work experience as achievement examples. 

💡 Know the difference between achievement and responsibilities.

Resume achievements describe how well you did the task or project, while responsibilities plainly describe what you did. 

💡 Use powerful keywords for your resume achievements. 

Recruiters often use keywords to search for their ideal candidates and thus conducting a keyword search can benefit you from standing out in their search.