You're probably asking, how can an accomplishment statement tell a story in one sentence that's two lines long? Fair enough. A two-line accomplishment statement for your resume and LinkedIn profile can't tell a complete story, but it can entice the reader to want to know more.
When hiring authorities read resumes and LinkedIn profiles, they wonder what's the story behind the accomplishments you highlight on these documents. For every accomplish statement you write, there should be a compelling story that you can expand upon in an interview.
One simple way to tell your story is using the ๐ฆ. ๐ข. ๐. ๐ฅ. framework. For those of you who aren't familiar, the acronym stands for: ๐ฆituation ๐ขbstacles ๐ctions ๐ฅesults.
๐๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ฒ ๐ถ๐ ๐ฎ ๐๐๐ผ๐ฟ๐ ๐ฎ ๐๐ผ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ฎ๐น ๐บ๐ฒ๐ฑ๐ถ๐ฎ ๐๐ฝ๐ฒ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ฎ๐น๐ถ๐๐ ๐บ๐ถ๐ด๐ต๐ ๐๐ฒ๐น๐น ๐ถ๐ป ๐ฎ๐ป ๐ถ๐ป๐๐ฒ๐ฟ๐๐ถ๐ฒ๐:
Situation: Our company had a very weak social media presence. At the time we had fewer than 500 followers across Facebook and Instagram, our posts were inconsistent, and engagement was almost nonexistent. Leadership believed social media could help us build brand awareness and drive more traffic to our website, but no one internally had really taken ownership of it.
Obstacle: I volunteered to strengthen our social media footprint, but I had limited experience with Facebook and Instagram marketing. On top of that, we didnโt have a marketing budget for paid promotions or outside consultants, so whatever improvements I made would have to be done organically and mostly on my own time.
Actions: First, I researched competitorsโ pages and several influencers in our industry to identify what type of content generated the most engagement. I noticed that posts with short videos, behind-the-scenes photos, and educational tips performed particularly well. To build my own skills quickly, I enrolled in a couple of Udemy courses (fortunately they were on sale) focused on building professional Facebook and Instagram business pages, understanding algorithms, and creating engaging content.
I also developed a simple content strategy. I created a weekly posting schedule that mixed educational posts, customer success stories, and visual content from our team. On weekends I spent time redesigning the pages, adding branded images, optimizing descriptions, and creating a consistent visual style.
To keep engagement high, I also began responding to comments quickly, using relevant hashtags, and experimenting with short-form video posts.
Result: Within about two months, engagement increased by more than 300%, and our follower count grew significantly as well. Website traffic from social media also increased noticeably. Just as important, I became much more knowledgeable and confident managing Facebook and Instagram, which allowed me to continue growing the companyโs social media presence going forward.
๐ง๐ต๐ถ๐ ๐ถ๐ ๐๐ต๐ฒ๐ถ๐ฟ ๐ฏ๐ผ๐ถ๐น๐ฒ๐ฑ-๐ฑ๐ผ๐๐ป ๐ฎ๐ฐ๐ฐ๐ผ๐บ๐ฝ๐น๐ถ๐๐ต๐บ๐ฒ๐ป๐ ๐๐๐ฎ๐๐ฒ๐บ๐ฒ๐ป๐ ๐ณ๐ผ๐ฟ ๐๐ต๐ฒ๐ถ๐ฟ ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐๐๐บ๐ฒ:
Drove a >300% surge in social media engagement, despite limited resources and time, by implementing targeted content strategies forย Facebook and Instagram pages.
From the story above "by implementing targeted content strategies for Facebook and Instagram pages. " speaks to the Situation. It also speaks to the Actions. . . to a point. This can be flushed out in an interview.
The Obstacle is addressed with "despite limited resources and time. . . "
And the accomplishment statement starts with the result: Drove a > surge in social media engagement. Which, in effect, makes it a reverse S. O. A. R story. This I prefer, as the meat of the "story" is at the beginning of the accomplishment statement.
Why do you need to tell stories with your accomplishment statements?
Stories are what sell you on your resume/LinkedIn profile and in interviews. Listing tasks and, similarly, giving 30 second answers fail to make you come across as someone who'll add value to organizations.
Employers remember stories, not bullet points. And within your stories you need to show context, challenge, actions, and outcomes. These are demonstrated in your S. O. A. R framework.
Stories demonstrate how you think and solve problems. Employers donโt just want to know what you did; they want to understand how you approached a challenge. A well-told story reveals your decision-making, leadership style, and ability to navigate obstacles; things a simple bullet point canโt show.
Stories differentiate you from other candidates. Many candidates list similar responsibilities and skills. Your stories show how you uniquely applied those skills, making it easier for employers to see why you stand out among people with comparable backgrounds.
Stories provide proof. By presenting your stories โ unwritten by AI โ you provide proof of your assertions. You can write or say that you're an excellent social media specialist, but if you don't have the actions and outcome/s to back it up, they don't come across as believable.
Common mistakes people make with their stories
Too long. On your documents, if the accomplishment stories exceed two lines, three at most, a reader can get lost when reading them. As someone put it best, long text makes your brain work in overdrive.
Skipping the outcome. By outcome, I mean the measured result. An action statement alone will not prove value, considering many people most likely perform the same actions. If you can't quantify the outcome with #s, $s, or %s, then qualify with a statement like, "My VP told me I increased the engagement significantly, and that she was very impressed. "
Being vague. This is common with people who don't put enough value in their actions and outcomes. Or they assume employers will know what they did, the efforts they put forth in doing it. Do not assume what the reader knows, make it crystal clear.
Not knowing your audience. This speaks for the position to which you're applying. Although the two-line accomplishment statements below are from the same person and essentially are the same situation, they have a different outcome based on the employers' needs.
Directed aย team of 23 evening ER nurses to a 96% patient satisfaction rate with strategic staffing and fostering a culture of empathy; while also overseeing patient care at peak times.
Boosted productivity by 35% over five years through strategic staffing, rigorous training, and hands-on leadership of a 23-nurse ER team during peak times; the team achieved a 96% satisfaction rate.
For my Job Club, I went through an exercise where they chose an accomplishment from their resume and told the story behind it. Through this and identifying some obstacles, their accomplishment statements failed to mention, they were able to strengthen their statements. Try this yourself.