Writing an effective experience description is an important part of crafting a compelling resume or job application. Your experience descriptions should provide concrete examples and details that bring your skills and accomplishments to life for the reader. An well-written experience description makes you stand out from other candidates and helps show that you are qualified for the role.
There are several key things you need to do when writing an experience description:
- Focus on accomplishments rather than responsibilities
- Quantify and provide numbers when possible
- Use strong action verbs to begin each sentence
- Make sure descriptions are tailored for each role
- Emphasize transferable skills gained in each position
Follow these tips and you will be able to write experience descriptions that engage the reader and help you land interviews. In this article, we’ll break down the steps to writing great experience descriptions with examples you can use as models.
Focus on Accomplishments Rather Than Responsibilities
The most important thing to remember when constructing an experience description is to focus on your achievements in each role rather than simply listing your responsibilities. Admissions officers and hiring managers want to see the impact you made in your previous positions.
Ask yourself:
- What where my key contributions in this role?
- How did I help the company or organization achieve its goals?
- What projects was I responsible for driving?
- What positive outcomes did I produce?
For example, instead of writing:
Responsible for managing social media platforms and executing social media strategy.
Try:
Increased social media follower engagement 23% year-over-year by analyzing audience insights and implementing a new content strategy focused on resharing user photos.
See the difference? The second example provides specific details about what you accomplished.
Examples of Focusing on Accomplishments
Poor: Managed 3 person sales team in Chicago territory
Better: Consistently exceeded quarterly sales targets by coaching 3 person sales team in Chicago territory on consultative selling skills which drove a 15% annual increase in revenue
Poor: Interned in marketing department of consumer goods company
Better: Developed and executed 2 email marketing campaigns for newly launched products by collaborating with marketing manager, resulting in a 20% increase in click through rate
Keep your reader engaged by making your experience descriptions robust with accomplishments and data.
Quantify and Provide Numbers
This tip builds off the previous one – you’ll make your experience and impact stand out even more by including numbers and quantifiable data. Providing statistics, dollar amounts, percentages, and metrics gives the reader a more concrete understanding of what you achieved.
Here are some examples of quantifying accomplishments:
– Increased website traffic by 30% over 6 month period
– Managed $500,000 marketing budget and brought campaign in under budget by 10%
– Ranked #1 in sales out of 40 person sales team in 2020
– Reduced product defects by 15% by implementing new quality assurance protocols
-Created reporting dashboard that decreased monthly financial reporting time by 8 hours
Work figures, stats, percentages, and other numbers into your experience descriptions. This shows you understand the tangible impact you made in your roles.
Examples of Quantifying Accomplishments
Poor: Used digital marketing strategies to increase brand awareness
Better: Implemented digital marketing campaigns that generated over 5 million new social media impressions and increased website traffic by 20%
Poor: Helped design new products for retail displays
Better: Played key role in designing 12 new products for retail displays, which increased sales by 30% over prior year
Don’t be afraid to estimate figures if you can’t recall exact numbers. The idea is to provide numerical examples.
Use Strong Action Verbs
You want to use dynamic language to keep your experience descriptions engaging. A great way to do this is by starting each sentence with an action verb. Verbs give the reader a better sense of what you actually did rather than vague or static language.
Here are some great action verbs to incorporate:
– Achieved
– Capitalized
– Delivered
– Spearheaded
– Transformed
– Pioneered
– Launched
– Administered
– Managed
– Produced
– Negotiated
And example using strong action verbs:
Produced detailed financial models and successfully pitched $10 million venture capital funding to lead Series A for healthcare startup. Exceeded revenue projections first year by $1.5 million through creative digital marketing strategies.
Be sure to mix up the verbs you use and avoid repetition. Strong action verbs make you sound accomplished.
Examples of Using Strong Action Verbs
Poor: Was responsible for making sales quotas
Better: Consistently exceeded ambitious sales quotas by forging new client relationships
Poor: Worked on marketing campaigns
Better: Led development of innovative digital marketing campaigns that resulted in 20% increase in website traffic
Sprinkle in strong action verbs to add impact to your experience descriptions.
Tailor Descriptions for Each Role
It’s critical that you tailor each experience description to the particular job you held. You don’t want to use a generic description across multiple roles. Make sure you provide details about your context, challenges faced, actions taken, and results achieved within each unique position.
Readers will be able to immediately spot experience descriptions that aren’t customized. Make sure you aren’t just copying and pasting the same description into different job entries.
Here are two examples showing customized descriptions:
Social Media Manager, XYZ Company, Jan 2017 – March 2020
– Created and executed social media strategy for lifestyle brand generating over 2 million annual social impressions across Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter
– Analyzed audience insights to inform new video and photo content that increased Instagram follower engagement by 25% year-over-year
– Managed project to add user generated content section to website which became the most visited page driving a 10% boost in site traffic
Marketing Intern, ABC Company, June – Aug 2015
– Supported development of email marketing campaigns using MailChimp and tracked key performance metrics including open rates, CTR, and unsubscribes
– Conducted competitive analysis on marketing tactics being used by 5 leading companies in industry
– Assisted with creation of marketing qualified lead criteria and lead scoring framework
As you can see, these descriptions are unique even though they are both related to marketing roles.
Emphasize Transferable Skills
Make sure your experience descriptions emphasize the transferable skills you gained and used in each position. These types of skills, like communication, analysis, teamwork, leadership and others, are valuable across jobs and industries.
You want to show how your experience allowed you to develop important capabilities that make you a strong candidate. Think beyond just the hard skills.
Here are some examples:
- Hotel Manager: “Built customer service skills by personally handling over 100 guest complaints achieving satisfaction rate over 95%.”
- Financial Analyst: “Developed strong analytical abilities required to construct complex financial models and identify data trends.”
- Engineer: “Applied project management skills by creating milestones and timelines for development of mobile app.”
Focusing on transferable skills demonstrates you are a well-rounded candidate with experience that can add value in diverse ways.
Overall Tips for Writing Strong Experience Descriptions
– Focus on accomplishments rather than duties
– Use numbers and percentages to provide measurable results
– Incorporate strong action verbs like “achieved” or “managed”
– Customize each description using specific details
– Emphasize transferable skills gained rather than just hard skills
Common Sections in an Experience Description
While the exact format can vary, there are some standard sections that many experience descriptions include:
- Position/Title
- Company Name
- Employment Dates
- Location
- Overview Summary
- Key Accomplishments/Achievements
- Core Skills Demonstrated
You may not use every section for every experience, but having them gives you a template to follow. Let’s look at each in more detail:
Position/Title
This provides the reader with your specific job title and role. Keep it simple and declarative, like “Sales Associate” or “Accountant”.
Company Name
What is the name of the company or organization where you held the position? Make sure you use the full and proper name.
Employment Dates
Provide the start and end dates for the role in a month and year format, such as June 2018 – May 2020. This gives the reader a sense of how long you were in the position.
Location
Where was this job based geographically? You can provide city and state or just city if it was a major metro area.
Overview Summary
Give 1-3 quick sentences summarizing your responsibilities and context in this position. This sets the scene for the reader before you dive into achievements.
Key Accomplishments/Achievements
This is the meat of the description – provide 3-5 bullet points highlighting your major achievements and contributions in the role. Use data, stats, and action verbs here whenever possible.
Core Skills Demonstrated
List 2-3 key skills that you leveraged or gained experience with in this position. Focus on transferable skills if possible rather than technical abilities.
Let’s look at an example experience description incorporating these elements:
Digital Marketing Manager, XYZ Company, March 2017 – January 2020 (Austin, TX)
Developed and executed digital marketing campaigns for $3M ecommerce retailer selling specialty cooking supplies. Managed digital advertising budget P&L.
– Increased website conversion rate 21% in 2019 by optimizing landing pages and implementing exit intent technology.
– Cut cost-per-click by 15% across all paid search and social media campaigns while increasing impressions and click through rate.
– Drove 20% increase in email subscriber list in one year through enhanced lead generation offers.
– Managed junior graphic designer and copywriter on creative content projects including social media graphics, videos, and blogs.
Demonstrated skills in digital advertising, campaign analysis, lead generation, and team management.
Experience Description Mistakes to Avoid
When writing your own experience descriptions, be sure to avoid these common mistakes:
– Listing responsibilities and duties rather than accomplishments
– Using vague, generic language rather than specific details
– Neglecting to quantify results and provide data/metrics
– Failing to customize each description for the unique role
– Not tailoring the description for the target job or audience
– Repeating the exact same descriptions across multiple roles
– Using passive, static language rather than active verbs
– Leaving out important context like company, title, dates
– Focusing too much on technical tools rather than transferable skills
Proofread your descriptions carefully to check for these errors before adding them to your resume or application. The devil is in the details when crafting experience descriptions!
Should You Use First Person?
Whether or not to use first person “I” language is a common question when writing experience descriptions. Here are some tips on when first person can be appropriate:
– Using first person sparingly can help vary sentence structure. Instead of starting every line with “Managed” or “Developed”, try mixing in the occasional “I managed” or “I developed.”
– First person tends to be more common and acceptable in certain fields like marketing, sales, or creative roles where personality and storytelling are valued.
– Avoid using first person excessively. You want to maintain an objective tone rather than sounding self-promotional.
– Never refer to yourself in third person as “the employee” or your name. This sounds awkward.
– For more formal descriptions, especially in fields like finance, engineering or law, sticking to third person is a safer choice.
The context matters, so consider your audience when deciding whether to incorporate first person language. Overall, aim for a balance between showing personality and maintaining professionalism.
Here is an example experience description using some first person:
Digital Marketing Manager, XYZ Company, March 2017 – January 2020 (Austin, TX)
I developed and executed digital marketing campaigns for $3M ecommerce retailer selling specialty cooking supplies. Managed digital advertising budget P&L.
– Increased website conversion rate 21% in 2019 by optimizing landing pages and implementing exit intent technology.
– I cut cost-per-click by 15% across all paid search and social media campaigns while increasing impressions and click through rate.
– Drove 20% increase in email subscriber list in one year through enhanced lead generation offers I designed.
I demonstrated strong skills in digital advertising, campaign analysis, lead generation, and team management.
The first person language is used judiciously to vary the sentence structure. There is still more third person than first person overall. This level tends to work well for marketing/sales roles.
Experience Description Format
When formatting your experience descriptions, keep the following guidelines in mind:
– Order descriptions reverse chronologically from most recent to oldest.
– Use consistent date formatting: Month Year – Month Year. For example: January 2018 – December 2020.
– Place employment dates and location on the same line as the company name and title to save space.
– Bold and/or italicize company name and job title for quick visual scanability.
– Use bullet points to highlight accomplishments and achievements.
– Keep descriptions to 6-8 lines of text at most. Be concise.
– Use a bulleted Core Skills section at the bottom for resumes rather than long paragraphs.
– Make sure your descriptions fit cleanly within the format of your resume design.
Proper formatting presents your experience descriptions in a structured, easy-to-digest way for the reader.
Here is an example of a formatted experience description:
Digital Marketing Manager, XYZ Company, March 2017 – January 2020 (Austin, TX)
– Increased website conversion rate 21% in 2019 by optimizing landing pages.
– Cut cost-per-click 15% across paid search and social media campaigns.
– Drove 20% increase in email subscriber list through enhanced lead generation.
Core Skills: Digital Advertising, Data Analysis, Project Management
Follow these kinds of formatting practices when designing your resume or application with experience descriptions.
Conclusion
Writing effective experience descriptions for your resume or job applications takes skill and practice. By highlighting your achievements and contributions, quantifying your impact, and using compelling language, you can craft descriptions that help you stand out from other candidates.
Focus on tailoring each description to tell a story about your talents and growth within specific roles at particular companies. Keep polishing your descriptions until they give the reader an excellent sense of what you accomplished and what you have to offer. Leverage the experience description examples and tips provided here to showcase your skills in the best light possible.