How to Quantify Resume Using Data, Metrics, and Numbers

Quantifying your resume not only demonstrates your achievements but also presents your value in a concrete, measurable way. That’s why it’s important to take the time to quantify those resume achievements to stand out to hiring managers during the hiring process. 

And yet, why does it feel so hard?

But by the end of this post, you’ll know exactly why, where, and how to quantify resume metrics to help you land your next interview fast. 

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What are resume metrics (& how do you use them)? 

Resume metrics are quantitative measures or data points that more clearly articulate the value you've brought to a previous role or project in your resume.

They provide a clear way to show your achievements and demonstrate your impact to potential employers.

Metrics on a resume could refer to various measurable achievements, depending on your role and industry. Here are some examples:

• Financial metrics: These include revenue generated, costs saved, budgets managed, sales made, or any monetary figures that show your financial impact.
• Operational metrics: These metrics can include processes improved, efficiency gains, time saved, production volumes, or any operational improvements you contributed to.
• Performance metrics: These metrics reflect individual or team performance, such as meeting or exceeding targets or KPIs, achieving high customer satisfaction scores, or ranking within the team or organization.
• Project or program metrics: If you've managed projects or programs, these metrics might include the number of projects managed, project sizes, project completion rates, or success rates.
• People metrics: For those in leadership or HR roles, these metrics can include the number of people managed or hired, retention rates, or team performance improvements.
• Marketing metrics: These could include the number of leads generated, conversion rates, increase in website traffic, or growth in social media followers due to your marketing efforts.

Remember, resume metrics aren't just about the numbers; they provide context that helps potential employers understand the scope of your job responsibilities and the impact of your work. 

One of the advantages of using Teal’s AI Resume Builder to craft your resume is that it comes with an AI-generated achievements option—helping you instantly draft achievements using keywords from the job description you’re working with: 

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While you’ll need to verify and polish the information, this can give you a head start in beating the blank page and building a better, smarter resume.

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Why you should quantify your resume

There are many reasons why you should quantify accomplishments on your resume. Here are the main ones to consider. 

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1. Demonstrates impact and value 

Employers want to understand what you've accomplished in previous roles, and, more importantly, the impact of those achievements. When you quantify your resume work experience, you provide tangible evidence of the value you've contributed. 

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2. Shows a results-oriented nature 

Employers value candidates who are results-oriented and can deliver concrete outcomes. When you quantify your work, it's a clear signal to hiring managers that you focus on results (not just tasks and activities). 

This can be especially valuable in roles where tangible outcomes are important, such as sales, project management, or any leadership position.

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3. Enhances credibility 

Quantified achievements provide credibility to your qualifications and help your resume stand out. It's easy to claim you've "improved a process" or "led a team," but quantifiable bullet points show you're not just throwing around buzzwords. 

They show that you've taken the time to reflect on your work and can articulate your value in concrete terms.

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4. Sets you apart from other candidates 

Many job seekers don't take the time to really quantify resume accomplishments on their resumes, often because they need help figuring out how to do it or they underestimate its importance. By quantifying your past achievements, you automatically distinguish yourself from a significant portion of the competition.

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5. Compliments keywords searched for in the ATS

Many hiring managers and recruiters use resume scanning tools, such as Applicant Tracking Systems (ATS), to file and search for strong applications that incorporate specific keywords. 

Incorporating those keywords as hard skills and soft skills alongside your metrics can increase your chances of being found by hiring professionals. And this is another reason to consider building your resume with Teal. 

That's because the Teal platform automatically pulls keywords from the original job description so you can re-use them throughout your application materials, including your resume:

This way, you can increase your odds of getting your resume prioritized and use every advantage at your disposal in today’s competitive market. 

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Different ways to quantify achievements on your resume

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When writing a resume, quantifying achievements should emphasize the impacts your actions have had. 

Here are several more examples of ways you can express those achievements:

1. Money saved or generated

Any actions that lead to financial savings or increased profits or sales revenue are strengths on your resume that should be highlighted. This might include negotiating better vendor contracts, developing cost-saving strategies, or leading a successful sales or fundraising campaign.

Example achievement bullet point:

• Secured a vendor contract resulting in annual savings of $200,000.

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2. Time saved

If your strategies or actions led to more efficient processes, quantify the time saved. This could be through automation, streamlined procedures, or improved task delegation.

Example achievement bullet point:

• Implemented a new project management system, reducing project completion time by 30%.

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3. Increased efficiency or productivity

If your work has helped to boost the efficiency or productivity of a team, department, or the entire organization, quantify these improvements.

Example professional summary inclusion: Introduced Agile methodologies to the software development team, increasing productivity by 40%.

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4. Sales and revenue increases

If you are in a sales or marketing role, quantifying sales, revenues, or market share increases can be particularly impressive.

Example professional summary inclusion: Led a marketing campaign that resulted in a 20% increase in sales and a 10% growth in market share.

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5. Volume of work

If you've handled a high volume of work or multi-tasked across several different projects, indicating this can show that you're hard-working and efficient.

General example: Managed a portfolio of 50+ clients while successfully meeting all project deadlines.

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6. Improved metrics 

If your actions led to an improvement in any other key performance indicators or metrics, include those figures. This could be metrics related to customer satisfaction, product quality, employee turnover, or website traffic.

General example: Implemented new SEO strategies, increasing organic search traffic and website traffic by 60%.

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7. Personnel growth or reduction

If you've been in charge of growing a team, that can speak to your leadership and recruiting skills. On the other hand, if you've managed a team during a period of downsizing or restructuring, this can show your ability to maintain performance during challenging times.

General example: Successfully grew a high-performing team from 5 to 15 members.

The goal of quantifying achievements is to provide concrete evidence of your skills and demonstrate the impact you could have on the prospective employer's organization.

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How to quantify your work experience

Here's a step-by-step guide on how to effectively quantify your work history and resume:

Step 1: Review your job description and responsibilities 

Begin by revisiting your roles and responsibilities. 

• What were you hired to do? 
• What tasks were you accountable for? 

Start writing these down in a list for each job you've held and the specific responsibilities that came with it.

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Step 2: Reflect on your accomplishments 

For each job, think about what you accomplished. 

• Did you exceed sales targets? 
• Did you improve a process?
• Did you manage a team that consistently outperformed others? 

Write down these potential resume accomplishments next to your responsibilities. 

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Step 3: Identify the impact of your work 

Reflect on the impact of your achievements. This involves thinking through the ripple effect of your accomplishments. 

For example, did your cost-saving strategy enable other projects to be funded or did your improved process save employees time each day? 

These impacts can often be expressed as tangible resume metrics, which is what you’ll search for next. 

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Step 4: Find the numbers 

Now, dive into the numbers. If you're in sales, this might be easy—look at your sales figures. But for other roles, you might have to think creatively. 

If you managed a project, consider the budget, timeline, or number of people. If you implemented a new process, calculate the time saved or efficiency gained.

For example, imagine you were the team lead on a project, and you reduced project meetings from three hours/week to one hour/week. While you can quantify the time saved, you can also roughly calculate how much money was saved. 

• Your team has five people 
• You saved two hours per week, per employee
• This equates to saving 104 hours per year in company time 
• If each colleague earns $30/hour, you can quickly run the math 
• One hour for five employees costs the company $150
• Over the course of the year, your team saved $15,600

Any hiring manager would be thrilled to see a candidate so focused on saving company money and driving a real financial impact. 

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Step 5: Match metrics to achievements 

Based on your reflection and the numbers you've collected, decide which metric best represents each accomplishment. 

Refer back to the kinds of resume metrics we discussed earlier, and decide whether each achievement is best represented by a financial, operational, performance, project, people, or marketing metric.

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Step 6: Write your quantified achievements 

With your metrics in hand, write out each achievement in a clear, concise way. Start with an action verb, clearly state your accomplishment, and end with the quantified impact (refer to the next section for examples).

Remember to keep it relevant—the most impressive numbers relate directly to the job you're applying for. Then, incorporate them as quantified resume bullets or within your professional summary.

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Step 7: Review and refine 

Finally, review your achievements. 

• Are they clear and compelling? 
• Do they accurately represent what you accomplished?
• Would someone unfamiliar with your job understand them? 

Consider getting a trusted friend, mentor to review your resume for clarity, or use our free resume check for an analysis and holistic score.

The aim is not to overwhelm employers with numbers but to use them strategically to show the tangible value you've added to your roles.

This approach not only makes your resume more compelling but also shows potential employers that you're results-oriented, a quality that's highly valued in any role.

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Use the Achievement Assistant to Incorporate Metrics Into Your Resume

Use the Achievement Assistant to create impactful achievements that focus on results, using numbers to back them up.

Get started with the achievement assistant for free.

Quantified resume examples 

1. Marketing

a) Unquantified: Managed social media campaigns. 

• Quantified: Managed social media campaigns that increased follower count by 35% and engagement by 50% over six months.

b) Unquantified: Conducted market research. 

• Quantified: Conducted market research that surveyed over 1,000 customers, leading to a 15% increase in customer satisfaction scores.

c) Unquantified: Developed SEO strategies. 

• Quantified: Developed and implemented SEO strategies that improved website ranking from 10th to 1st position on Google for 5 key terms.

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2. Sales

a) Unquantified: Led sales team. 

• Quantified: Led a sales team of 10, exceeding annual sales targets by 25%.

b) Unquantified: Generated leads. 

• Quantified: Generated an average of 30 quality leads per week, resulting in an 18% increase in closed deals.

c) Unquantified: Improved customer relationships. 

• Quantified: Improved customer relationships, increasing repeat business by 20%.

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3. IT

a) Unquantified: Improved system performance. 

• Quantified: Improved system performance by 30% by optimizing code and implementing efficient algorithms.

b) Unquantified: Managed software development projects. 

• Quantified: Managed software development projects that delivered 5 applications on schedule and 10% under budget.

c) Unquantified: Implemented cybersecurity measures. 

• Quantified: Implemented cybersecurity measures that decreased security breaches by 50% in the first quarter.

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4. Human Resources

a) Unquantified: Led recruitment efforts. 

• Quantified: Led recruitment efforts that filled 20 open positions within 60 days, reducing time-to-fill by 25%.

b) Unquantified: Developed employee training programs. 

• Quantified: Developed employee training programs that increased staff productivity by 15%.

c) Unquantified: Improved employee retention rates. 

• Quantified: Implemented strategies that improved employee retention rates by 20% year-over-year.

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5. Project Management

a) Unquantified: Managed construction projects. 

• Quantified: Managed construction projects valued at over $500,000, delivering all projects on time and within budget.

b) Unquantified: Led process improvement initiatives. 

• Quantified: Led process improvement initiatives that resulted in a 25% increase in operational efficiency.

c) Unquantified: Oversaw project teams. 

• Quantified: Oversaw project teams of up to 20 members, completing 95% of projects ahead of schedule.

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6. Customer Support

a) Unquantified: Resolved customer complaints. 

• Quantified: Resolved 100+ customer complaints weekly, achieving a 95% satisfaction rate.

b) Unquantified: Managed customer support team. 

• Quantified: Managed a customer support team of 15, reducing average call response time by 30%.

c) Unquantified: Improved customer service processes. 

• Quantified: Implemented new customer service processes, reducing customer complaints by 20%.

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How to add metrics to your resume (the easy way)

Whether you’re entering the job market for the first time or a seasoned vet applying for C-suite roles, the lesson is the same: whenever possible, you should quantify professional achievements for your resume. Especially within the resume bullet points of your work experience.

The easiest way to do this is with the Teal Resume Builder. 

Teal has everything you need to build a stellar resume personalized to the job you’re after. Plus, when you use Teal’s generative AI, you can create professional summaries, resume accomplishments, achievements, and even cover letters all at the click of a button. 

So what are you waiting for? Sign up and join Teal for free, and get one step closer to securing your dream job!