3 key takeaways
- KPIs can bring your skills to life
- Deciding which metrics to include on your resume
- How Teal’s AI Resume Builder can help you add KPIs to your resume
The job market is competitive: You need a resume that stands out. But what separates an ordinary resume from an extraordinary one?
One powerful strategy is incorporating key performance indicators or KPIs on a resume. These metrics tell the story of your professional journey and quantify your achievements, making them more powerful and precise.
Whether you're at the entry-level or have years of experience, understanding why, when, and how to add these metrics can be a game-changer in your job search. So, let’s jump and look at examples of KPIs that deserve a spot on your resume.
Why should you include KPIs on a resume?
While KPIs may seem irrelevant, they are fairly important to most hiring managers since they directly correlate with results.
Hiring teams want to know how you’ll provide value and why they should hire you over someone else. Having impressive, quantifiable metrics to back up your claims will help you make your case.
Here are some more specific reasons why KPIs are important on your resume (or cover letter).
Showcases abilities and skills
KPIs are like storytelling with data. They don’t just state you’re good at something—they prove it. With KPIs, you give hiring managers evidence of your expertise.
Engages the recruiter or hiring manager
Clear metrics grab attention, giving potential employees more reasons to move you up to the next stage. And while they are more essential for senior roles, KPIs are a valuable tool to include at most career stages.
Facilitates interview discussions
Going into an interview armed with your KPIs is like having a cheat sheet. They’re great conversation starters, easing nerves and steering discussions toward your strengths.
Where should KPIs go on your resume?
Incorporating KPIs into your resume requires a bit of creativity. But when done right, they can effectively depict your value, skills, and potential to prospective employers.
Wherever you place your KPIs, try to weave them seamlessly into your professional summary. Don’t be afraid to balance them with qualitative descriptions. Instead of just saying, "Improved web traffic by 50%," you could say, "Crafted innovative SEO strategies, boosting web traffic by 50% and enhancing brand visibility."
With that in mind, here's a guide on where to embed KPIs, using resume action verbs for maximum impact.
Professional Summary
Your professional summary or short professional bio can be a great spot to showcase KPIs. Include the KPIs right at the top, after your contact details, with the rest of your summary information.
The Teal AI Resume Builder makes adding your most impressive stats to your summary easy. Create your professional summary from scratch, or just use AI.
With Teal+, you get unlimited AI generation that pulls details from your work history and other experience to ensure the metrics, numbers, and data align with your qualifications.
Sign up for Teal for free today, or upgrade your account to Teal+!
“Work Experience” Section
Your resume accomplishments are the most common place for KPIs on a resume. You can include them under different work experience bullet points for clarity. This provides an opportunity to show how you’ve developed and used your skills throughout your work history.
Examples of resume KPIs
Sales KPI examples:
- Total revenue generated
- Number of new customers acquired
- Sales growth rate
- Customer retention rate
- Average deal size
Customer Service KPI examples:
- Customer satisfaction score (CSAT)
- Net promoter score (NPS)
- First call resolution rate
- Average response time
Marketing KPI examples:
- Return on marketing investment (ROMI).
- Customer acquisition cost (CAC).
- Conversion rate.
- Number of leads generated.
- Social media engagement rate.
Project Management KPI examples:
- Percentage of projects completed on time
- Percentage of projects within budget
- Stakeholder satisfaction rate
- Number of project milestones met
Operational KPI examples:
- Efficiency rate
- Product defect rate
- Time taken for product assembly
- Inventory turnover rate
HR KPI examples:
- Employee retention rate
- Time to fill a vacancy
- Employee satisfaction score
- Training completion rate
Finance KPI examples:
- Monthly, quarterly, and yearly financial reporting accuracy
- Cost-saving measures implemented
- Revenue growth rate
- Return on investment (ROI) for specific initiatives
IT KPI examples:
- System uptime percentage
- Number of resolved IT tickets
- Time to resolve IT issues
- Percentage of successful system backups
These are just a few examples, and the specific KPIs will vary depending on the industry, company, and your particular job responsibilities.
The key is to pick those KPIs that best demonstrate the value you brought to your previous roles and align them with the new position you're targeting.
How can Teal’s Resume Builder help?
As you craft your resume with Teal’s free AI Resume Builder, you’ll get real-time feedback on improving each section. This includes incorporating measurable outcomes—like KPIs—to make your resume as effective as possible.
With Resume Analysis, Teal members will see recommendations like “Time-based Statement Missing in Professional Summary” or “Improvement Metric Missing in Work Experience #2.” This feedback updates in real-time, so as you adjust your resume, Teal’s recommendations will adjust, too.
Teal also offers examples that guide members on how to incorporate these specific KPIs, whether using percentages, revenue generation, or another improvement range.
Teal’s Resume Builder is free to use, but members also have the option to upgrade to Teal+ to enjoy even more great features, like unlimited AI-generated achievements, advanced analysis, unlimited keywords, and cover letter generation.
Which metrics should you include on your resume?
The metrics you choose to add to your resume should be specific to the job you plan to apply for and correlate with the job description. The key is to think about the specific value you brought to your previous roles and learn how to quantify resume work experience in relation to future opportunities.
Here are the top metrics you should consider adding to your resume and why.
Sales and revenue growth
Why? This directly correlates with your ability to contribute to a company's bottom line.
Example: "Increased conversion rate by 15% in Q4 2022, resulting in an additional $50,000 in revenue."
Customer satisfaction and retention rates
Why? They showcase your ability to understand, engage with, and satisfy client needs.
Example: "Improved client satisfaction scores by 20% within a year, leading to a 10% boost in customer retention."
Operational efficiency metrics
Why? These demonstrate your knack for problem-solving, streamlining processes, cutting costs, and improving service or product delivery.
Example: "Oversaw an assembly line process improvement initiative, cutting production time by 30%."
Project completion rates
Why? It reflects your time management skills, commitment, and efficiency.
Example: "Successfully completed 95% of all assigned projects ahead of schedule over the past two years."
Cost-saving achievements
Why? This indicates your fiscal responsibility and your ability to work with budgets effectively.
Example: "Implemented a new inventory system that led to a 20% reduction in operational costs."
Team growth and management
Why? They highlight leadership skills and the ability to nurture and develop a team.
Example: "Grew the digital marketing team from 3 to 15 members, maintaining a 90% retention rate."
Engagement metrics
Why? These are especially useful for marketing, PR, or digital engagement roles, as they demonstrate your ability to capture and maintain audience attention.
Example: "Revamped content strategy, increasing website engagement by 50% and reducing bounce rates by 15%."
Training and development
Why? This showcases your commitment to personal and team growth.
Example: "Initiated a monthly training program, leading to a 40% improvement in team skills assessment scores."
What to do if you don’t have access to data
While specific numbers and percentages undoubtedly strengthen your resume, there may be times when you don't have access to exact data. But you can still paint a compelling picture of your achievements, and here's how.
Estimations
If you can't recall exact numbers, it's acceptable to estimate—as long as you're reasonably sure of the ballpark figure. Use phrases like "approximately" or "around" to indicate it's an estimate.
Percentage improvements
Even if you don’t know the precise figures, you can highlight the change in performance. For example, you could say, "Increased customer satisfaction by approximately 10% over six months."
Comparative achievements
Without exact data, you can still compare your results against a benchmark or average. For example, you might state, "Outperformed team sales targets on multiple occasions."
Remember, honesty is paramount. While it's tempting to inflate figures, recruiters value integrity. Present your achievements genuinely, and you’ll earn respect for your authenticity.
Scope and scale
Describe the breadth or depth of your work. Mention the size of the projects, the number of team members you led, or the diverse range of tasks you managed.
Qualitative results
If quantitative data is scarce, focus on the qualitative outcomes.
Did you improve team morale? Excel at customer service? Capture this with statements like "Received frequent positive feedback from clients" or "Recognized for significantly enhancing team collaboration."
Seek testimonials
If you've left a mark on colleagues, clients, or superiors, they might remember your contributions better than you do. Ask them for testimonials or feedback that might help you recall specific achievements.
Performance awards or recognition
Mention any accolades or awards you received, even if they don't come with specific metrics attached. This still showcases your performance, just in a slightly different way.
Training and workshops
If you attended or facilitated any certification programs, workshops, or training sessions that led to improved team capabilities or performance, highlight them. Although this doesn’t provide specific measurements, it still shows your ability or interest in those topics.
Create your KPI resume achievements with Teal
When it comes to resume writing, it's essential to avoid exaggerating. Remember that recruiters and hiring managers value honesty and integrity.
One way to refine your resume further with quantitative or qualitative data is with Teal’s Resume Builder. With Teal, you can create a resume that stands out to hiring professionals and showcases your performance effectively.
Ready to give it a try? Sign up for Teal today!
