One of the challenges I see job seekers facing when they send me their resume is distinguishing between scope and achievements.

But there is a difference.

Scope is the context within which you do your job. Or, you might think of it as the setting for you to razzle dazzle your audience with your amazing achievements.

Scope captures the breadth of your job and/or leadership. Examples might include the number of people on your team, the value of a portfolio you inherited, or the territory for which you’re accountable.

Scope is important to include in your resume because it demonstrates your ability to lead and manage initiatives. But it’s those BIG, JUICY achievements that set you apart.

Let’s use territory management as an example.

You’re talking about scope if you say you managed markets that included North America, Europe, and Asia.

BUT You’re talking about an achievement if you say you expanded that market by 80% in under two years.

How about team leadership?

If you say you led a team of 150 high performers, you’re still talking about scope.

On the other hand, if you say you built a team of 150 high performers from scratch, that’s an achievement.

Here’s one more example:

Say you’re communicating what you do in sales.

If you simply say you managed a $60M portfolio, that’s scope.

However, if you say you grew your portfolio from $10M to $60M in one year…now that’s quite an achievement!

So, to clarify the difference…

SCOPE speaks to your role, while ACHIEVEMENT speaks to your results.

SCOPE communicates your experience, while an ACHIEVEMENT speaks to your record.

SCOPE answers questions about your capacity, while ACHIEVEMENT answers questions about your impact.

SCOPE communicates the extent of your abilities, while an ACHIEVEMENT communicates your ability to change the status quo.

SCOPE sets expectations that you're capable, while an ACHIEVEMENT sets you apart.

TIPS:

🌐 Include scope in the paragraph under each job title.

🏆 Reserve your bullets for those BOLD and BODACIOUS impact stories.

By the way, if you’d like to get tips like this more frequently, I spend a lot of time on LinkedIn. Please do connect with me. You can find me at www.linkedin.com/in/emilysfwong. When you do connect, please let me know that you heard me on this podcast, and let me know if there’s a topic you’d like to cover. 

You can also sign up for my monthly newsletter if you go to my website, www.wordsofdistinction.net.

Have a wonderful day!