Achievement-Based Impact

If you haven’t been in the job market for a while, a lot of things have changed. One of the biggest changes is that a resume is no longer just a resume. There are different types of resumes, such as chronological, functional, and targeted. One of the newer resume types is achievement-based resumes. If you Google “achievement-based resume,” you will find a variety of definitions, all of which basically say the same thing: a resume of what you have achieved during your career.

Achievement-Based Resume Formula

The formula for preparing an achievement-based resume is rather simple:

Accomplished [X], as measured by [Y], by doing [Z]

For example, a person who manages resource development at a United Way might say this on their achievement-based resume:

Increased donations by 5% annually for the past three years, by developing and implementing a targeted leadership giving program.

The elements of the formula, X, Y, and Z can be conveyed in any order, such as Y-X-Z or Z-Y-X, etc. but you must include all three elements.

My goal today is not to help you write an achievement-based resume to find another job, but to show you how the achievement-based resume formula could help your United Way communicate impact.

Achievement-Based Impact Formula

If we modify the achievement-based resume formula for impact, it might look like this:

Your contribution accomplished [X], as measured by [Y], by doing [Z]

For example, if you operate a Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library at your United Way you might say:

Your donation to United Way helped children prepare for school, as 5 children received books every month through Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library.

Take special note of the critical difference between the achievement-based resume formula and the achievement-based impact formula. The achievement-based impact formula is about the donor NOT about United Way. The formula explains what the donor achieved by contributing to United Way. The impact is the donor’s impact, not United Way’s impact.

Just as before, you can use the elements in any order, you just need to include all three elements.

Using the Achievement-Based Impact Formula

This achievement-based impact formula is easy enough to remember, and everyone on your staff and board should be able to use the formula. If you want to take using this formula to the next level, consider developing a few formulas that everyone will use so that in time the community will start to understand what your United Way does because they are hearing the same formulas over and over. Pick two or three programs and develop a formula for each program that you use on your website, social media, campaign materials, your campaign presentations, and in-person meetings with donors.