welcome the employment and career counselors at no quick way employment and education center have prepared this session to help job seekers better understand writing impact statements on their resume first we're going to go over writing impact statements and what you need to know so what are impact statements impact statements are listing your accomplishments or achievements related to your past or current job positions so what is the purpose of adding impact statements to your resume in these next few slides we're going to focus on the purpose and explain why impact statements should matter to you as a job seeker impact statements allow employers to see through your resume what you have done in your past work experience using impact statements on your resume enables you to show the value or the result of your work it also highlights key skills relevant to the position which you're applying to so where exactly are impact statements used on your resume impact statements are used in the employment experience section of your resume they are sentences to describe what you have done or accomplished in different job positions or titles note that depending on your type of resume they may be used in different sections of your resume let's have a look at where impact statements go if you have a chronological format for your resume in a chronological resume your impact statements are noted under each work experience you have had in the past the next slide will provide you with an example to show you where your impact statement should go if you have a chronological resume here's where you would add your impact statements on a chronological resume now let's have a look at where impact statements go if you have a functional format for your resume for a functional resume your impact statements are noted under your related skills section of your resume the next slide will provide you with an example to show you where to put your impact statements if you have a functional resume here is where you would add your impact statements if you have a functional resume note how in this format no impact statements are noted under your employment experience section just under the related skills section of your resume so what questions do impact statements answer impact statements answer the following what did you do how did you do it and why as an example for what did you do let's say you reviewed packaging slips so how did you do it you did it through organized company systems now why did you do it to ensure accurate shipments to customers here's our completed impact statement example reviewed packaging slips through organized company systems to ensure accurate shipments to customers now we're going to practice writing impact statements to do this we're going to start by identifying three skills that are related to your job goal you're going to want to use each of these three skills as a starting point for creating stories about your skills each story includes three steps before we go over the three steps let's go over the two main skill types soft skills which are also known as personal qualities you have and hard skills also known as your technical skills examples of soft skills or personal skills are communication teamwork problem solving time management critical thinking decision making organizational skills and stress management examples of hard skills or technical skills are computer skills analytical skills marketing skills presentation skills management skills project management skills writing skills and language skills always remember when choosing your skills you want to focus on skills that are related to your job goal the next slides will focus on the three steps to follow after you have identified your skills and are ready to start writing your impact statements these three steps are situation action results step one is situation consider the situation in which you have used the skill before whether in a work situation at school as a member of a team or a club or at home now write something to describe this situation an example of a skill might be organization related to the job goal of a wedding planner for this example you may have been in charge of organizing a bridal shower during a volunteer position at david's bridal step two is action consider what action was taken describe the step-by-step activities you engaged in to complete the task or responsibilities remember to be specific for this step you want to focus on what you did in the role and what action was taken some examples may be completed numerous to-do lists got all the required decorations food and invitations met with the bride to discuss and organize the event set up tables and decorations the day of and connected with bakers and music djs step 3 is result consider the results of your actions what was the outcome did you meet the requirements of the situation in what ways were they satisfied with your performance or outcome and what did you learn an example of a result may be the event was very successful and the bride was very happy with the outcome of her bridal shower the guests had a good time and great memories were created for the bride now let's put everything we've learned together make sure you are summarizing your practiced impact statements an example of a full summarized impact statement is the following organized a bridal shower and managed all the required decorations food and invitations resulting in a well-planned event now let's take a look at the model to follow while creating your impact statements the model goes as follows start with a past tense action verb then add the what or the who did this action take place with and finally why what was the purpose or benefits an example of a correct impact statement would be let's say you created spreadsheets for a job your impact statement could be create an excel database to track new clients resulting in streamlining of data another example for this same scenario of creating spreadsheets could be created and implemented a plan to contact customers and present new products resulting in 25 sales increase now let's talk a little bit about using action verbs always start impact statements with an action verb action verbs are something that may be done remember when writing impact statements only use past tense if you are talking about a job that you are not doing anymore but if you're still working there the verb needs to be present tense the chart on the next slide provides a list of some sample action verbs that may be used when writing your impact statements action verbs include words like addressed advised connected correspondent defined developed planned produced explained listened organized negotiated arranged or analyzed here are some additional impact statement examples worked effectively as a team member to maximize production and capability loaded packaged goods onto trucks for local and provincial shipments addressed concerns through optimal customer service to ensure customer satisfaction performed cleanup duties following guidelines to meet all workplace safety standards the next few slides will focus on some tips to keep in mind when writing your impact statements make sure your statements are clearly worded and a true reflection of your work and something you can talk about during your interview if you are stuck in coming up with impact statements start with building a story about how you use skills in your previous work another tip is to practice writing your own impact statements based on your personal job goal if you have any further questions about writing impact statements get in touch with a nokia employment counselor today here's our contact information