If you want to nail it when it comes to communicating your impact, it starts with telling a before and after story.
Employers want to know your impact (that’s the before and after) and how you make a difference (that’s the tools/skills/resources/smarts you employed to make change happen.
Employers are trying to assess what things are going to be like after they hire you. They want to know that you can deliver results, turn around sticky situations, take things from where they are now to somewhere better, faster, more profitable, more effective.
Employers want the essence. The bottom line. The high-level points.
But, when it comes to interviewing, resumes, and cover letters, many people make it complicated.
Keep it simple. Try this before-and-after format to put together interview stories, resume bullet points and content for your cover letter. After you’ve outlined the simple, stark contrasts, you can fill in the details.
Step 1: What was the project like before you were assigned to it? What was it like after?
Stick to the facts. State the contrast. Use words that show opposites.
Think about words that show contrast. Opposites. Think about all the ways something changed, including emotions, qualities, values, and mindsets.
The relationship with a client went from dissatisfied to engaged. From stuck to motivated. From losing money to making profits.
Step 2: Jot down all the ways the relationship changed.
You get the idea. At its essence, what changed with you on the job?! What changed when someone started working with you?
Writing these phrases can help you generate powerful, more interesting language; and make your stories stand out.
Step 3: For a variation, start your statements with “when people work with me, things go from x to y.” This approach helps you own your power. Take credit for what you did. What you changed.
Step 4: Now that you have a framework for what changed, dig into how you make change happen.
- What tools do you use?
- What skills did you employ?
- What resources did you employ?
- How did the tools/skills/resources you used help you meet the goal?
- What made you choose those tools?
Craft the rest of the story using these notes.
What you’ll find in the before/after approach is:
- You have a strong leading statement.
- You can distill the essence of your impact.
- You may find that you have stories within stories, and can break them down to convey stronger points rather than diluting them by trying to jam every detail into one story.
- You speak powerfully about your impact.
You have skills. You make change. You make a difference- a positive difference – with clients, co-workers, on projects, in products, in sales, in mindsets. Say it in black and white. Make sure employers know what’s going to change after they hire you!