Turn duties into achievements: the shift that changes everything

Read almost any CV and you'll see the same pattern: a list of duties. "Responsible for X. Managed Y. Assisted with Z." It's accurate — and it's forgettable, because it tells a recruiter what your job was, not what you're capable of.

The question that fixes it

For every responsibility, ask: "So what changed because I did this?" That question turns a duty into an achievement.

• Duty: "Responsible for customer enquiries."
• Achievement: "Resolved 40+ customer enquiries a day, lifting satisfaction scores from 78% to 91%."

You don't always need a number

Metrics are powerful, but not every achievement is numeric. Scope, scale, and outcome all count: the size of a project, a problem you solved, a process you improved, recognition you earned. The point is to show a result, not just an activity.

Do it for your three most recent roles

You don't have to rewrite everything at once. Start with your three most recent roles and reframe each responsibility as an outcome. It's the highest-impact edit you can make — and it's the first thing we do in a professional CV review.