How to Make Your Resume ROAR (Results Oriented and Relevant)

Last Updated: June 12, 2025 Approved

Two of the most important characteristics of a resume are that the resume must be Results (not task) Oriented And Relevant to potential employers. ^{[1]
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Expert Source

Charbel Atala
Talent Acquisition Strategist & Managing Partner

Expert Interview} Unfortunately, many resumes present the reader with life histories and/or restated job descriptions (task oriented) rather than statements of accomplishments (results oriented). ^{[2]
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Expert Source

Kolby Goodman
Career & Job Search Coach

Expert Interview} Furthermore, many resumes do not clearly state how the potential employer will benefit from hiring the potential employee. They leave that to the potential employer to determine. These two problems may lead to the resume being ignored.

Sample Results Oriented Resumes

Sample Results Oriented Resume

Sample Results Oriented Management Resume

Sample Results Oriented Public Policy Resume

Method 1

Method 1 of 1:

Writing Your Own ROAR Resume

1
Review your resume. If you have an existing resume, review (or ask a friend, colleague or family member to review it). For each statement under the experience section ask Does this statement come closer to describing what I was told to do, that is could it appear in my job description or does it come closer to reflecting what I really accomplished? ^{[3]
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- For example, if you worked in a store, stating Opened the store would be more of what you were told to do. Achieved 100% sales award would be more of an accomplishment. ^{[4]
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  Expert Source
  
  Charbel Atala
  Talent Acquisition Strategist & Managing Partner
  
  Expert Interview}
For each statement that appears to be more of a job description or "told to do", ask Would a potential employer with reasonable knowledge be able to infer this statement knowing my job title? If so, the task oriented statement is adding little or no value to your resume and is using up your potential employer's goodwill reading it. Remove it. ^{[5]
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Expert Source

James Pak
Career Coach

Expert Interview}

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3
Add results oriented statements. ^{[6]
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Expert Source

Charbel Atala
Talent Acquisition Strategist & Managing Partner

Expert Interview} ^{[7]
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Expert Source

James Pak
Career Coach

Expert Interview} Your resume may look a bit empty at this point. If so, ask yourself What did I really accomplish on the job? See if there are statements which reflect each accomplishment for each position. For example, the following accomplishments might have been omitted from the resume and should be added: ^{[8]
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Expert Source

Cynthia Orduna
Career and Business Coach

Expert Interview} ^{[9]
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Research source}
- Sold more products than other employees on my shift
- Praised for outstanding customer service by management
- Have more repeat customers than any other sales representative
- Suggest additional useful products to customers, increasing sales by 25%
- Customer satisfaction rating of 90%
4
Reformat the experience section of your resume. ^{[10]
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Expert Source

James Pak
Career Coach

Expert Interview} It should be more Results Oriented at this time. ^{[11]
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Expert Source

Cynthia Orduna
Career and Business Coach

Expert Interview} Iterate this process many times.—Even after weeks of iterating, you will normally continue to find room for improvement. ^{[12]
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Research source}
- The aim is to showcase how you've made a difference by leveraging your skills ^{[13]
  X
  Expert Source
  
  Kolby Goodman
  Career & Job Search Coach
  
  Expert Interview} . It is important, if you can, to equate a number to that difference made using those skills because it makes you a much stronger candidate than those many of other candidates vying for the role who have not outlined their results so clearly. ^{[14]
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  Expert Source
  
  Kolby Goodman
  Career & Job Search Coach
  
  Expert Interview}
Now, you need to make the resume Relevant to the employer. ^{[15]
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Expert Source

Charbel Atala
Talent Acquisition Strategist & Managing Partner

Expert Interview} Determine what position you are applying for and write a few phrases explaining how your results (from the experience part of your resume) make you the world's best (or as close as you can come to it) candidate for the job you are applying for. For example: Eager to apply my experience as an award winning cashier, outstanding customer service representative, and engaging team leader to manage the front end cashiers and achieve highest possible customer satisfaction at Joe's Superstore . Place these phrases right under your name and contact information at the top of your resume. (While you may not label this as such, it is your objectives section). ^{[16]
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Trustworthy Source
Harvard Business Review
Online and print journal covering topics related to business management practices
Go to source}
Verify that each phrase in your objectives section is supported by documentation in your experience section.
7
Customize the objectives statement for each position you are applying for. You may want to update the experience section as well. It is not uncommon to spend a half day or an evening customizing a resume (along with your cover letter) so that it meets what your potential employer is looking for; it is time well spent when you land the job. ^{[17]
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Expert Source

James Pak
Career Coach

Expert Interview} ^{[18]
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Research source}
- Clearly show how the employer can benefit from the skills and the expertise that you bring. ^{[19]
  X
  Expert Source
  
  Charbel Atala
  Talent Acquisition Strategist & Managing Partner
  
  Expert Interview} Don't assume the employer will grasp this without it being made clear by way of examples of how you've helped make improvements, changes, renewals, or increases in previous roles. ^{[20]
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  Expert Source
  
  Kolby Goodman
  Career & Job Search Coach
  
  Expert Interview}
^{[21]
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It is highly likely that they will see errors or better ways of phrasing some of your statements that you have missed. They will help you to see if anything is wrong with it and say whether or not it is good enough.
Look forward to receiving positive feedback from the potential employer if the resume truly ROAR s (namely, is R esults O riented A nd R elevant).

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Expert Q&A

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Question

How do I highlight my strengths when writing my resume?

Cynthia Orduna
Career and Business Coach
Cynthia Orduna is a Career and Business Coach based in Los Angeles, CA. She also has career experience in recruitment, human resources, and diversity, equity, and inclusion. Over the past 6 years, Cynthia has coached over 300 people at all career levels and helped 50+ companies worldwide in cities like LA, SF, NY, Berlin, Tokyo, Sydney, London, and others to hire and retain top talent. Cynthia’s mission is to empower people to own their unique story and believe there are no boundaries on what they can achieve or who they can become. Her work has been featured in publications like Business Insider, Lattice, The Zoe Report, and The Balance Careers. Cynthia graduated from Loyola Marymount University with a BA in Studio Arts, with an emphasis in multimedia.

Cynthia Orduna

Career and Business Coach

Expert Answer

Focus on readability and visual appeal. Start by incorporating subtle colors or creative formatting, but make sure it’s organized and easy on the eye. Instead of stacking everything vertically, try doing a two-column layout. This allows you to make better use of space and makes it easy for the reader to quickly scan through sections. When it comes to adding color, think strategically about what you want to emphasize. For instance, if you want recruiters to focus on your job titles or specific achievements, use color sparingly to draw their attention there. Think of your resume as a visual roadmap that guides the reader’s eye to the most important parts. Additionally, structure your content in a way that naturally leads the reader’s focus from one key point to the next. This can involve tweaking font sizes, bolding certain words, or aligning key details for visual flow.

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Tips

Keep in mind what shouldn't be in your resume. Achievements of 20 years ago may bear little relevance to your current self as far as a busy employer is concerned.

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Save the file with your name. Do not save the file as resume.doc or mycv.doc (or PDF) etc. This enables better visibility and traceability of the profile.

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Give your reviewers adequate time to look over your resume. Alert your checking buddy in advance and supply a timeline for getting the resume to them and getting it back and reworking it. Make sure to thank them for their help and to share the final product and the outcome with them.

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Warnings

Most resumes are not really results oriented and relevant, even though the authors may think that they are. Keep on reviewing the resume and improving it to ROAR even more.

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Never include the phrase References Furnished Upon Request on your resume. ^{[22]
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Things You'll Need

Word processing facilities

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[1]

Expert Source

Charbel Atala
Talent Acquisition Strategist & Managing Partner

[2]

Kolby Goodman
Career & Job Search Coach

[3]

[4]

[5]

James Pak
Career Coach

[6]

[7]

[8]

Cynthia Orduna
Career and Business Coach

[9]

[10]

[11]

[12]

[13]

[14]

[15]

[16]

Go to source

[17]

[18]

[19]

[20]

[21]

[22]

How to Make Your Resume ROAR (Results Oriented and Relevant)

Steps

Sample Results Oriented Resumes

Writing Your Own ROAR Resume

Expert Q&A

Tips

Warnings

Things You'll Need

You Might Also Like

References

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