You’ve heard the expression “a picture is worth a thousand words.” But when it comes to your resume, one good number is worth a thousand words.
If you head out to any career advice or job search website, you will undoubtedly find an “expert” telling you to include “measurable results” on your resume. And it’s easy to see how quantifiable achievements can help you get a foot in the door. If you were looking for a new vice president of pricing for your company, would you rather hire someone whose resume says, “Updated product prices on a weekly basis,” or someone whose resume says, “Identified and implemented pricing improvements that increased quarterly profits by 5 percent”?
Easy choice, right?
As a pricing professional, you actually have an advantage over people in other business roles when it comes to your resume. Pricing can make a huge difference in the overall success of the business, and it’s very easy to quantify. In fact, you probably already have all the data you need to determine what kind of impact your efforts have had on your firm’s bottom line.
Unfortunately, it’s really easy to lose sight of your accomplishments. All too often we get caught up in our day-to-day to-do lists, and we forget that someday we will likely be looking for a new job. Consider keeping a journal that tracks the projects you participated in and their net results. Or, if that seems like too much work, take some time once a month or one a quarter to look back at what you’ve accomplished and do some quantitative analysis.
Once you have those numbers, make sure that other people in the firm understand how you and your team are impacting revenue and profits. We know that you probably feel a little bit uncomfortable “tooting your own horn,” but remember, sharing information about pricing successes isn’t just good for your career, it’s good for the company. When executives understand how much good pricing is contributing to the bottom line, they’re much more likely to continue pricing initiatives that are helping the company succeed. For tips on how to go about this process, check out the webinar on Proving the Value of Pricing. It includes plenty of real-life examples of how pricing teams have been able to leverage their success and gain more influence at their companies.
In addition, if you’re interested landing a new job or a promotion, we also recommend the Advancing Your Career in Pricing webinar. Whether you’re looking to change companies or move up with your current employer, this resource can help you focus your time and effort on those strategies and tactics that will be the most helpful in moving your career forward.
And if you don’t think you’re interested in a new job today, remember that it’s very likely that you’ll be making a job change sometime in the future. If you prepare for that future job change today, you’ll be much better off if and when the time comes that you need to polish up that resume.
Proving the Value of the Pricing Function
Executives understand the value of functions like sales, marketing, and finance---but pricing often has to justify their very existence, over and over again. In this recorded training seminar, learn how to demonstrate the results and metrics that can earn you a seat at the big table.
Advancing Your Career in Pricing
There's never been a better time to be a B2B pricing professional. But when it comes to your career, you can’t just hope that good things will happen in the future. In this on-demand webinar, learn how to take charge and make good things happen.
