What is "Resume Filler": Guidance for Duties and Accomplishments to put on Resumes

I included a section in one of my books that includes what I refer to as "resume filler." What do I mean by "resume filler?" Great question! (see bottom of post for filler related to sales, social workers and paralegal professionals).

First, let me say that I always advocate that continuing education is incredibly important AND that whether through college courses or online workshops, we all need to continually improve our Skill Sets. When writing a resume, it is important to include accomplishments/duties performed for each job we list on our resumes. In my book, WRITING STANDOUT RESUMES, I include a "resume filler" section with accomplishments/duties that are typically looked for by employers - experience and expertise they are often seeking in the jobs ads placed online or elsewhere. That section is a guide. For example, for a 'Sales Associate' resume, I included the following bullet points as duties typically placed on resumes:

• Led effort to expand company’s customer base into new region, which led to a 25% increase in customers and 35% increase in revenue from services rendered.
• Dynamic customer service professional with extensive record of achievement in mediating customer complaints and increasing sales & customer base.

If you are a sales associate and have statistics to show you increased number of customers and increased revenue, then include this in your resume. On the other hand, if you don't have much or any experience in "mediating customer complaints," consider this sample as a guide of experience you should seek out so that you can put that skill down as soon as you acquire that skill. The filler recommended is actually just me saying, such experience catches the eye of hiring managers.


Sample accomplishments/duties for sales, social workers and paralegal professionals:

Sales Associate

• Led effort to expand company’s customer base into new region, which led to a 25% increase in customers and 35% increase in revenue from services rendered.
• Dynamic customer service professional with extensive record of achievement in mediating customer complaints and increasing sales & customer base.
• Proficient in point of sale transactions and processing merchandise returns and/or exchanges.
• Provided superior general office and customer service support.  Skilled at training new hires in use of point of sale technology and of new company merchandise & services.
• Continually exceeded company’s sales goals achieving record sales marks in multiple quarters.

Social Worker/Case Manager

• Secured private grant to fund continuing education for institution’s staff in areas of child development, classroom management, health & wellness, and first aid.
• Graduate-level Substance Abuse Counselor with CASAC-T Certification.  Additional certifications in Child Abuse & Maltreatment, Tobacco & Chemical Dependence Interventions, First Aid (2014) and CPR (2015).
• Proficient in patient advocacy and assessment.  Skilled at coordinating patient treatment and healthcare needs with staff, medical facilities and families.
• Adept at crisis intervention counseling as well as individual and group counseling.  Proficiency in MS Excel, PowerPoint and Word.
• Accomplished at facilitating communications between patients, physicians, and discharge planners.  Trained in and knowledgeable of HIPPAA regulations.
• Facilitate the securing of proper housing for patients; provide patient referrals to appropriate social services for medical and financial assistance.
• Adept at records research and analysis.
• Coursework & field training in Group Counseling, Childhood Development, Interventive Methods 1 & 2, and Psychoactive Drugs & Health.

• Proficient youth mentor adept at advocacy, assessment, and developing & implementing educational/wellness programming for diverse populations.
• Accomplished at performing outreach within urban settings and providing individualized treatment and advisement to clients.

Legal Secretary/Paralegal

• Led initiative to transfer client records over to Excel-based database and archive providing attorneys a secure and global 24-hour access to client files.
• Proficiency in securing evidence for litigation including digital records, phone logs, employment files and business contracts.
• An aptitude for quickly identifying relevant state and federal court decisions relevant to cases.
• Expertise in prepping legal team for arguments and case histories of potential use by opposing counsel.
• Adept in use of Excel and the use of multiple legal coding/billing software.
• Coordinated evidence cataloging and completed court requests for evidence and depositions.
• Assisted in research of historical proceedings to aid in providing precedence to support legal teams’ court actions.