In the midst of hundreds, if not thousands, of résumés 
recruiters and employers receive for any given position, your 
résumé needs to stand out from the crowd.  You must make the 
Hiring Manager want to read your résumé more thoroughly than 
just the rudimentary 10-20 seconds the vast majority of your 
competition will warrant.  The way to do this is by designing 
an accomplishment driven résumé.

What makes a résumé that is focused on achievements so effective? 
Most job seekers tend to list their responsibilities of their 
past and current positions.  While this may be important, it 
should not necessarily be the focus of your document.  The 
higher level the position you are seeking, the more crucial 
the accomplishment aspect of your résumé.  You need to provide 
proof of the results you were able to achieve with the 
implication that you can bring the same, if not better, results 
to your future employer.

Say for instance, you are a CPA.  Your current résumé states 
things such as "Control accounting activities", and "Invest 
and manage cash activities".  What does that really say about 
your abilities?  How does that differentiate you from all of 
the other CPAs out there applying for the same job as you?  
It doesn't.  You need to show the potential employers what 
you can bring to their organization.  Now is the time to brag.  
How have you improved a company's bottom line?  Have you 
spearheaded any projects that resulted in increased revenue, 
company savings, or employee morale?  That's the kind of 
information that Hiring Managers seek out amongst the résumé 
clutter.  

Your résumé is your own personal sales pitch.  Keywords are 
an integral part of that pitch.  While you are describing your 
accomplishments, be sure to use powerful keywords to signify 
the importance and magnitude of those feats.  It is not the 
time to be modest.  Use strong action verbs that really drive 
home what you're trying to say.  Use industry terms, where 
appropriate, if you are seeking a job similar to your current 
position.  The company will understand this terminology and be 
relieved to know that you are competent enough to comprehend 
them as well.

Another significant part of an accomplishment driven résumé is 
the format.  Do not clump your achievements and responsibilities 
together.  You can write an overview of your responsibilities in 
a paragraph and then highlight your accomplishments with bullets.
You don't want to have everything in a paragraph, and likewise, 
not everything in a bullet format.  You must draw the reader's 
eye to the important parts that you really want to sell.  If 
everything looks the same, nothing will stand out.

Using these techniques, you are on your way to writing an 
accomplishment driven, extremely effective résumé.  Your 
potential employers will not only see what you have achieved 
in the past, but what you could offer them in the future.