How to Write an Impact Statement

Impact statements are the bullet points under each experience on your resume that provide the context related to your efforts, capture the actions you took, and identify clearly for the reader, the result of your actions (CAR). They go beyond simply stating what you did - they provide a greater sense of the impact of your efforts and allow the reader to more readily understand the skills, traits or capabilities you possess.

Your resume is a MARKETING document which sells the brand YOU (it is about you but it is not for you - you are not the audience). Developing strong impact statements allow you to clearly identify that you possess the skills and capabilities your target audience is looking for. Incorporating impact statements into your resume allows you to be more strategic, and most effectively highlight your brand.

Don't leave it up to the reader to contemplate why you may be a great "fit" for the job they have to offer - clearly show them that you understand what they are looking for and you possess the very skills, traits and capabilities that will allow you to be successful should they hire you. Impact statements allow you to clearly highlight the key skills the employer is looking for.

To create effective impact statements:

Step 1: Identify Key Skills to Highlight

  1. Review the Job Description: Examine the entire posting, including not just the "Skills & Qualifications" section but also details about the organization, department, and key responsibilities
  2. Extract Skills: Highlight text that implies a specific skill or trait. Translate these into clear skill labels (e.g., "benchmark best practices and analyze metrics" = Analytical Skills)
  3. Track Frequency: For each skill identified, add it to a list and mark a check each time it appears or is implied throughout the description
  4. Prioritize Skills: Rank the skills by number of check marks, from most to least frequently mentioned or implied
  5. Create Impact Statements: For the top 5–6 skills, craft strong statements that demonstrate your experience and strengths in those areas

Step 2: Create impact statements using the CAR method

Strong resumes don’t just list responsibilities - they showcase impact. The CAR method helps you turn your academic, work, volunteer, or extracurricular experiences into powerful, achievement-oriented statements. Once you've identified key skills from the job description, craft bullet points that clearly demonstrate your ability to apply them using the CAR framework to structure each statement:

Context/Challenge - Set the scene. Where were you? Briefly describe the situation, project, or problem you faced

Action - Explain what you did, focusing on your specific contributions

Result - What happened because of your action? Share the outcome of your actions, highlighting measurable or meaningful results (e.g., improved efficiency, increased engagement, etc.)

Step 3: Always Start With a Strong Action Verb

Review this list of past tense action verbs to help you in crafting your impact statements

Sample Impact Statements

Researched and wrote a paper on the effects of cyberbullying on pre-teenagers, in order to assess and identify the emotional impacts of such activity on youth; publication received positive reception resulting in invitation to present findings at a national Safe Schools conference. (statement seeks to demonstrate analytical skills)

  • Action: Researched and wrote paper
  • Background: In order to assess & identify emotional impacts
  • Consequence: Invited to present findings at a national conference for safe schools

Collaborated in a project team of four to develop and deliver multimedia presentation highlighting bias within the criminal justice system and impact on indigenous peoples; strong cohesion of team, clear role definition and shared objectives amongst team members resulted in strong positive feedback on presentation effectiveness (statement seeks to demonstrate teamwork)

  • Action: Collaborated in a project team of four
  • Background: To develop and deliver multimedia presentation
  • Result: Team cohesion, clear roles and shared objectives resulted in strong positive feedback

Initiated development of a computerized database in order to improve office operations and limit repetitive data entry tasks; efforts led to reduction in data entry time by 4 hours per week and increased office efficiency. (statement seeks to demonstrate initiative/personal leadership)

  • Action: Initiated development of a computerized database
  • Background: In order to improve office efficiency
  • Result: Saved 4 hours of data input time per week