First Mover Advantage

You know that you have to write your resume with as many achievements as you can. When you’re part of a company that has achieved first-mover advantage, you should definitely include that on your resume. Include what your role was in attaining that achievement and what that achievement meant for your team and company. 

But first, make sure you actually understand what is meant by first mover advantage, and whether your experience qualifies.

What is the first mover advantage?

Generating a strong brand and a loyal client base is the goal of any company. Companies that achieve first-mover status are those that are the first to introduce a product or service to the market. These companies get to grab hold of consumers before other companies. By the time other companies introduce similar products or services, consumers are already loyal to the original company. 

Only large companies have the ability to acquire first mover advantage. Coca-Cola is an excellent example of a first-mover company. Coke was not the first soda to reach customers' hands; Dr. Pepper came first. While it is debatable which drink is better, Coca-Cola was the clear market winner. They had deeper pockets than the Dr. Pepper folks and were able to capture the market first. 

So, as you decide whether to include being part of a first-mover team on your resume, you have to be sure you actually were. Just because your company is the first to introduce a thing to the market, doesn’t mean your company achieved first-mover status. It isn’t just a race to market; it’s a race to win a loyal following.  

Durable first mover advantage

For the purposes of extolling your dedication to helping the company you work for attain a first-mover advantage, it’s important to note that there is a difference between durable first-mover advantage and short-lived first-mover advantage. 

Barnes & Noble was one of the first to bring books to market, but they were eventually beaten out by Amazon. Even so, if you had any part in bringing Barnes & Noble to market, it’s worth mentioning on your resume. 

You don’t need to call out that the advantage didn’t last. Just focus on the achievement. Even a short-lived first mover advantage shows that you were part of something big, and that’s what matters when you're listing accomplishments. 

How do companies achieve first-mover advantage?

If you helped your company launch something before the competition, talk about how you did it. Mention the market research you led or supported. Highlight the tech tools you used. These details matter because they show how your team reached a first mover advantage.

Competitor research also plays a big role. Maybe you found that others didn’t have access to the same technology. Or maybe they were late to spot a shift in the market. That kind of insight helps your company move fast and smart. And it makes your resume stronger.

Whether you worked in marketing or product development, show how you shaped the strategy that put your team ahead. That’s what makes your resume stand out and shows you understand what is meant by first mover advantage in business.

Challenging the status quo

If there’s one thing that’s true in life, it’s that change is constant. Keeping up with the market and with what your competitors are doing will help your team and company identify when change is needed. These are the moments that lead to a first mover advantage.

Anytime you’re involved in walking colleagues or managers through some change, you can add that to your list of career achievements. In this case, you’d want to show how the transformation efforts allowed your company to reach the coveted position of being a first mover. 

Using first mover advantage in your resume

The Harvard Business Review outlines four scenarios to think about when trying to help your company become recognized as a first mover. 

1. Fast-growing markets

2. Gradually growing markets

3. Fast-moving technology shifts

4. Modest technology changes

If your company moved fast while others hesitated, that’s a story worth telling. But the pace of the market and tech matters. When everything is moving fast, it’s hard to grab and hold a first mover advantage. When things move slower, your company may have had time to build a lead.

On your resume, focus on how you foresaw trends and adapted to take advantage of them. Maybe you spotted where tech was outpacing the market, or the other way around. That insight shows employers you understand what the first mover advantage suggests: being early only matters if you execute well. 

Examples of first-mover companies

Wondering what are examples of first movers? There are a lot of companies, besides Coca-Cola that fall into the category of first movers. Here are some others that earned strong first mover advantage and helped shape entire industries:

• Amazon is considered one of the most innovative companies – Forbes ranks it second among other innovators. Amazon was not the first company to sell books, but it was the first one to do it online. From there, Amazon continued to grow and is now one of the most popular shopping places and is at war with Walmart over the title of retail giant. 

• eBay became a first-mover in the mid-1990s with its online auction platform. It wasn’t the first, but it was the most successful. 

• Netflix is also a great example of a company that achieved a first-mover advantage. Netflix hit the market after iTV, but Netflix ended up being the clear market share winner. Like Netflix or hate it, the video streaming platform is still beating out competitors like Amazon Prime and Hulu. 

• Tesla is a recent entrant into the first-mover advantage club. Tesla wasn’t the first electric car maker, but it created the blueprint others followed. Today, it still holds a strong first mover advantage in EVs. 

Advantages and disadvantages of being a first mover

If you helped your company become a first mover, it likely came with big wins – and some possibly bigger risks. Here's what you can highlight on your resume based on the experience. 

Advantages

A strong first mover advantage can help a company:

• Set the standard for an entire industry

• Build instant brand recognition and loyalty

• Lock in suppliers early and control resources

• Attract top talent

• Secure patents, trademarks, and other legal protections

Each of these is something you can translate into a resume bullet. For example:

• “Researched and authored new patents for ABC Widget ensuring first-mover advantage in the field of medical billing.” 

• “Perpetuated XYZ Company as an industry leader by executing a go-to-market strategy, pricing tactics, and product roadmap that increased revenues by 11%.”

• “Built a new team of 12 product managers by identifying top talent and managing performance that allowed a new service to be introduced to market 6 months in advance of timeline.”

Disadvantages

Of course, being first isn’t always easy – or cheap. Companies going first often face:

• High marketing costs

• Tech or production challenges

• Risk of being copied by second movers

• Hesitant consumers who wait for the next version

If you’re a member of a company that didn’t get something to market first, you can still write an achievement-based resume by talking about reverse-engineering an idea or fine-tuning an existing product or service to meet client demand. Here is some sample language. 

• “Identified a gap in the market for new technology offerings and championed a new system that automated processes saving client companies hundreds of labor hours.”

• “Reviewed market trends and earned leadership buy-in on transforming product lines to meet demand while ensuring gross margin profitability.”

• “Discovered a need for a new mid-market product line and authored consumer-driven strategies that resulted in $3.5M in new attributable revenue in under 12 months.”

Second-mover advantage

The company you work for may decide that being a first mover isn’t right for its success. And that’s okay – you don’t have to work for a first mover to have an impact. In fact, a lot of companies came in second and still crushed the competition. 

Perhaps you work for a smaller company that doesn’t have the resources, or maybe your company doesn’t want to take on the risks associated with being a first mover. Guiding your company to be a second-mover can still net you some great benefits on your next job search. 

Example of second mover companies:

• Google wasn’t the first search engine – Yahoo! and AltaVista came first. But Google refined the user experience and quickly became the leader.

• TikTok followed Vine into the short-form video space, but its algorithm and global strategy helped it explode in popularity. Now, other platforms are playing catch-up.

• Spotify entered after Pandora, but focused on personalization and usability. Now it dominates the streaming space with over 85% of the market. 

First mover advantage: resume skills to highlight

The first thing you’re supposed to do before writing your resume is to make a list of your skills. There are a lot of skills you’ve built worth listing on your resume, including a mix of hard and soft skills – both of which are valuable to employers. 

• Hard skills are things you know how to do from education and experience.

• Soft skills are traits you possess that make you good at what you do. 

First mover advantage: Hard skills

Whether you’re a manager, product designer, marketer, or hold any number of other titles associated with getting something new to market, the skills you use to accomplish this fall into the hard skills category. Some examples include:

• Market research

• Data analytics

• Project management

• Technology skills

• People management

Each of these skills is quantifiable and can easily be improved upon. These hard skills show prospective employers that you know how to get things done. They are often industry-specific but can be transferred to other industries, if necessary. 

First mover advantage: Soft skills 

Many employers find soft skills just as important, if not more important, than hard skills. The idea behind this concept is that hard skills can be taught more easily than soft skills. While you can improve your soft skills, often these are characteristics you either possess or not. 

Some examples include:

• Decision making

• Problem-solving

• Communication

• Time management

• Growth mindset

Bring first mover experience into your job search

Whether you’re a member of a company that attained a first-mover advantage or you were part of a second-mover company, you have valuable skills that you can bring to a new role. Either way, you’ve been a part of something new that involved pivoting fast, cracking codes others missed, or leading change in a tough moment. 

Take a closer look at your achievements, there’s probably more power in your story than you think. The right resume can help you turn that story into a coveted interview. 

TopResume has a professional team of resume writers waiting to help you perfect your resume with achievements from your time with a first-mover company. 

This article was written and updated by Marsha Hebert.

Related reading:

• Tips to Help You Sell Your Soft Skills During an Interview

• Why Soft and Hard Skills Are So Important for Your Resume

• How to Brag on Your Resume Without Sounding Like a Jerk