Four words to cut from your resume now (and some powerful ...

'Assisted' isn't the accomplishment or action verb, it belongs at the end of the sentence. For example: Accomplished A,B,C and D, while assisting the Vice ... JobTitle,Keywords City,Province BlogTitle,Keywords,orCategory close Fourwordstocutfromyourresumenow(andsomepowerfulonestoadd) 10.30.2013Resumes fb twitter linkedin ByWorkopolis InthehundredsofresumesIhavecritiquedandrewrittenoverthepast20years,amajorshortcomingIseeisanineffectivepastorpresenttenseusedforactionverbs.Thesecanwaterdowntheaccomplishmentyouaretryingtodescribe,andmakeagenuineachievementsoundinsignificant. Peopleoftenalsouseweakverbstodescribetheirwork.Thesecansimilarlydullyourcontributions.Someofthemostcommonexamplesincludehelp,handled,assistedwith,andworked. ‘Handled’istoovague,useamoredefinitiveverb.Youdon’thandlepeople(whichiswhereoneusuallyseesthis),andifyouhandledmoneywhatdidyoudowiththemoney? ‘Worked’istoogenericanddoesn’tevokeanyvisionoftheactionyouactuallydidtoaccomplishthetask.Forexample:Workedwiththeteam…doingwhat?Resultinginwhat? ‘Assisted’isn’ttheaccomplishmentoractionverb,itbelongsattheendofthesentence.Forexample:AccomplishedA,B,CandD,whileassistingtheVicePresidentofHumanResourceswithE,F. ‘Helped’doesn’tsayverymuch.Whatdidyouactuallyhelptodo?Whatmorespecificactionverbwouldbemoredefinitive?Managed?Directed?Collated?Fine-tuned? Eachofyouraccomplishment-basedstatementsorbulletpoints,needstohaveadefinitive,descriptive,strongactionverbdescribingyourskill.Wherepossible,useskillsthatareoutofthenorm,thatstandout,thatareveryvisual. Usedesign,developanddeliverorexecute,allinonestatement.Itisperfectlyacceptabletousetwoorthreeskillstodescribetheactiontaken. Conductedaneedsanalysis….., Pioneeredthefirst…..(Whenyouinitiatedit.) Spearheadedateamof….(Surebeats‘Led.’) Trailblazedourcompanyintosocialmedia…(Whenbreakingnewground,similartopioneering.) Facilitatedstrategicmeetings…(Insteadof‘held.’) Utilizedafullrangeofservices…(Insteadofused.) Developedandimplemented…(Ifyoudidmorethanmanagesomethingtellwhatyougotyourhandsdirtydoing.) Revampedoutdatedtrainingmaterials… OrchestratedtheUnitedWaycampaign…(Thinkofyourselfasamaestro,coordinatingvariousdepartmentsthenuseorchestrate.) Negotiated15labourcontracts…(Usenumberswheneverpossible.) Divestedfivesubsidiarycompaniesfrom…(Useyourthesaurus.) ThoughmostresumesarewrittenfromanAction+Resultperspective,itisalsoacceptabletostartabulletpointwiththeverbthatdefinestheRESULT. Reduced/Increased Reversed Divested Strengthened Recovered,etc Afterdeterminingwhatpowerfulactionverbtouseyouneedtoaddinastrongresult.AftertheactionaskthequestionsHOW?orSOWHAT?togettheresult. Forexample:‘Managedateamofeightsalesreps…..’ ‘How’doesn’tworkhere,souse‘SoWhat.’ Action:‘Coachedandmanagedateamofeightsalesreps.’ SoWhat:‘Whotrail-blazed10newterritoriesineightmonths,acquiring150newclientsandincreasingrevenuesby80%.’ Nooneknowsbetterthanyouwhatyoureallydidfromdaytoday,sohelpthereaderoutandblowyourownhorn. ColleenClarke,CareerSpecialist&CorporateTrainer www.colleenclarke.com [email protected] AuthorofNetworking:HowtobuildrelationshipsthatcountandHowToGetaJobandKeepIt Relatedarticles