I think about this quote often. In life, we often think about things and verbalize things far more frequently than we actually do things. We overthink, we over analyze, and the result or the product of our hard work get lost in the shuffle.
Just as in life, writing your resume is not exception to this very human challenge. We put so much pressure on ourselves to fit everything we can on this piece of paper to maximize our chances of being considered the right fit for a position. We write about our role, our work, and our day to day activities with little thought on the impact that the information will have on those reading it. We think “I did this, they want to know about it, right?”
But what if we scaled back? What is we treat our resume like a fine reduction sauce, and boil out all of the excess verbiage to leave only the strong flavor for our reader? What if we took every sentence in our resume, and asked the same three questions:
“Does this sentence communicate the challenge I was facing?”
“Does this sentence illustrate the unique skills I used to address that challenge?”
“Does this sentence demonstrate my quantifiable impact?”
If you do not answer with a resounding “YES!” to each one of the above, then the sentence is not serving you in the way that it should on your resume.
Your resume is your chance to brag about how you are different from anyone else, and there are countless words in the English language to assist you in demonstrating that. Using impactful action words to begin each sentence of your resume creates a tone for the reader and says “I am a person of action, and I am ready to improve your company by saving time/money/resources and creating profits/improvements/innovations”
Passive words on your resume such as “responsible for” or “role consisted of” will kill your chances of being considered, no hiring manager wants to read a position description, they want to hear your achievements! Sometimes it can de difficult to brag about ourselves (I am no exception to this, I struggled with this when I was job hunting as well). So, to help you get started, I have outlined an example of the same statement, but put in both a passive tone and an action-oriented tone. You can see the difference these three questions I stated above can make.
“Responsible for meeting weekly with clients and assisting them in resume writing and interview preparation”
“Utilizing technological tools such as GoTo Meeting to remotely coach 500 clients monthly in resume etiquette and interview preparation, resulting in 200 direct hires and a 30% increase in receiving requests for second interviews”
Phenomenal difference, right? Now let’s breakdown the statement with the three questions I provided above.
“Does this sentence communicate the challenge I was facing?”
YES – 500 clients indicates a high volume of need for one person, and shows that there was a high demand for the product or services I was offering.
“Does this sentence illustrate the unique skills I used to address that challenge?”
YES – Utilizing technology, I created a tool for my clients to access my services remotely. This shows that I am tech-savvy and innovative. It also shows that I am efficient, saving time and resources through remote coaching.
“Does this sentence demonstrate my quantifiable impact?”
YES – I positively impacted 500 clients, and through my coaching and resume writing skills I was able to assist 200 of those 500 in being hired, as well as increased the percentage of call backs for second interviews.
Now that you have the algorithm for your resume bullet points, it is time to put your ideas into action! The most important factor of any resume is the action word that begins each sentence. Sometimes it can be difficult to move out of your comfort zone of composition, and that is O.K. You always want the resume to sound like you, it is a not beneficial for you to write your resume like a chapter out of Charles Dickens with long winded prose and winding sentences. Instead, find a few quick, punchy words to add to your resume content. To help you with this process, I have found a great article that outlines different action words that can be substituted in for passive content. I provided an example of some of those words, below.
Instead of “duties included,” “responsible for,” “served as,” or “actions encompassed,” try:
Accelerated
Accomplished
Analyzed
Assembled
Built
Founded
Created
Constructed
Delivered
Developed
Executed
Expanded
Finalized
Forged
Guided
Handled
Headed
Improved
Increased
Initiated
Implemented
Instituted
Produced
Reached
Simplified
Volunteered
There are 139 of these awesome words, and they even break them down by different positions you may be applying to! Now, using your newfound knowledge on action words and resume writing, go out there and get hired!
Cheers,
Maggie
