Use Action Phrases and Power Verbs In Your Resume - Here's A Complete List

Action Phrases and Power Verbs to use in your resume (care of Monster's Career Advice)

Describing your work experience isn't easy. To help you, we've compiled a list of action phrases and power verbs. The purpose of using them is to show employers that you know how to get results. Begin your job descriptions with a power verb or phrase: enlisted the support..., formed a committee..., sold, budgeted, improved, increased, maintained the client relationship.

Action Phrases

CHRONO RESUME
Design, develop and deliver
Conduct needs analysis
Write course design documents
Manage development
Consult with clients
Facilitate problem-solving meetings
Implement solutions
Develop and implement formatting
Developed and delivered
Revamped product training
Assessed employee and client training needs
Analyzed evaluation data
Designed and implemented

EDUCATION EMPHASIS
Followed special task force
Assisted special task force
Proctored and scored
Facilitated discussion

SCANNABLE RESUME
Reduced manufacturing plant's burden
Reduced material costs

BLUE CHIP RESUME
managed an eleven-person team
negotiated over $tk
coordinated strategic five-year plan
created and implemented innovative approach
developed new product


Power Verbs

A-B

accelerated acclimated accompanied accomplished achieved acquired acted activated actuated adapted added addressed adhered adjusted administered admitted adopted advanced advertised advised advocated aided aired affected allocated altered amended amplified analyzed answered anticipated appointed appraised approached approved arbitrated arranged ascertained asked assembled assigned assumed assessed assisted attained attracted audited augmented authored authorized automated awarded avail balanced bargained borrowed bought broadened budgeted built

C

calculated canvassed capitalized captured carried out cast cataloged centralized challenged chaired changed channeled charted checked chose circulated clarified classified cleared closed co-authored cold called collaborated collected combined commissioned committed communicated compared compiled complied completed composed computed conceived conceptualized concluded condensed conducted conferred consolidated constructed consulted contracted contrasted contributed contrived controlled converted convinced coordinated corrected corresponded counseled counted created critiqued cultivated cut

D

debugged decided decentralized decreased deferred defined delegated delivered demonstrated depreciated described designated designed determined developed devised devoted diagrammed directed disclosed discounted discovered dispatched displayed dissembled distinguished distributed diversified divested documented doubled drafted

E

earned eased edited effected elected eliminated employed enabled encouraged endorsed enforced engaged engineered enhanced enlarged enriched entered entertained established estimated evaluated examined exceeded exchanged executed exempted exercised expanded expedited explained exposed extended extracted extrapolated

F-H

facilitated familiarized fashioned fielded figured financed fit focused forecasted formalized formed formulated fortified found founded framed fulfilled functioned furnished gained gathered gauged gave generated governed graded granted greeted grouped guided handled headed hired hosted

I

identified illustrated illuminated implemented improved improvised inaugurated indoctrinated increased incurred induced influenced informed initiated innovated inquired inspected inspired installed instigated instilled instituted instructed insured interfaced interpreted interviewed introduced invented inventoried invested investigated invited involved isolated issued

J-M

joined judged launched lectured led lightened liquidated litigated lobbied localized located maintained managed mapped marketed maximized measured mediated merchandised merged met minimized modeled moderated modernized modified monitored motivated moved multiplied

N-O

named narrated negotiated noticed nurtured observed obtained offered offset opened operated operationalized orchestrated ordered organized oriented originated overhauled oversaw

P

paid participated passed patterned penalized perceived performed permitted persuaded phased out pinpointed pioneered placed planned polled prepared presented preserved presided prevented priced printed prioritized probed processed procured produced profiled programmed projected promoted prompted proposed proved provided publicized published purchased pursued

Q-R

quantified quoted raised ranked rated reacted read received recommended reconciled recorded recovered recruited rectified redesigned reduced referred refined regained regulated rehabilitated reinforced reinstated rejected related remedied remodeled renegotiated reorganized replaced repaired reported represented requested researched resolved responded restored restructured resulted retained retrieved revamped revealed reversed reviewed revised revitalized rewarded routed

S

safeguarded salvaged saved scheduled screened secured segmented selected sent separated served serviced settled shaped shortened showed shrank signed simplified sold solved spearheaded specified speculated spoke spread stabilized staffed staged standardized steered stimulated strategized streamlined strengthened stressed structured studied submitted substantiated substituted suggested summarized superseded supervised supplied supported surpassed surveyed synchronized synthesized systematized

T-W

tabulated tailored targeted taught terminated tested testified tightened took traced traded trained transacted transferred transformed translated transported traveled treated tripled uncovered undertook unified united updated upgraded used utilized validated valued verified viewed visited weighed welcomed widened witnessed won worked wrote

Cover letter Do's and Don't from Monster's Career Advice

Cover letter Do's and Don't from Monster's Career Advice

Get to the Point

State the purpose of your letter in the first paragraph. Small talk is generally a waste of space. "Most of the cover letters we do for clients are three paragraphs or so and fill less than a page," says Shel Horowitz, director of Accurate Writing & More in Hadley, Massachusetts.

Tailor Your Letter to the Reader

Focus on the needs of the specific organization, not on your own requirements as a job seeker, says Lorna Lindsey, director of academic affairs for CompHealth, a healthcare recruiting and staffing firm based in Salt Lake City. Visit your potential employer's Web site or read the company's annual report to learn more about it, and then use your cover letter to demonstrate how your skills and experience can benefit the organization.

Maintain the Right Tone

A cover letter should be "businesslike, friendly and enthusiastic," says Bill Frank, founder of CareerLab in Denver and author of 200 Letters for Job Hunters.

Health professionals have the "opportunity to reveal their passion" through a cover letter, but the document "shouldn't become too syrupy, or it loses its objectivity and professionalism," says Lorne Weeks III, MD, a healthcare consultant for the Physician Career Network, a division of CareerLab.

Make It Memorable

New graduates can make their cover letters stand out by personalizing their stories. If you decided to model your career after a physical therapist who helped a family member, for example, tell that story rather than making the blander claim that you've always wanted to help people. "If your story is unique, it's no longer a cliche," Frank says.

Stay on Track

The best cover letters are direct and concise, says Kathy Campbell, employment and employee relations manager at Holy Spirit Health System in Camp Hill, Pennsylvania. "Don't include a lot of unnecessary personal information," she says.

Highlight Your Biggest Successes

Your cover letter shouldn't just summarize your career or repeat the same information from your resume, according to Wendy Enelow, founder of the Career Masters Institute in Fresno, California. "You want it to highlight the successes and achievements of your career that are most related to the types of positions for which you are applying," she says.

According to Frank, you should mention career-related "triples and home runs" in your cover letter.

Use Power Phrases

Use strong action words to convey your experiences and illustrate your qualifications with phrases like "I have a strong background in" and "I have a talent for," Lindsey says.

Don't be shy about selling yourself, Enelow notes, since that's the purpose of a cover letter.

Show Your Team Spirit

If you have room for a few extra sentences in your cover letter, Lindsey suggests emphasizing your teamwork and communication skills. "In this day and age, teamwork and communication are vitally important in almost every healthcare position, from the lowest to the highest paid," she says.

Spice Up Your Writing

Effective cover letters are a little different from all the others but still straightforward, experts say. For example, the boring, traditional way to begin a cover letter is: "I am writing in response to your advertisement for a nurse and have enclosed my resume for your review." The better opener could be: "Your ad on Monster for a nurse captured my attention and motivated me to learn more about this opportunity." Then describe how your qualifications match the employer's needs.

Follow Up

An unforgivable error some job seekers make is failing to follow up after promising to do so in a cover letter. If you write in your cover letter that you'll call the letter recipient on a certain day or by a specific deadline, do it.

Don't:

• Provide salary information when it is not requested.
• Address a letter recipient by anything other than his name. Avoid "Dear Sirs" at all costs.
• Write a canned, generic letter that looks like it was copied from a book.
• Start the first paragraph and too many other sentences with "I."
• Make spelling errors and typos.
• Handwrite a cover letter.
• Use shoddy paper, or paper that's different from your resume paper.
• Cram too much information into a small space.
• Include irrelevant personal information or job experience.
• Overstate your accomplishments or contradict your resume.

How To Pass An Interview - 10 Tips From Monster Career Advice

Some of us aren't as lucky as the image of this lady embedded here.

Even the smartest and most qualified job seekers need to prepare for job interviews. Why, you ask? Interviewing is a learned skill, and there are no second chances to make a great first impression. So study these 10 strategies to enhance your interview IQ from Monster's Career Advice

Practice Good Nonverbal Communication

It's about demonstrating confidence: standing straight, making eye contact and connecting with a good, firm handshake. That first impression can be a great beginning -- or quick ending -- to your interview.

Dress for the Job or Company

Today's casual dress codes do not give you permission to dress as "they" do when you interview. It is important to look professional and well-groomed. Whether you wear a suit or something less formal depends on the company culture and the position you are seeking. If possible, call to find out about the company dress code before the interview.

Listen

From the very beginning of the interview, your interviewer is giving you information, either directly or indirectly. If you are not hearing it, you are missing a major opportunity. Good communication skills include listening and letting the person know you heard what was said. Observe your interviewer, and match that style and pace.

Don't Talk Too Much

Telling the interviewer more than he needs to know could be a fatal mistake. When you have not prepared ahead of time, you may tend to ramble, sometimes talking yourself right out of the job. Prepare for the interview by reading through the job posting, matching your skills with the position's requirements and relating only that information.

Don't Be Too Familiar

The interview is a professional meeting to talk business. This is not about making a new friend. Your level of familiarity should mimic the interviewer's demeanor. It is important to bring energy and enthusiasm to the interview and to ask questions, but do not overstep your place as a candidate looking for a job.

Use Appropriate Language
It's a given that you should use professional language during the interview. Be aware of any inappropriate slang words or references to age, race, religion, politics or sexual orientation -- these topics could send you out the door very quickly.

Don't Be Cocky

Attitude plays a key role in your interview success. There is a fine balance between confidence, professionalism and modesty. Even if you're putting on a performance to demonstrate your ability, overconfidence is as bad, if not worse, as being too reserved.

Take Care to Answer the Questions

When an interviewer asks for an example of a time when you did something, he is seeking a sample of your past behavior. If you fail to relate a specific example, you not only don't answer the question, but you also miss an opportunity to prove your ability and talk about your skills.

Ask Questions

When asked if they have any questions, most candidates answer, "No." Wrong answer. It is extremely important to ask questions to demonstrate an interest in what goes on in the company. Asking questions also gives you the opportunity to find out if this is the right place for you. The best questions come from listening to what is asked during the interview and asking for additional information.

Don't Appear Desperate

When you interview with the "please, please hire me" approach, you appear desperate and less confident. Maintain the three C's during the interview: cool, calm and confident. You know you can do the job; make sure the interviewer believes you can, too.

(image from hot-screensavers.com)

Tips On What NOT To Include In Your Resume

You don't want to give the impression that you are old fashioned or out-of-date! If you haven't looked for a job in awhile, expectations for resumes have changed!

Do NOT include:

• Age, marital or health status, ethnicity, weight, number of children or other personal information.
• Do not list "References Upon Request." It is assumed that you will provide references, so why waste your valuable space saying so?

Many consider listing an objective on your resume to be wasteful and obsolete. Typically, your objective is to get the job! If you are using your resume for networking, a targeted skills or accomplishments section helps the reader narrow your interests and skills.

Do not list your salary history!

A resume is not a place to try to tell your life story.

Omit articles (a, an, the) from your job descriptions. These are "stop" words that cause the reader to pause. Excluding them helps you get the most from the 10-20 second glance your resume is likely to earn on a first review.

Unless you are applying for a job in a creative field (art, entertainment, graphic design), keep your resume's appearance conservative. Avoid using courier and all script or decorative fonts that may be difficult to read or scan.

Spelling, grammatical and other careless errors (such as omitting your zip code in your address or leaving off a year in your descriptions) are your resume's kiss of death. Most hiring managers will assume a careless error indicates a careless worker and send your resume straight to the circular file.

Make responsible use of bold and italics to help guide the reader's eye. Don't use bold in the second line of a description, as it confuses the eye and makes it more difficult to quickly glance at your resume.

Avoid large blocks of text. They are difficult to review quickly and may frustrate the reader. Use bullet points and white space to your advantage for an eye-pleasing document.

Don't start your bullet points with tired phrases such as: Assisted, Contributed, Supported or Responsibilities included. Don't simply list what you did - describe how you did it!

Large, unexplained gaps of time call negative attention to your resume.

It should go without saying, but don't lie on your resume. Present the most positive image consistent with the truth.

Your resume may be your only opportunity to put your best foot forward with an employer.

This list is from Keppie Careers

How long is an "Ideal" resume?

Here's more advice from Keppie Careers on how long is a LONG resume.

Many hiring managers still prefer a one-page resume. However, if your industry tolerates longer versions, one rule of thumb is that your resume should not exceed one page if you have less than 10 years of experience. If you have more experience, a two-page resume may work. Typically, our bias is that your resume should be one page unless there is a specific reason for it to be longer.

Electronic resumes do not have page limits, but you still want to hone your materials to effectively target your key skills relative to the job.