Turn Your Resume Straw Into Gold

I’ve just been handed a list of six terms that no one is interested in seeing on your resume.  When you see them on your resume here are some reminders of ways to revise them to your advantage.  Keep in mind: Get to the point quickly.

1)      Responsible for
Doesn’t every job come with responsibilities?  Instead speak to the outcome of your responsibility.from: Responsible for production costs….
to: Improved profit margins by reducing production costs 10% in three months.

2)      Experienced
Sooner or later you get some. What makes yours zing?
from: Experienced in many facets of web design…
to: Coded and built CSS for twelve new templates for company intranet before deadline.

3)      Excellent written communication skills
Think in terms of giving details that prove this statement.
Such as: Wrote concise user documentation that reduced customer support calls 25%

4)      Team player
Yes, but which team and how well did they perform? Try:
Worked with writers, designers and developers to deliver product launch in three months.

5)      Detail oriented
…and you are oriented to which ones exactly?
from: a detail-oriented graphic designer
to: I produced ten, client-approved layout comps in three days with only hand drawn sketches as reference.

6)      Successful
from: successfully developed product category for fall and winter
to: My product category outperformed its projected sales volume by 20% in the last quarter of 2008.

You’ve just jumped to the head of the line using a resume loaded with examples of specific, constructive achievements that speak for themselves.