When in job search, as you communicate via your resume or while in networking meetings, you give clues to the confidence you have in yourself. So use sizzling language rather than tepid and tentative words.
First, some examples of lukewarm language:
"Fairly successful establishing new markets for legacy products"
"Rather effective in cutting Operations costs"
"Assisted in developing..."
"Fairly"? "Rather"? "Assisted in"?
This kind of phrasing is often used by those who fear they will sound like they are bragging.
It's not bragging if it's fact and phrased in a way that shows how you help. Also, this is what I hear from recruiters and hiring managers: "Joanne, tell your candidates to communicate to me what they've done well, because I will not know of it otherwise!" and "Unless the candidate tells me how they successfully fit the role I have open, I can't possibly know what they do well."
More sizzling ways to to phrase it which get the attention of the person hiring:
- "Enjoyed adding $92M in revenue within one year of establishing new markets for legacy products" - that's what you did! No bragging here.
- "Cut Division operations costs by 12% in the first year, resulting in company leadership tapping me to repeat the success throughout the company" - because those are the facts.
In short, if you are clear about your achievements, and use sparky language, you will be helping in-house and other recruiters do their jobs. Help them pick YOU, and everyone wins.
