According to a study conducted by Forbes with 2,200 hiring managers and resource staffers, 68% of hiring managers spend up to two minutes reading a resume, with only 17% spending 30 seconds or less.
What does this tell us? You potentially have more time than you thought to make a good impression.
Here are five words you want to use to hold a hiring manger’s attention.
Improved
The word ‘improved’ allows you to show how you took action to make a process or system better. It positions you as a problem solver and that brings value.
Increased/Decreased
These two words offer measurable data to illustrate what you bring to the table. Did you find an error and resolve the problem or reduce risk somehow? Did you identify an opportunity that increased revenue by a specific amount? Again, your language needs to be outcome focused.
Mentored
Hiring managers love to see that you’re willing to go the extra mile. A willingness to train or mentor a team or employee shows a desire to help others get better and that positively impacts the company’s bottom line.
Created
Did you come up with an idea that led to better results? Great. Can you quantify the results? Even better if the answer is ‘yes.’
Negotiated
Were you a part of a team that negotiated a win for your previous organization? Did you lead the negotiating team? Was it an internal negotiation that built consensus? What were the benefits of the negotiation? Hiring managers love it if you show leadership potential or have had past experience being successful in a leadership capacity.
When it comes down to it, focus on resume language that is outcome oriented. Keep the results of your actions specific and quantifiable if possible. Doing so shows that you have had identifiable wins in the past that could add value to your future employer.
