Confused about which skills to list on your CV?

You're not alone! More often than not, the most difficult part in CV writing is filling in the section where we have to list our Personal Skills and Competencies. In this series of articles, we will be discussing the different skills that you can list on your CV and highlight during the job interview. How vital is the section where you list your skills and competencies? Well, qualifications and experience are both important, if not a pre-requisite for the job in question, but so are skills, especially certain types of skills. And sometimes we tend to downplay the importance of these skills and at times even fail to mention them. Which means we have left out a very important chunk of our attributes and capabilities! So primarily, let us start off by first listing the different types of skills. Transferable skills, which are also referred to as soft skills can be categorised into two main types:

Social skills Organisational skills

Let's start with Social skills. Why are these important? Because they are needed in our everyday life as much as in our work life! Soft skills are skills we use during our interaction with others; they are the skills we need to relate to other people. So when you are asked about your Social skills, you basically have to mention skills such as:

Communication skills Listening skills Being a team player

Next up we have Organisational skills, skills which more often than not tend to be misunderstood! Such skills are essential because they help us work in a more efficient and effective way and hence they increase our productivity in the workplace. Organisational skills come into play in our everyday life and in our jobs. These skills are related to achieving goals, and no matter how simple or ambitious your goals are, you need organisational skills to achieve them. So what are they? Examples of organisational skills include:

Planning Prioritising Time-management Problem solving Decision making

Then there are the Technical skills, also referred to as hard skills, which are job-specific skills. These basically refer to the knowledge and abilities needed to accomplish a specific task in a specialised field. Examples include:

Knowledge of financial laws (used in accounting positions) Proficiency in qualitative and quantitative research methods and analysis (used in research related positions)

More specifically, they also refer to the mastery of particular kinds of equipment (other than computers). Examples include:

Ability to carry out routine maintenance, servicing, inspection, repair and testing (in mechanical related work for example that of Aircraft Mechanic) Ability to cut metal with the use of grinders, cutters or machinery (in sheet metal work)

Computer skills basically refer to word processing and proficiency in other applications, database searching, use of internet and advanced skills in computing for example programming. Examples include:

Good command of Word, Excel, Access and PowerPoint Proficient in the use of Final Cut Pro Good working knowledge of HTML and C++

Artistic skills should also be mentioned in your CV, in particular if you are applying for a position where creativity is especially required. Examples include:

Creative writing Playing a musical instrument Drama

Join us soon for our next article, where we will discuss what other types of skills and competencies should make it in your CV, as well as the importance of providing proof that you actually have such skills.

How to write a successful CV

What is a C.V.? When should a CV be used? What information should a CV include? What makes a good CV? How long should a CV be? Tips on presentation Fonts Different Types of CV Targeting your CV Emailed CVs and Web CVs Media CVs (separate page) Academic CVs (separate page) Example CVs and Covering Letters (separate page) Further Help

What is a CV?
Curriculum Vitae: an outline of a person's educational and professional history, usually prepared for job applications (L, lit.: the course of one's life). Another name for a CV is a rsum. A CV is the most flexible and convenient way to make applications. It conveys your personal details in the way that presents you in the best possible light. A CV is a marketing document in which you are marketing something: yourself! You need to "sell" your skills, abilities,

qualifications and experience to employers. It can be used to make multiple applications to employers in a specific career area. For this reason, many large graduate recruiters will not accept CVs and instead use their own application form. An application form is designed to bring out the essential information and personal qualities that the employer requires and does not allow you to gloss over your weaker points as a CV does. In addition, the time needed to fill out these forms is seen as a reflection of your commitment to the career. There is no "one best way" to construct a CV; it is your document and can be structured as you wish within the basic framework below. It can be on paper or on-line or even on a T-shirt (a gimmicky approach that might work for "creative" jobs but not generally advised!).

When should a CV be used?

When an employer asks for applications to be received in this format When an employer simply states "apply to ..." without specifying the format When making speculative applications (when writing to an employer who has not advertised a vacancy but who you hope my have one)

Often selectors read CVs outside working hours. They may have a pile of 50 CVs from which to select five interviewees. It's evening and they would rather be in the pub with friends. If your CV is hard work to read: unclear, badly laid out and containing irrelevant information, they will just just move on to the next CV. Treat the selector like a child eating a meal. Chop your CV up into easily digestible morsels (bullets, short paragraphs and note form) and give it a clear logical layout, with just the relevant information to make it easy for the selector to read. If you do this, you will have a much Some employers may spend greater chance of interview.
as little as 45 seconds skimming a rsum before branding it not of interest, maybe or of interest.

What information should a CV include?

Personal details Normally these would be your name, address, date of birth (although with age discrimination laws now in force this isn't essential), telephone number and email. Education and qualifications Your degree subject and university, plus A levels and GCSEs or equivalents. Mention grades unless poor! Work experience

Use action words such as developed, planned and organised. Even work in a shop, bar or restaurant will involve working in a team, providing a quality BI Business School service to customers, and dealing tactfully with complaints. Don't mention the routine, nonpeople tasks (cleaning the tables) unless you are applying for a casual summer job in a restaurant or similar. Try to relate the skills to the job. A finance job will involve numeracy, analytical and problem solving skills so focus on these whereas for a marketing role you would place a bit more more emphasis on persuading and negotiating skills. "All of my work experiences have involved working within a team-based culture. This involved planning, organisation, co-ordination and commitment e.g., in retail, this ensured daily sales targets were met, a fair distribution of tasks and effective communication amongst all staff members."

Interests and achievements

Keep this section short and to the point. As you grow older, your employment record will take precedence and interests will typically diminish greatly in length and importance. Bullets can be used to separate interests into different types: sporting, creative etc. Don't use the old boring cliches here: "socialising with friends". Don't put many passive, solitary hobbies (reading, watching TV, stamp collecting) or you may be perceived as lacking people skills. If you do put these, than say what you read or watch: "I particularly enjoy Dickens, for the vivid insights you get into life in Victorian times". Show a range of interests to avoid coming across as narrow : if everything centres around sport they may wonder if you could hold a conversation with a client who wasn't interested in sport. Hobbies that are a little out of the ordinary can help you to stand out from the crowd: skydiving or mountaineering can show a sense of wanting to stretch yourself and an ability to rely on yourself in demanding situations Any interests relevant to the job are worth mentioning: current affairs if you wish to be a journalist; a fantasy share portfolio such as Bullbearings if you want to work in finance. Any evidence of leadership is important to mention: captain or coach of a sports team, course representative, chair of a student society, scout leader: "As captain of the school cricket team, I had to set a positive example, motivate and coach players and think on my feet when making bowling and field position changes, often in tense situations" Anything showing evidence of employability skills such as teamworking, organising, planning, persuading, negotiating etc.

Writing about your interests

Reading, cinema, stampcollecting, embroidery Suggests a solitary individual who doesn't get on with other people. This may not be true, but selectors will interpret the evidence they see before them. Reading, cinema, travel, socialising with friends. A little better. At least a suggestion that they can get on with other people. Cinema: member of the University Film-Making Society Travel: travelled through Europe by train this summer in a group of four people, visiting historic sites and practising my French and Italian Reading: helped younger pupils with reading difficulties at school. This could be the same individual as in the first example, but the impression is completely the opposite: an outgoing proactive individual who helps others.

Skills

The usual ones to mention are languages (good conversational French, basic Spanish),computing (e.g. "good working knowledge of MS Access and Excel, plus basic web page design skills" and driving ("full current clean driving licence"). If you are a mature candidate or have lots of relevant skills to offer, a skills-based CV may work for you

References

Normally two referees are sufficient: one academic (perhaps your tutor or a project supervisor) and one from an employer (perhaps your last part-time or summer job). See our page on Choosing and Using Referees for more help with this.

The order and the emphasis will depend on what you are applying for and what you have to offer. For example, the example media CV lists the candidate's relevant work experience first. If you are applying for more than one type of work, you should have a different CV tailored to each career area, highlighting different aspects of your skills and experience. A personal profile at the start of the CV can work for jobs in competitive industries such as the mediaor advertising, to help you to stand out from the crowd. If used, it needs to be original and well written. Dont just use the usual hackneyed expressions: I am an excellent communicator who works well in a team You will also need a Covering Letter to accompany your CV.

When asked what would make them automatically reject a candidate, employers said:

What makes a good CV?

There is no single "correct" way to write and present a CV but the following general rules apply:

It is targeted on the specific job or career area for which you are applying and brings out the relevant skills you have to offer It is carefully and clearly laid out: logically ordered, easy to read and not cramped It is informative but concise It is accurate in content, spelling and grammar. If you mention attention to detail as a skill, make sure your spelling and grammar is perfect!

CVs with spelling mistakes or typos 61% CVs that copied large amounts of wording from the job posting 41% CVs with an inappropriate email address 35% CVs that dont include a list of skills 30% CVs that are more than two pages long 22% CVs printed on decorative paper 20% CVs that detail more tasks than results for previous positions 16% CVs that include a photo 13% CVs that have large blocks of text with little white space 13%

If your CV is written backwards on pink polkadot paper and it gets you regular interviews, it's a good CV! The bottom line is that if it's producing results don't change it too much but if it's not, keep changing it until it does. If it's not working, ask people to look at it and suggest changes. Having said this, if you use the example CVs in these pages as a starting point, you are unlikely to go far wrong.

CareerBuilder

How long should a CV be?

There are no absolute rules but, in general, a new graduate's CV should cover no more than two sides of A4 paper. If you can summarise your career history comfortably on a single side, this is fine and has advantages when you are making speculative applications and need to put yourself across concisely. However, you should not leave out important items, or crowd your text too closely together in order to fit it onto that single side. Academic and technical CVs may be much longer: up to 4 or 5 sides.

Tips on presentation

Your CV should be carefully and clearly laid out - not too cramped but not with large empty spaces either. Use bold and italic typefaces for headings and important information Never back a CV - each page should be on a separate sheet of paper . It's a good idea to put your name in the footer area so that it appears on each sheet. Be concise: a CV is an appetiser and should not give the reader indigestion. Don't feel that you have to list every exam you have ever taken, or every activity you have ever been involved in - consider which are the most relevant and/or impressive. The best CVs tend to be fairly economical with words, selecting the most important information and leaving a little something for the interview: they are an appetiser rather than the main course. Good business communications tend to be short and to the point, focusing on key facts and your CV should to some extent emulate this. Be positive - put yourself over confidently and highlight your strong points. For example, when listing your A-levels, put your highest grade first.

Choose a sensible email address!

Be Here are some (slightly changed) graduate email honest: although addresses: a CV does allow you to omit details (such as exam resits) which you death_metal_kitty@hotmilk.com would prefer the demented_bovine@gnumail.com employer not to know about, you so_kiss_me@hotmilk.com should never give platypus_mcdandruff@gnumail.com inaccurate or busty-beth@gnumail.com misleading flockynockyhillipilification@gnumail.com information. CVs are not legal virgin_on_the_ridiculous@hotmilk.com documents and yourmywifenowgraham@gnumail.com you can't be held original_madcow_jane@gnumail.com liable for anything circle-of-despair@gnumail.com within, but if a rage_against_the_trolley_fish@mail.com recruiter picks up a suggestion of sexylikewoaaaah@hotmilk.com falsehoods you will be rapidly rejected. An application formwhich you have signed to confirm that the contents are true is however a legal document and forms part of your contract of employment if you are recruited. The sweet spot of a CV is the area selectors tend to pay most attention to: this is typically around the upper middle of the first page, so make sure that this area contains essential information. If you are posting your CV, don't fold it - put it in a full-size A4 envelope so that it doesn't arrive creased.

Research by forum3 (recruitment and volunteering for the not-for-profit sector) suggested:

Graduates sent out 25 letters per interview gained. The average graduate will send out about 70 CVs when looking for their first graduate job. Of these, the average number of responses will be 7 including 3 to 4 polite rejections and the remainder inviting the graduate to interview or further contact. There was a direct link between the number of CVs sent out and the number of interviews gained: the more CVs you send out the more interviews you will get. Applicants who included a covering letter with their CV were 10% more likely to get a reply. 60% of CVs are mailed to the wrong person: usually the managing director. Applicants who addressed their application to the correct named person were 15% more likely to get a letter of acknowledgement and 5% more likely to get an interview

Applicants sending CVs and letters without To say things like I spelling mistakes are 61% more likely to get a reply and 26% more likely to get an get on well with interview. "In the age of the spell checker, there is people is no excuse for spelling mistakes". The most common meaningless unless mistakes to not show up in a spell check were: fro instead of for, grate instead of great, liased instead it is backed up by of liaised and stationary instead of stationery. example Set your spell checker to UK English (assuming you are British) or you will get center instead of centre, and color instead of colour. Selector for a retail Other turn-offs include: bank misspelling the name of the company or the addressee, not having a reply address on the CV trying to be amusing. Using lower case i for the personal pronoun: "i have excellent attention to detail"

Why you need to use a spell checker

I would like a job in the servillian police I am applying for a minipupiledge i am a prefectionist and rarely if if ever forget details. Proven ability to track down and correct erors. I have good writen comunication skills. Lurnt Word Perfect computor and spreadsheet pogroms. Develop an annual operating expense fudget. Good custermer service skills. In my 3rd year of BA houners English.

And why you must read it carefully as well

I was a prefect and pier mentor I would like to do a law conversion cause Extra Circular Activities But I was not aloud to be captain At secondary school I was a

Instrumental in ruining an entire operation for a chain operator I was an administrator in a busty office. Suspected to graduate early next year For a PR job: I have a long term interest in pubic relations I want experience in a big sex practice Vox pox for BBC Radio, which enhanced my ability to analyse and synthesise information A ' full shit system instead of a full shift system Enthusiasm was needed in order to communicate information in an interesting manor. I own and maintain a volts wagon beetle. As indicted, I have over 5 years of analysing investments. On an application to work with teenagers I am experienced in teaching marital arts Relevant work experience: followed by Irrelevant work experience My role included typing in details of accounts, customer liaison and money-laundering duties. I am a genital person (instead of gentle!) I would be happy to work in any

prefix part of England or Whales. In my spare time I enjoy hiding my horse Thesaurusitis (using the I hope to hear from you shorty wrong synonym!) I have a desire to work with commuters I demand a salary commiserate Dear Madman (instead of with my extensive experience Madam) I am a strenuous student. My hobbits include - instead of Reason for leaving last job: 'hobbies' maturity leave I am sicking and entry-level i am a conscious individual with position good attention to detail (Kent I have a friendly manor graduate) Oversight of an entire Received a plague for salesman department of the year. Restaurant skills: Severing I was formally in a music group customers in which I performed in three In charge of sock control conservative years. instead of 'stock control' I have a degree in orgasmic Im an accurate and rabid typist chemistry. Over summer I worked for an examinations bored. Abilty to meet deadlines while maintaining my composer Cleaning bathrooms and hovering hallways. Have made speech's at Open Days I can make models using a verity of different materials

Fonts

TIMES NEW ROMAN is the standard windows "serif" font. A safe bet - law Unnecessary use of firms seem to like it! A more interesting serif font might be GEORGIA. complex words or ARIAL is the standard windows "sans" font. hard to read fonts Sans fonts don't have the curly bits on letters. As you can see they're cleaner and more modern gives a bad than Times orGeorgia and also looks larger in the same impression: people "point" size (the point size is simply how big the letters are who use simple, clear on the page.) However Arial and Times New Roman are so common that they're a little boring to the eye. Notice how, in language are rated as the example to the right, Verdana in 10 points looks bigger more intelligent. and easier to read than Times New Roman in 12 points. A more classy choice might be VERDANA which has wider letters than or GENEVA - these are both most fonts. common sans fonts. Don't use Comic Sans!

FONT points for larger and

SIZE is normally 12 the normal font with sizes for subheadings headings.

or 10 points. My favourite CV body text font is 10 point Verdana or Lucida Sans

with 12 or 14 points for sub headings.

14 points is too big for the normal body font - wastes space and looks crude.
should not be used in sizes less than 11 points Although many people use 12 points, some research on this suggested
and 8 or 9 points too small to be easily readable by everyone, especially in Times New Roman which

that smaller point size CVs (within reason) were perceived as more intellectual!

The Recruitment and Employment Commission says that about half of all CVs received by recruitment consultants contain spelling or grammatical errors.

Most CVs are now Candidates aged between 21 and 25 are most read on likely to make these mistakes and graduates in screen rathe r than on this age group are twice as likely to make paper. It's no mistakes as those who did not go on to coincidence university. See http://careers.guardian.co.uk/cvthat Serif fonts are mistakes rarely used on the web - they are much less readable on screen (Times Roman was first used on Trajan's column, 2,000 years ago!), and some fonts, such as Verdana, were designed with screen readability in mind. This web site is set in Verdana which, as you can see, is clear and easy to read. If you find fonts interesting see this BBC article and this "Periodic Table" of Typefaces

Different Types of CV

Chronological - outlining your career history in date order, normally beginning with the most recent items (reverse chronological) . This is the "conventional" approach and the easiest to prepare. It is detailed, comprehensive and biographical and usually works well for "traditional" students with a good all-round mixture of education and work experience. Mature students, however, may not benefit from this approach, which does emphasise your age, any career breaks and work experience which has little surface relevance to the posts you are applying for now. See an example chronological CV here Skills-based: highly-focused CVs which relate your skills and abilities to a specific job or career area by highlighting these skills and your major achievements.The factual, chronological details of your education and work history are subordinate. These work well for mature graduates and for anybody whose degree subject and work experience is not directly relevant to their application. Skills-based CVs should be closely targeted to a specific job. See an

example skills-based CV here

If you are applying for posts outside the UK, remember that employers in other countries are likely to have different expectations of what a CV should include and how it should be laid out. The "Global Resume and CV Handbook" (available from Reception) and the Prospects website will help you prepare CVs for overseas employment. See our work abroad page.

Targeting your CV
If your CV is to be sent to an individual employer which has requested applications in this format, you should research the organisation and the position carefully. In the present competitive job market, untargeted CVs tend to lose out to those that have been written with a particular role in mind. For example a marketing CV will be very different from a teaching CV. The marketing CV will focus on persuading, negotiating and similar skills where as the teaching CV will focus more on presentingand listening skills and evidence for these. If your CV is to be used for speculative applications, it is still important to target it - at the very least, on the general career area in which you want to work. Use our I Want to Work in .... pages and sites such as www.prospects.ac.uk to get an idea of what the work involves and what skills and personal qualities are needed to do it successfully. This will enable you to tailor the CV to the work and to bring out your own relevant experience. Even if you are using the same CV for a number of employers, you should personalise the covering letter - e.g. by putting in a paragraph on why you want to work for that organisation. For example CVs, application forms and covering letters see www.kent.ac.uk/careers/cv/cvexamples.htm with notes highlighting points relating to the content and style.

Emailed CVs and Web CVs

Put your covering letter as the body of your email. It's wise to format it as plain text as then it How NOT to do it can be read by any email reader. One graduate had emailed Emails are not as easy to read as letters. Stick to out over 80 CVs without simple text with short paragraphs and plenty of spacing. Break messages into points and make getting a single reply and each one a new paragraph with a full line gap was puzzled as to why. between paragraphs. DON'T "SHOUT": WRITE IN UPPER CASE! I asked him to show me Your CV is then sent as an attachment. Say you'll send a printed CV if required. what he had sent out. He PDF (portable document format) is perhaps had sent identical CVs and becoming the most widely used format now . letters to all the companies There are PDF-readers for all platforms (Windows, MacOS, Linux). This also guarantees that the CV in one mass email. will look the same, no matter what reader is used Recruiters opening the to view the document. Modern versions of email could see the names Microsoft Word contain a PDF export function or you can download a free pdf converter such as of the 80 companies he had Cute applied to in the "To: " box pdf www.cutepdf.com/Products/CutePDF/writer.as p: you install it and then "print" the document to a of the email! folder on your PC. You can also use MS Word (.doc) format, however .doc format is not guaranteed to be compatible among different versions of Microsoft Word, so a CV might look garbled when opened with an outdated or newer version of Word. Also .doc files may not easily open on computers using Linux and Apple platforms. .doc-files may also contain sensitive

information such as previous versions of a document perhaps leading to embarrassment. MS Word documents can contain macro viruses, so some employers may not open these. Send the CV in .doc (Word 2003) format, rather than .docx (Word 2010) format, as not everyone has upgraded to Word 2010, or downloaded the free file converter. Rich Text Format (.rtf), or html (web page format) are other alternatives. If in doubt send your CV in several formats. Email it back to yourself first to check it, as line lengths may be changed by your email reader. Also see How to Send a Resume by E-mail

Web CVs and Electronically Scanned CVs

Web CVs use HTML format. You can include the web address in an email or letter to an employer. They have the advantage that you can easily use graphics, colour, hyperlinks and even sound, animation and video. The basic rules still apply however - make it look professional. They can be very effective if you are going for multimedia, web design or computer games jobs where they can demonstrate your technical skills along with your portfolio. Electronically scanned CVs have been used by Nortel, Ford and others. Resumix is one package used for this: it has artificial intelligence which reads the text and extracts important information such as work, education, skills. For more information on this see our page on on-line applications

The credit company Iprofile recommended that CVs posted on-line should not contain your date of birth, place of birth, marital status, address and phone number as they can allow fraudsters to carry out identity theft and perhaps open bank accounts or apply for credit cards in your name. When emailing your CV to a potential employer it's probably wise to leave out your date of birth, place of birth and marital status if you have any doubts about the validity of the organisation you are applying to. Due to age discrimination legislation in the UK you no longer have to disclose your age on a CV but if you wish to, you could give this rather than your date of birth.

Further Help

Our example CVs, application forms and covering letterswww.kent.ac.uk/careers/cv/cvexamples.ht m

Learning and Skills Council online CV Builder can help you build your own CV in just 12 steps. Very good! bab.la phrase dictionary http://en.bab.la/phrases provide useful phrases for CV writing, letters of application, and business letters in 14 languages including French, German, Spanish, Polish, Chinese and Japanese. The Careers Service runs talks and workshops on CV preparation throughout the year. Ask at Reception for details. If you are having difficulty your CV, you can consult the duty careers adviser from 10.30 am - 12.30 pm and from 2 - 4 pm, weekdays. Booklet: "Making Applications". Ask for your free copy from Careers Reception. "Looking good on paper" On-line Video. Kent students can view this here

I n the various parts of your resume/CV it is helpful to use powerful words that convey

how good you are at what you do.

Problems
Problems need to be seen as significant challenges, not quick and easy things you can do in a few minutes. Such words indicate difficulty, risk and other attributes that make it a worthy problem: awkward, cancel, challenge, difficult, dangerous, elusive, failure, illegal, impact, incomplete, issue, jeopardize, hard, hazardous, hidden, intractable, knotty, loss, non-conforming, non-compliant, problematic, risky, thorny, tough, tricky, troublesome, uncertain, wicked problem

Actions
Action words show what you do to solve the problem. There is a huge range of verbs that can be used. Here is a relatively small sample: accelerated, accomplished, achieved, acquired, adapted, addressed, adjusted, advanced, allocated, altered, analyzed, anticipated, applied, appraised, arbitrated, arranged, asked, assembled, assessed, augmented, automated, began, budgeted, briefed, brought, called, changed, clarified, classified, created, coached, collated, conducted, constructed, communicated, completed, compiled, consulted, consolidated, contracted, coordinated, cultivated, curtailed, cut, dealt, decided, decreased, delegated, delivered, demonstrated, derived, designed, detected, developed, devised, diagnosed, differentiated, directed, diversified, diverted, divested, doubled, earned, eliminated, endorsed, enforced, engineered, enlarged, ensured, engineered, enlisted, ensured, established, evaluated, executed, expedited, experienced, experimented, extended, finalized, fixed, focused, formed, formulated, fostered, found, founded, fulfilled, gained, gave, generated, governed, guided, halted, handled, headed, hired, honed, identified, implemented, improved, increased, influenced, initiated, innovated, inspired, installed, instituted, instructed, integrated, introduced, invented, investigated, isolated, issued, kept, launched, learned, led, listened, made, maintained, managed, marketed, mastered, maximized, mechanized, mediated, mentored, minimized, moderated, modified, motivated, navigated, negotiated, networked, nurtured, obtained, offered, operated, optimized, orchestrated, originated, outsourced, overcame, overhauled, oversaw, perfected, performed, persuaded, piloted, pinpointed, pioneered, planned, predicted, prepared, presented, prevented, prioritized, probed, procured, produced, projected, promoted, proposed, protected, proved, publicized, published, purchased, qualified, questioned, queried, raised, ran, ranked, rated, reached, received, reconciled, recommended, recruited, reduced, redesigned, re-engineered, refined, regulated, rehabilitated, reinvigorated, remodeled, renegotiated, reorganized, repaired, replaced, represented, requested, required, researched, resolved, restored, restructured, retrieved, reversed, revised, revitalized, risked, safeguarded, salvaged, saved, scheduled, secured, selected, set, settled, shaped shared, shortened, sold, solved, speeded, spearheaded, specified, stabilized, standardized, started, steered, stopped, streamlined, strengthened, stressed, structured, supervised, supported, surpassed, sustained, synergized, synthesized, systematized, targeted, taught, tightened, tracked, trained, transformed, treated, trimmed, tripled, uncovered, undertook, unified, upgraded, used, validated, verified, visited, volunteered, widened, won, wrote

From this, you can use verbs to show particular qualities with words such as: Initiative: called, created, devised, designed, developed, formulated, founded, generated, initiated, set up, started Leadership: coached, coordinated, delegated, directed, drove, enabled, enforced, encouraged, established, guided, inspired, led, managed, mentored, motivated, nurtured, orchestrated, organized, steered, supervised Organization: arranged, collected, distributed, filed, inspected, maintained, monitored, organized, planned, prepared, processed, recorded, reviewed, scheduled, sorted, standardized, systematized, updated, verified Communication: addressed, broadcasted, called, collaborated, contacted, corresponded, elicited, heard, influenced, listened, negotiated, presented, settled, spoke, told Helping: aided, assisted, cared, counseled, diagnosed, educated, encouraged, facilitated, influenced, referred, rehabilitated, supported, taught, volunteered Problem-solving: analyzed, assessed, classified, created, critiqued, designed, developed, evaluated, invented, isolated, mapped, optimized, prioritized, revised, solved, tested Creativity: built, composed, conceptualized, created, designed, directed, drew, entertained, fashioned, illustrated, invented, innovated, modeled, originated, painted, performed Improvement: decreased, eliminated, enhanced, increased, maximized, minimized, removed, sharpened, shortened, speeded, terminated

Be careful with words that show you in some weak or non-positive way (although in an appropriate setting some of these can still be valid), such as: assisted, attempted, contributed, felt, helped, participated, supported, thought, tried, worked Adverbs enhance the verbs, strengthening the meaning and adding additional dynamism. Typical adverbs include: accurately, actively, assertively, carefully, completely, confidently, conscientiously, consistently, creatively, effectively, efficiently, entirely, exceptionally, extensively, extremely, highly, immediately, independently, intelligently, logically, massively, meticulously, patiently, practically, precisely, progressively, quickly, quietly, rapidly, realistically, reliably, responsibly, securely, significantly, steadily, strongly, substantially, tactfully, thoroughly, uniquely, vigorously, virtually

Results
Results words show that your actions have solve the problem, creating useful value and giving real benefits to the company and its customers. Verbs tell you what you did in terms of achieving the result, as opposed to the action of getting there. accomplished, achieved, agreement, attained, approved, awarded, completed, decreased, delivered, doubled, enlarged, eliminated, enhanced, established, exceeded, finished, fulfilled, halted, increased, instituted, isolated, optimized, reached, realized, reversed, passed, satisfied, shortened, standardized, succeeded, surpassed Nouns show what has been gained: approval, award, benefit, bonus, profit, revenue, satisfaction, value Other nouns that show ability may be used include:

ability, accomplishment, accuracy, activity, assistance, balance, capability, capacity, career, change, communication, confidence, control, data, deal, decision, design, discretion, duty, education, energy, enterprise, evaluation, foresight, function, goal, improvement, income, initiative, instruction, invention, job, judgement, knowledge, leadership, management, operation, plan, product, program, project, promotion, qualification, record Words to indicate meeting goals include: accurate, complete, on time, on budget, on quality

Skills and experience

Skills and experience often deal in nouns, the things you have done and which you can use to help a future employer. Nouns may be physical things, ideas or the results of action (in which case they appear as nominalized verbs). Nouns to use can be very varied depending on the job, but here are a few for example: acquisition, advice, assistant, book-keeping, campaign, communication, computer, conference, consumer, contract, cost, course, credit, customer, cycle, data, document, education, employee, engineering, entrance, environment, excellence, experience, facility, finance, goods, hardware, invention, loss, knowledge, labor, leader, management, meeting, operation, partner, people, plan, price, production, profit, program, project, quality, record, return, safety, satisfaction, schedule, stock, supplier, system, team, technology, time, transaction, user, work, workflow, visit, yield Note that for scannable resume/CVs, nouns are often more important than verbs. The best way to find the most important nouns for you is to get a number job descriptions for the job type you are seeking and look for common nouns used. Adjectives extend the meaning of nouns and may be used to increase and enhance information given. As with nouns, these may be very job-dependent. Some adjectives you may use include: electronic, emergent, entry, foreign, global, joint, local, permanent, temporary See also below for technical jargon, which also uses many nouns.

Personal attributes
Personal attributes describe you, your values, your attitude and approach to life. These often appear as adjectives. Here are some of the best to use: active, adaptable, ambitious, assured, calm, caring, cheerful, considerate, conscientious, consistent, creative, credible, dependable, determined, diligent, diplomatic, discreet, dynamic, eager, efficient, energetic, enterprising, enthusiastic, excellent, flexible, focused, generous, happy, honest, independent, industrious, knowledgeable, level, loyal, mature, methodical, motivated, open, passionate, persistent, practical, productive, professional, punctual, quiet, realistic, receptive, respected, resolute, responsible, self-starter, sincere, steadfast, studious, tactful, team-player, thoughtful. tough, trustworthy, unbiased, vigorous, warm, willing

Technical jargon
Whilst they are too specialized to list here, any words that describe the technologies and general jargon of what you do may be particularly important. For example, a software engineer may list: Programming languages

Development systems Operating systems Databases Hardware

Skills Proven ability to prioritize and complete multiple tasks with no direction Excellent problem solving and decision making skills Easily establish understanding with management, staff and customers Extensive customer service skills Organizational skills to maintain efficiency in a fast paced environment Versatile and flexible employee who adapts easily to change Thrive on new challenges and responsibilities Maintained an upbeat relationship with team members to create a positive work environment Work Experience I have no experience in this field. I am always ready to learn something new and exciting and I usually catch on quickly.
"High level of autonomy and sense of personal responsibility in achieving success. Strong desire for expansion of current skillset in a fast-paced work environment."

Two important personal qualities employers look for are being willing to learn something new and being fast at learning it, according to the career advice website Quintessential Careers. Employers want to know especially how long it will take you to master new skills. How you word these qualities on your resume can have an impact on whether an employer calls you in for an interview.

When It Is Important

If you are trying to change careers or have been out of the workforce for a long time, being willing to learn new skills is important to getting a job. You should be able to prove in your cover letter and during your interview that you have taken the initiative to learn new skills during your time away from work.

Why It Is Important

Employers have to spend money training you. They spend money sending you to training sessions and having a person oversee your training who otherwise would be doing his regular job. They also have to invest time and energy in seeing that you fully understand your job and how to do it. If you convey the impression that you take too long to learn a new skill, the employer may feel you are not the best person for the position.

Where It Is Important

Include the ability to learn new skills quickly in your summary of key skills at the top of your resume. You might also include it as a skill category in a functional or combination functional-chronological resume. If you use it as a skill category, the jobs you list in this section should clearly demonstrate how quickly you learn new skills. In a chronological resume, list the skill under the particular job to which it pertains. Include information about how you used this skill beneath the jobs you list. For example, you might write, "Was the first in my training group to be promoted to manager after six months as a customer service representative. Completed training successfully in record time for the company."

How To Word It

Quintessential Careers suggests wording similar to the following to convey your ability to learn quickly and your willingness to learn: "Enthusiastic, knowledge-hungry learner, eager to meet challenges and quickly assimilate new concepts." The phrases "fast learner" and "quick to learn" are overused in resumes. Kick your wording up a notch, and incorporate some upbeat phrasing to interest the employer.