5 keywords every hiring manager wants to see on your resume

Building the perfect resume is possibly one of the hardest things every professional has to do. You may have a whirlpool of noteworthy experiences. But when it comes to summing up years’ worth of skill and learning on a one-sided A4 sheet, then somehow making it fall through becomes life’s greatest burden.

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The dramatics aside, creating a good resume comes with the good old ‘trial and error’ methodology, just like it applied to math class, when you had to solve equations. Building a resume means a whole lot of additions, eliminations, and discarded drafts. If you have a plethora of professional activities and social efforts to be listed, you often are faced with the dilemma of choosing between showcasing a certificate or a cause.

The race you won in school or the quiz you aced in college doesn’t qualify as a ‘skill’ when you’re building your professional resume. The trick is to choose depending on the company you are applying at. Consider for a moment that you are applying at a sports management company. In such a scenario, the the several races you may have covered as a part-time journalist would definitely work in your favour. The need to keep modifying your resume depending on the requirements of your potential companies is essential, especially if you want to make it stand out.

According to a recent study, recruiters spend a maximum of six seconds on your resume before deciding whether to take things forward. It states that in this time, they glance over the headline of your resume, data-points like your name, current title/company, previous title/company, and the period you spent at the different companies you worked at. Following this initial appraisal, they will decide whether or not your resume has any solid basis.

To ensure that a prospective hiring manager does not add your resume to the pile of discarded ones lying in the corner, here are a few skill-set words that you should have on your resume to make it stand out from all the others.

‘Created’

It’s always good to have the word ‘created’ on your resume because it shows the kind of drive and initiation qualities that they are looking for in their potential employees. If you have created a new concept, project theme or event, then it shows your potential employer that you exhibit the qualities of an innovative leader, one that will definitely add great value to the company.

‘Researched and wrote on’

Regardless of whichever field you have experience in, proving to your hiring manager that you have in-depth knowledge of the same will definitely help in sprouting their interest in you. Research in a specialised area in the said field will make them realise that you are willing to dedicate time into learning more about any particular subject that they may task you with.

‘Planned and executed’

Nothing will pique the interest of head-hunters like the words ‘planned and executed’. If you can back up your claim and describe how you took a simple idea from implementation and turned it into a reality, then that is a sure-shot guarantee of rising interest levels in your potential employers.

‘Driven’

Although some would say that this skill is a given, being ‘driven’ will always turn the court in your favour. Surface value or not, this proves to your potential employer that you will always be enthusiastic and determined to execute tasks that have been assigned to you. With this single word, you can prove yourself to be disciplined, dedicated, and goal-oriented, thus enhancing your value in their eyes.

‘Mentored’

This usually applies more to senior professionals. But nonetheless, having this term on your resume will definitely raise the bar in your favour. Hiring managers are always on the lookout for team-leaders, individuals with a commandeering presence who can head a team and help each member to deliver their best.

Thank us when you get your offer letter!