65 Action Verbs for Your Resume and LinkedIn Profile

65 Action Verbs for Your Resume and LinkedIn Profile Work these verbs in to your resume or LinkedIn profile and you will inspire the reader to take action! If you can think of more, please let us know in the comments below. Accomplished Achieved Adapted Arranged Attained Built Captured Commandeered Completed Converted Crafted Created Cut Delivered Demonstrated Designed Developed Devised Directed Distributed Doubled Drove Earned Eliminated Encouraged Enforced Engineered Ensured Established Expanded Expedited Founded Generated Guided Identified Implemented Improved Improvised Increased Initiated Inspired Installed Instigated Instructed Interpreted Introduced Launched Led Liaised Modernized Motivated Negotiated Organized Promoted Redesigned Revitalized Started Streamlined Strengthened Structured Supervised Transformed Uncovered Widened Won What should no.66 be? Let us know in the comments! Related: Key Action Words to Use in your Resume

Leveraging Hidden Employee Talents

Leveraging Hidden Employee Talents In my last blog, I wrote about hidden employee talents, and how these talents, while seemingly unrelated to the employee’s job, may benefit him or her in unexpected ways. Hobbies or former careers such as music, dance, sports or photography will all teach discipline, persistence and determination in their own unique way, and the more dedicated and accomplished the participant, the more useful skills may transfer over to the workplace…as well as the more interest and attention they may receive around the office water cooler. So now that you’ve done a mental inventory of your coworkers and pinpointed the artists and athletes, you may be able to recognize some of these familiar qualities in them. The next question is, how do you harness these qualities for the good of the office? Here are some ideas to make them benefit everyone. Skills Assessments Skills-based assessments can be an effective way of measuring employees’ knowledge, skills and abilities. Just because an employee was hired for one role doesn’t mean he or she may not be better suited for another. Cross-training and promoting from within are common in companies, but what may be less common is discovering that someone’s previous artistic or athletic endeavors make them a perfect match for a role they may not have even considered. Skills assessments can not only help employers measure employees’ competencies, but they can provide insight into employees’ strengths, weaknesses, and in what roles they may excel. Successful bands have leaders who book shows and plan set lists. Successful dance crews have leaders who choreograph shows. Winning sports teams have leaders who call plays. Can these leadership skills carry over to an office setting? An effective skills assessment test will be able to tell. Training and Presentations Employees who have spent time pursuing their passion often learn a number of business skills, even if they’re not aware of it. Sports teams, bands and dance troupes all function as small businesses, and participants act as salesmen, account managers, accountants, business developers, promoters, or a number of other duties necessary to go from “weekend hobbyist” to “semi-professional” or “full-timer.” These skills often overlap with those that may be valuable in an office setting. If one employee happens to stand out above the rest in a particular area at work, ask them to share their knowledge with the team in a training or presentation. In a process-driven environment, if an employee can share his or her knowledge with a group of coworkers and half the attendees can walk away with one new piece of information, the process will improve. Ask for Advice Even if an employee isn’t given the opportunity to share knowledge in a group setting, he or she can still serve as a resource to others â€" just ask! With the exception of the occasional introvert, most artists and athletes who have gained skills worth sharing at the office are used to working with others and have developed strong people skills. Don’t be afraid to reach out to them and encourage others to do the same. Some say the reason performers step on stage and athletes step onto the field is they crave attention. While this may not apply to all performers and athletes, for those who do enjoy the attention, they will welcome the recognition of their achievements at the office and the opportunity to share their knowledge with coworkers. Knowledge is a fascinating subject in that the intelligent can gain it from nearly any setting or activity. Any successful employer will always be looking to hire intelligent employees. Therefore, if A equals B and B equals C, and you work for a successful employer, we can determine that you probably have several intelligent coworkers who gained their knowledge not just from the office, but from a variety of backgrounds and experiences. Don’t allow their talents to go to waste. It’s the employers who figure out how to bring hidden employee talents out into the open that will ultimately be the most successful.

5 Cover letter mistakes that make you look nuts

5 Cover letter mistakes that make you look nuts Melissa and I are in a hotel room in New York City to meet with a guy  who has a lot of money and wants to do a makeup line. And of course Melissa and I said we could definitely launch a makeup line. I mean, we shop at Sephora, so we can launch something like that. Of course it will not be something like that at all because we are differentiating our makeup line. We are not sure how, though, which is why we came to New York a day early so we could order room service and  walk around in pajamas and read blogs about the resurgence of brick-and-mortar stores, which we will be leading. Of course. But first we have to do other things. Like Melissa has to show me this company that called Melissa about recruiting. Its  Everlane. The catalogue is so cool. They tell you the price of every single thing on the page. Like, the price of the fabric. But I cant keep buying new clothes,  so I tell Melissa to get Everlane  to sponsor my blog so we can get free clothes. And Melissa takes a picture of me pitching myself to the company. And they are going to be blown away by how good their catalogue looks on my blog. Then Melissa has to go read resumes because she is now a million-dollar-an-hour recruiter for hipster companies. In fact, Melissa should just sponsor this blog and buy me all the Everlane clothes. She is reading resumes. She says, This person wrote in their cover letter that the job will be good for them because SOMA is an easy commute. I take a look. It is true. Someone has actually said that they are qualified for the job because its a good commute for them. Melissa tells me that people write stuff about their commute in their cover letter all the time. She is shocked that this particular person is so old because people should know better by that age, she says. Rule #1  Dont focus on your needs focus on the companys needs. I start writing my blog post about my course for parenting  based on personality type. I get stuck feeling sorry for myself  that no one knew my personality type when I was ten. I should not have been in tap dance classes. Im too achievement-oriented to be relegated  to a kick line. I think of all the overachiever resumes that Melissa gets. Seriously. She is hiring for executive assistants at startups and she gets resumes from Harvard, professional athletes, United Nations envoys.  Its all super  surprising to me. But Melissa brings things back to reality by reading a snippet from a  cover letter: I have a 3.9 grade point average from [redacted] college, and please note that it is an accredited school. I feel bad for the person and I think maybe I should get his email address and offer to rewrite his cover letter. Then I see the cover letter  is written in all caps. Yes. ALL CAPS. And I realize  he is hopeless. Rule #2  Dont highlight your stupid school. Rule #3  Definitely dont do it in all caps. Melissa  is hiring assistants for people you would just die of excitement to meet. Even I would die to meet  them and I hate meeting people so much that I come to NYC and dont leave my hotel room. I am trying to think of a way to tell you how great Melissa is at her job. I think this tells you: She found a guy who has a gender-neutral name and came to the interview dressed as a woman. And during the interview everyone avoided pronouns and the interview went well and Melissa picked the person as her top pick for the job. And guess what? The hiring manager loved him. Or her. And gave her/him an offer. And I feel like thats how good Melissa is, that she can get some boys club startup guy to offer a job to a cross-dressing transgender guy or whatever the lingo is. Rule #4 Leave  cross-dressing off  the cover letter. Just assume people are fine with it.   I have to call home to have my husband check to see if my son has been watching porn and my husband says we need to  put some sort of security on the computer. And I start hunting for something I can tell my husband to download and I find android security and adultery security and I think Melissa is going to scream at me for being generationally challenged when it comes to search, but we hear chanting and we look out the window, which we can only open two inches because we are in Times Square and they dont want jumpers, and we see there is a protest about the Eric Garner decision. I get my camera to take a picture. Quick! I tell Melissa. We are so cool for being here. We are on the cutting edge! It must be documented on the blog that I was in the middle of something exciting. Melissa says she has to take a picture because she is the official photographer of the blog. So she got to take the picture. I am the assistant photographer. I am relegated to taking pictures of  my knee. I didnt mean for this picture to go on the blog. I sent the picture to Melissa to show her that my knees are getting wrinkly and I think I need a face lift on my knee, or whatever its called for a knee. Melissa says,  I hate when people write in their cover letter that I will be foolish not to hire them. Who do they think they are? Rule #5  Dont threaten the reader. (Note: Melissa says only men do this.) I say, Do you have any  cover letters where  someone did well? And she says, I have a part of the application where people have to write 150  characters about themselves. And this  person wrote: If you could only have 5 words on your tombstone, describing yourself,  what would it say? Mine: She wanted to learn, everything. The punctuation is so gorgeous that I read the sentences twice, and I imagine myself using a comma with such intention. And then I realize that I am too wound up in appearances. To be clear, I am not crazy. Appearances matter way more for women at work than men.  But somehow I just wrote a whole blog post about make up and clothes and porn and plastic surgery  and looking cool. And you know what the best part of this post is?  That applicant who wrote a great sentence.

Authors Corner 8 Things You Didnt Know About Me - Personal Branding Blog - Stand Out In Your Career

Authors Corner 8 Things You Didnt Know About Me - Personal Branding Blog - Stand Out In Your Career Personal branding is about connecting with other people and blogs are the cheapest, most cost effective way to meet and greet. Scott Monty, a Boston social media marketing guru, tagged me in one of his recent posts and asked me to write one of my own. The post was called 8 Things You Didnt Know About Me. I thought this was a clever idea because it puts the personal in personal branding and gives your readers a closer look at who you are, with information not everyone knows. I wasnt always prolific. Believe it or not, before college I had very little motivation, determination or idea of who I was. When I was a freshman I was interested in math and now Im doing marketing and branding. When College rolled around, my mindset changed because I wanted to start a new life and it was very expensive. I didnt believe in myself until after my first semester, when I received straight As after putting the effort in. After viewing my report card, my life changed forever. __ My family is obsessed with cruise ships and tennis. Ive been going on cruise ships since I was 8 years old and have been on a total of 16. Ive been to Alaska on a cruise during the summer time and also traveled to St. Thomas, Haiti, St. Maartin, Jamaica, Key West, Bermuda, Nassau, Freeport, and many other islands.   After my father left the food industry, he transitioned to travel and became a travel agent, specializing in cruises. Since I was 6 Ive played tennis, both competitively and for fun. I was on my high school tennis team for 3 years but gave it up in college due to commitments. __ I discovered my brand on March 14th. This blog will celebrate its first birthday this March. There are entries from October 5th because they were from first blog I created on Blogger.com called Driven to Succeed. I was branding myself and mentoring others before I even new the term personal branding existed, but on that day, it was like an awakening. For some reason, I feel like I was supposed to wait until this date in order to full embrace the topic. In order to pull off what Ive accomplished today, I needed skills, such as web development, graphic design, online marketing and social media. When I decided to go in this direction those skills were available to me, so I could quickly become what I am today. __ I have many hats and people cant keep up. Dave McClure is the master of 500 hats, while I have a mere 9. Aside from being a blogger, I publish Personal Branding Magazine, freelance write, host the Personal Brand Awards, direct Personal Branding TV, am on the board of advisers for ((echo)) MyPlace, work full-time at EMC Corp, hold keynote speeches and workshops, and will soon be a book author. A future post will describe a typical day I have. __ I used to be very shy. I would say one of the best benefits of discovering your brand is that it gives you confidence to speak to others. When you dont know who you are, you have very little to talk about. Im not saying I was never social, but I used to keep to myself because I didnt feel comfortable around other people who had a clear direction. __ Video games were a huge part of my life. I had Nintento, Super Nintendo, N64, Playstation 2 and Game Gear (Sega). Any systems or games I didnt own I would borrow from friends or rent at Blockbuster. Back when I was passionate about video games, there were no internet/multi-player options. I remember selling my Super Nintendo and N64 and getting more money back from the Super Nintendo ($50 compared to $25). __ Im a straight guy who likes fashion. There are too many stereotypes about men who dress well. As noted in many posts and articles, I feel that how you dress is an essential element of your value proposition. When it comes to first appearances, as someone is about to greet you, they notice your looks and dress. As they approach you, your personality becomes apparent. My favorite brands are ETRO Milano, Ted Baker London and Paul Smith. Each one is very unique and matches up to my personal brand. My wardrobe is probably as exhausted as most womens, but Im fine with it. __ I never used to like reading or writing. In fact, I was always stubborn about taking the time to learn new things, but of course that has all changed. The longest paper Ive ever written before I started this blog was 20 pages and now Im writing a book that is over 200 pages. This blog is inching closer to 200 posts and if you combine all the articles Ive sent to publishers, then that may be a books worth as well. As for reading, I subscribe to many blogs and read them each day. Reading and writing continuously in this fashion is a great exercise for learning and developing these skills. Now that Ive spilled my guts, its time to tag others. Ann Handley, Peter Kim, and Krishna De.

Making a Career Change How to Prove Youre the Perfect Fit - CareerMetis.com

Making a Career Change How to Prove You're the Perfect Fit Making a career change can be a daunting prospect.As well as the uncertainty that comes with quitting a secure job, there’s the added pressure of convincing potential employers you’re the right person to work in a field you have little or no experience in.evalBut changing your career path is completely achievable â€" most of us are likely to do it at least oncein our lives. It may not be easy This is one of the questions you’ll undoubtedly get asked by potential employers, so you need to know the answer. Simply saying ‘because I hated my old job’ isn’t going to cut it.Spend some time thinking about your reasons for changing your career, and specifically why you’ve chosen this particular new career path.Instead of focusing on the negatives of your old job, focus on the positives of both new and old careers.Come up with a solid set of reasons for making the switch, and be prepared with a succinct answer that sums them up.evalFor example: ‘I learned a lot working as a hy drogeologist, but I realized when my company began sending me to teach workshops in schools that I really loved working with children, so I decided to pursue it further and move into the education sector.’2) Identify some tangible goalsIf you want to succeed, you need to have an idea of what that success is going to look like. Launching yourself blindly into a new career without knowing where you’re trying to get to is unlikely to yield results.Again, potential employers often ask questions along the lines of ‘so where do you see yourself in five years?’ and again, you need to be prepared to answer them.Research the sector you want to work in thoroughly. Check out the LinkedIn pages of a few companies you’d like to work for, and find a few employees in jobs you’d like to do.evalSee what previous experience they have, and what led them to their current role.This will help you work out what sort of career trajectory people generally follow in your desired sector. Of course , there are no hard and fast rules, but this should be a good indication of what your new career path might look like.Based on your research, identify a few tangible career goals, and give them time limits. For example, if you want to move into journalism, one of your goals might be to become a staff writer for a local newspaper within three years.3) Address gaps in your experienceIf you’re moving into an entirely new sector, you’re probably going to have gaps in your skillset.If you’re making a huge about-turn into a field you have no experience in, you may have to do some significant training.If you’ve decided to become an electrician or a lawyer, for example, you’ll have to completely retrain.If you’re making a less drastic change, then a short course or some volunteering in your chosen field may be all you need.Either way, taking positive steps to address the gaps in your skills will show potential employers that you’re serious about the career change and enthusias tic about the sector.4) Identify areas where your skills cross overevalOn the flip side, there are likely to be some areas where your current skills converge with those you’ll need in your new career.Read over job descriptions for jobs you’d like to do, and identify what skills and experience they require.Think carefully about previous jobs you’ve done and the responsibilities you had. Find parallels between those responsibilities and the skills listed in the job descriptions.Knowing where your skills cross over will be vital when it comes to applying and interviewing for jobs.eval5) Make contact with the right peopleevalNetworking is always helpful â€" but even more so when you’re changing your career. As the old saying goes, it’s not what you know but who you know.If you already have contacts in your desired field, great â€" get in touch! If not, ask around your friends, family and professional network to see if anyone has any contacts in the field and ask them to introd uce you.If you can’t find anyone in your existing network, use LinkedIn or find contacts from company websites.Don’t be shy about approaching them â€" people are often more generous with their time and advice than you think, especially if you show a real interest in their work.A good way to start is by sending an email paying them a compliment or acknowledging something impressive or interesting they’re doing professionally. Once you’ve built up a bit of a rapport you can then ask them for some advice or a bit of their time.You’re likely to get some invaluable advice out of it, and you never know â€" it might lead to a job opportunity further down the line if you’re lucky.6) Nail the career change CVOne of the most valuable weapons in any career changer’s arsenal is the CV.Nailing your CVis absolutely essential if you want to make the right impression on potential employers.When changing career it’s best to start completely afresh. You’re embarking on an entirely n ew career, so you should have an entirely new CV.An opening paragraph is crucial on a career change CV. It needs to acknowledge the change of direction and highlight and key crossovers between your experience and the job description.Include your most relevant experience, and highlight any accomplishments and responsibilities that could be desirable in your new career.If you’ve done any training or volunteering to prepare for your new career, make this prominent.Once you’ve got a template for your new CV, make sure you tailor it specifically to each job you apply for, including keywords from the job description throughout.7) Be persistentThe most important thing you can do is be persistent, and don’t beat yourself up if it takes longer than you thought it would â€" it will be worth it when you get there!It may not happen overnight, but just carry on taking one small action each day and you’ll gradually get closer and closer to your career goals.

Three Tips That Will Help To Streamline Your Business

Three Tips That Will Help To Streamline Your Business When it comes to business, we are all constantly looking for ways to streamline what we do. How can processes run more quickly? How can our offices be more efficient? Luckily there are some things that we can do to make sure that the service we provide is easy, quick and streamlined. Cut Down Your Meetings In the office, it’s time to consider the meetings that seem to take up half of every day, and whether you actually need all of them. Sometimes, decisions can be come to via group chats on Slack, for example, or you may find that you don’t need quite so many colleagues and co-workers in that decision-making meeting with you. Take a look around and consider if each and every one of those people really needs to be there. If the answer is no, then why not call in each head of department instead, and have them feed back information to their team? This is quicker and more efficient, as the team members can keep working during the meeting time. Make sure that you keep to the meeting agenda and that the time you’ve allotted for the meeting doesn’t overrun. You could also consider standing meetings the idea might not seem pleasant but they tend to take a lot less time. Start To Outsource Outsourcing is key when it comes to freeing up your time so that you can focus on what you really need to do. When you start a company, most people tend to do almost everything themselves, but as time goes on, and as you expand, that is no longer necessary. Think back to when you started your company why did you do that? Was it because you were inspired by a great idea, or because you wanted to spend hours each week working on payroll or in IT services? These are things that you can leave to other people outsourced IT support, for example, will not only save you a job, but they will also have more expertise so they’ll be able to do that job more quickly and more cheaply and to a higher standard. What About Working From Home? In many places, flexibility has become absolutely key. A lot of people won’t consider accepting a new job unless there is some flexibility there: people are no longer willing to spend a certain amount of hours each day chained to their desk in the office, which means in turn that you need to open your own mind about what working for you actually means. Much of the time, having people work from home is actually better than having them in the office. They will be saving the expense, energy and time of their commute, and will also be able to work in a calm and quiet space, which is not the case in all offices. If you choose to hot desk at work, you may also be able to cut down on the amount of office space that you need. Streamlining your business doesn’t have to be difficult or complicated these tips will help you work easily and more efficiently in no time.

Tips for Writing a Teacher Resume

Tips for Writing a Teacher ResumeWhile it is great to have a student or teacher resume, it is still important to consider how to write an effective teacher resume. There are many pitfalls that can ruin a teacher resume, so it is very important to avoid them as much as possible.The first step in writing a teacher resume is making sure you are a good fit for the position you are applying for. If you do not fit in the position, you will not get called in for an interview. Teachers who are mature and secure are more likely to get a better teaching job, but this is not the only consideration.You should always be yourself, even if you think you are not a good teacher. You will want to be polite and courteous at all times.Teachers should always be self-deprecating when they are applying for a teaching job. This will show potential employers that you know you are not the best candidate for the job. Self-deprecation is a valuable skill that can help your application stand out in the crowd.Whe n you are going through the school of resume writing to see what suits you, you will find many resumes that are for teachers with no educational background. They were self-trained and had no formal education. This type of resume is not very professional and can show that you do not take the profession of teaching seriously.A good teacher who wants to get ahead should have something that stands out about their education. You should be able to list your degree, if you have it, and list the classes you have taken. You should also be able to list the resources that you have learned from that are helpful in the field of education.Your teacher resume should focus on your teaching and the positive attributes that you bring to the table. Your career goals should be bolded and the other qualifications you offer should be clearly outlined. Being professional on your teacher resume will put you at the top of the hiring queue.Always read the specific career path that the school is advertising a nd research what schools are offering that match up to your specific career path. Making the effort to get this right will pay off later in your career when you are in demand and want to start getting a raise. So take the time to become a professional on your teacher resume and you will get hired the second you walk into the interview room.