Qualifications: The “Q” in You
Now that you have an objective, you can focus on more nitty-gritty aspects of your chosen field. Here's another resume-writing mantra for you to repeat: “I can get any job I can describe — as long as I can describe it well.”
The rest of this section explains the all-important skill of writing good qualifications summaries that articulate and support your career goal. Qualifications are critical. In your work (or education or volunteer commitments), you have probably performed the very functions prospective employers are looking for.
Plenty of your achievements are relevant to your goals. To decide which are important enough to include on your resume, think like a knowledgeable member of your target audience. From this perspective, you can see the criteria that would qualify you for the job. If the field is veterinary science, for instance, your volunteer work in the local 4-H club teaching kids how to care for their livestock would count as a qualification.
Review your achievements from a field-oriented perspective. Pick the 10 that are most relevant to your current goals; they will be the foundation for your qualification and achievement summaries.
FACT
E-resumes are often analyzed electronically with database keyword searches. The more of these keywords you use, the more likely it is that your resume will make the cut. You can make a good start at figuring out the keywords in your chosen field by visiting any of the big online job boards.
Thinking about past achievements makes you take one step back so you can take two steps forward. Summaries of qualifications talk about the past, but they project your abilities and goals into the future.
Bringing Out the “Q”
Take out three pieces of paper. Title each as follows:
- Employment Achievements
- Service Achievements
- Educational Achievements
Starting from the present and working back in time, list your achievements in each category using the following guidelines:
Note when you accomplished this achievement, including month and year.
For the employment category, think about full-time and part-time jobs, internships, and other project-by-project roles. The service category should include volunteer work and memberships in service organizations. In the education category, in addition to degrees earned, note important papers, publications, fellowships, or other awards of excellence.
Think in particular about leadership roles you might have had. The proven ability to lead is an important achievement in any category.
Name your title, if you had one. Be specific about the context of your achievement (were you an undergraduate when you got that paper published or a busy grad student?).
Phrasing should be brief. Edit later for style and to make your descriptions active.
When you finish, your three pages will list past achievements under each heading. But the lists on their own don't make for a thorough inventory, and it's an inventory you're after. The next step is to analyze your past.
Making a Self-Inventory
Take out a fourth piece of paper. Title it “Most Significant Outcomes and Accomplishments.” Review the achievements you listed on your three earlier pages, and pick the 10 that were most significant. Add them to this final page, and include the outcome that resulted from each one.
Most keyword searches scan for achievement-focused nouns in addition to action verbs. Those might include the names of software applications, new technology, industry-specific phrases, specialized techniques, conceptual models, or analytical tools.
Finally, transform these accomplishments into bullet points using an active, outcome-focused style (illustrated in the following samples). Refer to the samples for inspiration, if necessary. You can use these bullet points on your resume (under headlines like “Experience,” “Community Service,” and “Education”), or, with a little more work, you can transform them into your qualification summary.
Action Verbs and Action Statements
The following lists include action verbs and sample statements for describing qualifications. Boldface is used in the sample statements for emphasis, but it should not be used this way in your resume.
Accommodated |
Achieved |
Activated |
Adapted |
Adjusted |
Administered |
Advertised |
Advised |
Advocated |
Affirmed |
Altered |
Analyzed |
Applied |
Appraised |
Approved |
Archived |
Assembled |
Assessed |
Assisted |
Assumed |
Attached |
Attained |
Audited |
Augmented |
Authorized |
Statements
Analyzed procedures to
assess overall efficiency and monitor outcomes relative to goals for Quality Assurance and Quality Control.Assessed proposals to determine
accuracy of financial projections and prioritize strategies.Applied theories to research data, generated hypotheses,
analyzed data, and then presented trends via written and oral reports.Appraised value of properties as well as risk
associated with prospective buyers and mortgage options.Audited financial and manufacturing performance records to identify cost-sensitive variables.
Balanced |
Branded |
Built |
Calculated |
Calibrated |
Chose |
Classified |
Collected |
Combined |
Commanded |
Communicated |
Compromised |
Conceived |
Condensed |
Conferred |
Confirmed |
Consolidated |
Consulted |
Controlled |
Converted |
Coordinated |
Counseled |
Created |
Credited |
Curtailed |
Statements
Built and
tested actual and virtual prototype model of bridge and off-ramp.Conceived, implemented, and
improved promotional campaign using Web, direct mail, posters, and print media strategies.Conferred regularly with supervisors, peers, and clients to determine effectiveness of programs.
Coordinated the activities of more than 100 volunteers, focusing on serving approximately 5,000 meals.
Counseled students regarding academic performance, class scheduling, test preparation, career options, and college admissions.
Debugged |
Decoded |
Deducted |
Deemed |
Delegated |
Deleted |
Delivered |
Demonstrated |
Derived |
Described |
Designated |
Designed |
Determined |
Developed |
Dictated |
Digitized |
Directed |
Disclosed |
Discontinued |
Discovered |
Dispatched |
Displayed |
Distributed |
Documented |
Drafted |
Statements
Designated specific tasks to individuals,
motivated maximum performance, andmonitored outcomes.Described products and services accurately over the phone, via e-mail, and in written proposals.
Designed, implemented, and
documented experimental procedures.Demonstrated effective customer service and relationship sales skills targeting varied consumer markets and demographics.
Documented achievements via attendance, sales, and profit figures, all in excess of established targets and quotas.
Drafted, edited, finalized, duplicated, and
distributed promotional materials and media packets.
Economized |
Educated |
Eliminated |
Employed |
Empowered |
Encoded |
Encouraged |
Engaged |
Established |
Estimated |
Evaluated |
Examined |
Exchanged |
Executed |
Expanded |
Expedited |
Extended |
Familiarized |
Forged |
Formulated |
Galvanized |
Governed |
Grouped |
Guaranteed |
Guided |
Statements
Evaluated program effectiveness using predetermined criteria, then
cited findings using PowerPoint presentations and written reports.Expressed views in persuasive yet appropriate ways via verbal and written arguments.
Formulated and
implemented questionnaire designed to clarify problem areas and assess attitudes.Generated trust and confidence of clients, parents, peers, and supervisors.
Guided families and prospective students,
answered questions, andserved as spokesperson for the university.
Headed |
Heard |
Highlighted |
Honored |
Hypothesized |
Illustrated |
Implemented |
Imposed |
Improved |
Increased |
Informed |
Initiated |
Installed |
Instructed |
Interpreted |
Introduced |
Invented |
Inventoried |
Investigated |
Joined |
Judged |
Justified |
Lectured |
Listened |
Localized |
Statements
Headed committee that
inspired revision of mission statement, strategies, and methods used to measure adherence to stated goals.Identified key issues and alternatives, and
detailed strategies to achieve desired outcomes.Improved methods used to register clients, retrieve files, and initiate counseling sessions.
Investigated past strategies, resources, and services to establish and implement improvements.
Listened to concerns of customers and
responded in ways to maximize loyalty and repeat sales.
Maintained |
Managed |
Mandated |
Matched |
Measured |
Merged |
Minimized |
Modernized |
Modified |
Motivated |
Named |
Negotiated |
Noted |
Observed |
Obtained |
Operated |
Organized |
Originated |
Planned |
Prescribed |
Procured |
Produced |
Programmed |
Publicized |
Published |
Statements
Managed time, personnel, and finances efficiently, maximizing impact with minimum resources.
Motivated colleagues to complete program planning, implementation, and evaluation efforts.
Marketed products and services to target audiences using specialized strategies and promotional materials.
Organized projects to ensure accurate completion within existing deadlines.
Procured materials donated to renovate living space for the homeless.
Queried |
Quoted |
Recommended |
Rectified |
Reduced |
Regulated |
Reorganized |
Repaired |
Replaced |
Reported |
Represented |
Researched |
Restored |
Revised |
Rewrote |
Shaped |
Simplified |
Solved |
Sponsored |
Stabilized |
Strengthened |
Studied |
Supervised |
Supplemented |
Surpassed |
Statements
Queried users regarding customer service, effectiveness of displays, and desired improvements.
Reported findings in PowerPoint illustrated presentations and written reports containing charts, graphs, and spreadsheets.
Revised training manual, including role-play interviews, interactive scripts, and inspirational quotes.
Suggested options to improve performance and profitability.
Simplified client greeting and payment procedures to expedite check-in process.
Taught |
Terminated |
Tied |
Took |
Tracked |
Traded |
Trained |
Transcribed |
Transferred |
Transformed |
Transmitted |
Tutored |
Typed |
Uncovered |
Underscored |
Unified |
Updated |
Uploaded |
Used |
Utilized |
Verified |
Vetoed |
Voted |
Waged |
Wrote |
Statements
Taught new paralegals to use LexisNexis and other computerized search systems.
Trained peer career advisors to greet students, conduct quick assessments, and address residence needs.
Verified effectiveness of promotional strategies via attendance profiling and attitude questionnaires.
Used state-of-the-art CADD techniques to design and test prototypical manufacturing equipment.
Wrote creative promotional materials and
designed advertising materials in Spanish and English.
