I have read a lot of CVs over the years. Thousands. Some are, to put it politely, just a little bit dull. They read like an old-fashioned job description.
Stop writing about responsibilities on your CV and instead focus on your outputs – the things you have delivered through the actions you personally took. Under each of your positions listed on your CV you should have bullet points of your greatest achievements, written in the past tense.
Aim to vary your language to make it interesting for the reader. Here are some of my favourite verbs for inspiration when you are writing your CV:
Achieved
Campaigned
Completed
Convinced
Created
Delivered
Designed
Developed
Elevated
Exceeded
Executed
Expanded
Facilitated
Founded
Generated
Implemented
Improved
Influenced
Initiated
Introduced
Launched
Maximised
Merged
Negotiated
Outperformed
Persuaded
Planned
Redesigned
Resolved
Restructured
Simplified
Succeeded
Transformed
Won
You weren’t ‘responsible for the day to day running of the function’ (yawn), you ‘delivered an increase in sales of 23% by re-energising the team and inspiring them with your vision of making life easier for the customer’.
My earlier blog gives some general guidance on how to write an amazing CV that will get you interviews.
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