Best Words for Your Cover Letter and Resume
The best words for your cover letter and resume are words that will get you an interview. A hiring manager or a recruiter spends just seconds reading either one. The cover letter is usually an email. Often, the hiring manager will decide to read your résumé based on the keywords (names of experiences, goods, services, and skills) that you put in your cover letter. If your cover letter shows that you are someone who has the experience the hiring company needs, the hiring manager will open your resume.
After your résumé is on file with a company, the keywords words you have in your résumé will determine whether your résumé appears during database searches for active applicants. Hiring managers use keywords to find matches between the words in job specifications and the words in resumes. If your résumé has the buzzwords the recruiter is searching, your resume will appear in the search results.
In addition, industry lingo and buzzwords show that you have an understanding of the job for which you are applying.
Here are some examples of names that might help a hiring manager find you and, therefore, are words you might want to include in your résumé and in your online profile.
- Names of companies where you have worked, especially names of prestigious companies in your field
- Names of schools you have attended
- Names of academic achievements: cum laude, dean’s list, first in graduating class
- Names of clients or key accounts
- Names of brands, products, or services you have developed
- Names of fields in which you worked
- Use action words: launched, resolved, won, improved
- Names of computer software or Internet applications you know: C++, PowerPoint, JavaScript, Java, Google Documents, iOS, Android
- Names of certifications and credentials: Certified Public Accountant, Certified Marriage and Family Counselor, Credentialed Teacher, Licensed Driver of Commercial Vehicles
- Names of Hard skills: Fluent in French, Typing Speed: 120 words per minute, Diesel Mechanic
- Names of Soft Skills with examples: Team Builder, Inter-departmental Facilitator, New-hire Mentor
- Do not use clichés and opinions of yourself: proactive, strategic, dynamic, thought leader, go-getter
These same principles apply to your online professional profile.