Keywords

What?

Keywords (or Power Words) are powerful descriptive words emphasising how you achieved something (usually in the past tense).

Why?

Keywords can make a real difference to the strength of your CV, Personal Statement or Application and will demonstrate your Transferable Skills to help you stand out from the other applicants.

Examples:

Captained local football team to win cup – the reader will see you as a leader / team player / committed / ambitious / winner
Organised charity event, raising over £500 in a day – the reader will see you as a leader / organised / achiever / able to deliver to tight deadlines

Which?

Here are just a few sample Keywords to get you started. It’s important that you only use those which truthfully apply to you:

People Skills

Leadership
managed
captained
guided

Communication
publicised
contacted
informed

Customer Services
helped
cared
exceeded

Teamwork
assisted
helped
engaged

Personal Skills

Initiative
energised
designed
composed

Commitment
regularly
recommended
guaranteed

Accountability
responsible for
ownership of
stepped forward

Organisational
re-organised
co-ordinated
efficiently

General Skills

Presentation
delivered
negotiated
spoke

Flexibility
adaptable
complied
adjusted

IT Skills
MS Office
project work
software

Problem Solving
solved
answered
appointed

Practical Skills

Manual Dexterity
play
detail
intricate

Finishing
completed
produced
implemented

Driving
control
hand-eye co-ordination
quick reactions

Repairing
strengthened
maintained
recovered

Where?

Keywords can be found in many places, but should always be truthful and relevant to your application:

adverts – “the skills we are looking for” can give you some key ‘buzz’ words to use
websites – “we value x, y, z skills in all our staff/students” indicates the company culture
technical – specific to the industry/subject/specialism you are applying for

And look for synonyms – use a thesaurus or search electronically to find a more impressive way to describe your key achievements.

How?

By using Keywords at the start of brief bullet points, the reader is gets the headline achievement. If they want to know more about how you did these things…. they’ll have to ask you about that at interview!

Use Keywords instead of the word ‘I’ to demonstrate how you did something.

Help?

On Careersnearhere.com, why not take a look at:

Applications, and other headings under the Tips section at the bottom of the page
Careers Advice & Guidance Online and other headings under the Help section at the bottom of the page

Perhaps also search YouTube and the internet for relevant videos including those by some of the major employers.

It’s Your Future – Let’s Get It Started!