Words to Use to Get the Job
Effective communication is the key to a successful interview. The delivery of any presentation is as critical to the success of that presentation as the content, and the qualified candidate with the best skill set will get the job -- if that candidate can deliver the best presentation to the hiring manager. Here's one way to make your presentation exceptional: Use action verbs to describe your work history -- they can make the difference.
Top 10 words to use in an interview to describe yourself and your work history are:
- Achieve
- Analyze
- Create
- Implement
- Organize
- Persuade
- Produce
- Reduce
- Revitalize
- Succeed
These words are powerful because they signify accomplishment.
Examples
An interviewee might want to explain that he was the lead on a team that made sales increase significantly. That could best be phrased by saying:
"I lead a group that implemented a program to motivate our sales team to meet their goals. The result was achieving a 28% increase in revenue, which generated a 13% increase in the company's income."
Or, perhaps an auditor found some deficient practices in a client's accounting system. He could say:
"I was instrumental in an audit that uncovered deficiencies in the client's accounting system. I organized, designed and implemented a new system that improved the client's reporting and reduced expenses."
Some dos and don'ts of presenting yourself in an interview:
Don't say: "I came up with an idea to see ... "
Do say: "I created a plan to measure ... "
Don't say: "I convinced company leaders to ... "
Do say: "I persuaded top management to ... "
Don't say: "I looked at the way we reported expenses and I came up with ... "
Do say: "I analyzed expenses for the year and I created ... "
One way to use these words without sounding phony is to incorporate them into your everyday language. Hiring managers are impressed with a candidate's ability to articulate and communicate professionally. In order to make a lasting impression, it is important to practice using the action verbs to describe the details of your daily tasks. Write the details of your job on a piece of paper and incorporate the action verbs into the tasks; practice saying the phrases so that the expressions become comfortable. This will enable you to sound genuine.
The action verb list is useful for cover letters and resumes as well. When properly used, the action verb can get the attention of a hiring manager. Remember, sometimes it's not what you say, but how you say it.