How Do You Choose the Right Words for Your Resume and Cover Letter?

Your primary resource for resume vocabulary comes from the job posting. Let's examine a snippet from an actual job posting, taken from Indeed.com, from a company seeking a pharmaceutical sales representative*:

Representatives are responsible for all sales activity within their individual territories. This includes (but is not limited to) sales calls to physicians, pharmacies, wholesales and any medical professional (or organization), which may influence FPI promoted product sales.

Candidates should possess 1-2 years medical and/or sales experience with proven track record.

How to Choose Your Resume Language to Get Interviews

Now let's look at what the job description is actually requesting. The critical phrases are:

By examining the words that the hiring manager believes are critical to the position, you can increase your chance of being selected for an interview.

How Can You Use these Words in Your Resume to Get More Interviews?

Think about the Hiring Manager (Human Readers)

By reflecting the language that a job posting uses, you can incorporate the language that the hiring manager expects to read, demonstrating that you're attentive, sharp, and aware of what the hiring manager wants. You're reflecting corporate culture, and you're plugging into exactly what the hiring manager needs.

Additionally, when you use these phrases in your resume and cover letter, you're addressing the exact experience that you've had that will be necessary in the job to come. If you're not a sales professional, the likelihood of your being able to come up with relevant experience to amplify these topics is slender. However, if you're a sales leader extraordinaire, these phrases will naturally become a part of your resume, because your track record will reflect them time and again.

Think about the Applicant Tracking Systems (Machine Readers)

In large companies, hiring managers can one step removed from the process of selecting the initial stack of resumes to review. The team that accomplishes this first step will be in Human Resources; they'll take phrases from the job description and plug them into the ATS to get a good reasonable start. By using the exact phrases in your resume and cover letter, you'll have a better chance of coming strongly in the searches.

* Full job posting here: http://www.pharmadiversityjobboard.com/view_job.php?post_id=514777&tag=indeed&r=447620

I'm Amy L. Adler, MBA, MA, CARW, Career Search Strategist. Visit me at http://olympusresumes.com/about-us/ to learn how you can propel your job search with a resume package that gets interviews without breaking the bank.

Whether you just graduated from Law School or an LLM program, or have been practicing law for more than 20 years, there are certain key things that are important for you to keep in mind when searching for a new job. Here are a few tips to help you land and ace your next legal interview:

a. Submit a Stellar Resume: Until the Hiring Partner or Interviewer has had a chance to meet you and be dazzled by your incredible personality, they have to want to interview you. Unless you have been referred as a candidate, presumably the resume will precede your grand entrance. Therefore, make sure the resume is perfect. That includes reviewing the content, performing spell and grammar checks, double-checking the format, and then check it again. If one portion of the resume is justified, then make sure any similar sections are also justified. This will make the resume present well, and will show your attention to detail. Finally, and I cannot stress this enough - make sure you have a professional email. While there are ways to win over the hiring partner with some witty responses to interview questions, using an unprofessional "funny" email address is not one of them.

b. Wear a Great Suit: People like to hire people who present well. That does not mean that you have to wear a $2000 suit, but it does mean the suit you are wearing needs to be pressed and clean. The shirt should be crisp and the tie should match the suit. Beyond the suit, it is important that you are well-groomed. This means shave or trim your beard, keep your hair short, pop a breath mint before you enter, and shine your shoes. Also, I ALWAYS recommend wearing a nice watch (studies have shown that it has the underlying effect of showing you value being on time).

c. Practice your interview responses: Sure, you don't want to sound like a robot, but you don't want to sound like an idiot either. Practice your answers to general questions in front of the mirror. This way, you can flush out your responses, and you will be able to determine whether the statement you have practiced in your head sounds as good when you use it in response to a specific question.

d. Follow-up: Within 1 business day of the interview, send a simple email or thank you letter. It is professional and will show that either you are very interested in the position - or at least know what the proper protocol is after an interview, and that will impress upon the hiring partner.

Good Luck!!

Matthew S. is a Certified Professional Resume Writer, Former Practicing Attorney, and Member of the Professional Association of Resume Writers and National Resume Writer Association. He is a nationally renowned resume writer, Career Consultant, and Talent Management Executive and has worked with top companies, Fortune 50 Executives and federal agencies. He is the owner of the http://www.bestattorneyresumes.com/ and http://www.bestparalegalresumes.com/