Having Nightmares About Applicant Tracking Software (ATS)

Having Nightmares About Applicant Tracking Software (ATS)One of the top concerns of jobseekers in 2018 is this vague, impersonal, robotic smoke-monster known as the Applicant Tracking System. For those who have bedrngnis heard tellwhilst sitting around the campfireof ATS, it is a software in use by 97% of large companies and 80% of small/mid-size companies to scan incoming resumes and determine whether they are worthy of moving on to human scrutiny.While many job hunters are aware of ATS software, they dont have a strong grasp on how it works or how to ensure that their resume wont anger the system. For example, during a recent resume evaluation for a client, I noticed that his entire resume was formatted into text boxes. It looked fantastic, but when I converted it to a plain text file (which is essentially what an ATS will do to parse the document), the text all disappeared except for a few random symbols. As a result, this client, who had an extremely impressive background in Digi tal Forensics and Cyber Crime Prevention, was being rejected left and right because his resume looked like a blank piece of paper to the ATS software.How to Fix Your Format for ATSThere is a LOT of talk about the importance of keywords for ATS, and it is absolutely truebut having a resume format that can be successfully read by ATS is also key. You might have the best content in the world, but if your format is not compatible with the software it wont make any difference. If the ATS software cannot comprehend the resume format, it will skip to the next A few common format blunders that you can quickly correct Do not put important information into headers/footers, it will be invisible to some ATS versions Avoid text boxes, tables, and charts and graphs Do not add your degrees after your name on your resume they can be read as the last name by some versions of ATS Leave off live links in favor of URLs live links can be interpreted as viruses Include standard section headers (such as Professional Experience and Education) When in doubt, save your resume as a plain text ASCII file to see how it turns outHow to Optimize your Content for ATSNow we can focus on keywords for a moment, because they can determine your resumes rank in the pile of candidates. To put it simply, ATS will scan your resume for keywords and key phrases that match the keywords the company has assigned value to. For example, a client in government relations would most likely need to include keywords such as trade policy, advocacy, global relationships, government affairs, and media relations.How do you know which keywords to include? I suggest going through job postings with a highlighter to capture all of the important terms and phrases of the position. Any skill or area of expertise that you can claim that isnt already on your resume, needs to be incorporated.Keep in mind Depending on the version of ATS, it may not be able to understand different tenses or word forms of a keyword, so be sure to incorporate keywords in different forms (such as manager/managing/management) throughout the resume to ensure that you get credit Keywords like full-time or communication carry less weight than more unique or specific keywords to the position (for example, logistics for a supply chain management position) Including a Key Competencies/Areas of Expertise section is a great way to load your resume with relevant keywords (and is perfectly standard for contemporary resumes)If you are thinking that this doesnt seem like the best system for assessing kompetenz value, you are 100% right. ATS has a lot of critics who feel that it does a great job of weeding out excellent job candidates in favor of those who understand ATS, but not much else. While that may be true, it is ubiquitous, at least for the time being. In 2018, it is not enough to be a strong candidateyou also have to be a candidate who is informed about hiring practices.

5 Frustrations Every Woman in Customer Service Has Faced

5 Frustrations Every Woman in Customer Service Has Faced Customers come to you with a frown, and its your job to turn it into a smile. Even when circumstances beyond your control happen that affect your customers moods, you are the one who gets lambasted. Tzu siche are even times when you try your very best to produce a positive outcome for their dilemma, and it just doesnt work out. During these times, you stand firm in your answer, and your customer shifts their eye contact in search of aelendher employee to validate or not validate your answer. Or ask to speak with your manager. What was it about what you said that they didnt understand? Was it because you are a woman that they think you need help handling the situation?Working with customers can be hard. There are times when someone thinks of you as their punching bag. Customers may unload their anger and frustrations onto you because they want to get it off their own chest. Or, they could expect extra measures to be taken on the ir behalf because you seem so nice. Your job is to fix problems, and you have the skillsetto do it. Customer tafelgeschirr is often one of the most important jobs in a business, but it gets the least praise.Does all this sound familiar? Then you must be a woman in customer service Here are five frustrations every woman in customer service faces, so you dont feel alone in your daily challenges. 1. Being undermined.When a customer comes to you with a problem, you want to help him or her out. But when they dont like your answer, it can dial into any self-doubt you have inside your body. The entire interaction and decision can be processed in a second and you can feel out of control. You go from someone empowered to the service representative asking your manager for help. Thats never a good feeling.2.The blame game.Any good customer service representative will know that its our job to make customers happy. But sometimes putting ourselves last at this job can have regressive effects. For example, saying sorry too much when a mishap crops up can only anger the customer more. Or saying something is your fault can push the customer to ask for more and more leeway, discounts, or Im sorry free shipping from you. Its a lose-lose situation.3. Being the customers emotional punching bag.If you are of the caring and kind variety, some customers will try to use your kindness to their advantage. For example, some customers may have you listen to their problems, then use their sad situation to manipulate you and drive the situation in their favor. Or, they share their emotions with you just to use you as a punching bag. Its not fun.4. Management power grabs.We all know that the dynamics between women and their male managers can be detrimental. But in customer service, which sometimes lacks the protections professional women have like economic privilege or the perception of being educated and intelligent, bad management can be especially present. Male managers can be patronizing , unequal in how they distribute responsibilities and promotions, and more.5.Being subject to offensive comments.Some people who work with you in customer service apparently havent had a drink of the new Kool-Aid going around. The Kool-Aid that empowers women and doesnt subject them to lewd comments. Customer service agents are subject to all kinds of nasty comments about their appearances or other traits because theyre required to be nice to everyone. Its a serious problem.Yes, it can be easy to get stuck in the routine of life and accept some of the behaviors mentioned as your new normal. The goal of customer service is to please the customer so that they keep coming back and buying from the business. But dont let your kind nature work against you. You are making a difference at your job by leading as an example. Show other women at your business not to accept flack from customers. You are inherently valuable, whether or not you make the sale.--Gabriella DiDio is tired of the stru ggles of getting ahead in her career so, instead of revolting, she created Taupe Shoes an empowering website for women that can help you become stronger through your work dilemmas. You can follow Gabriella on Twitter.

Keep your career healthy when the economy is sick

Keep your career healthy when the economy is sick Keep your career healthy when the economy is sickPosted October 13, 2011, by Helen Isbister Perhaps the global financial crisis is the catalyst you need to get your career into peak performance. The global financial crisis, the economic downturn, the recession, the depression whatever you want to call it does not necessarily mean doom and gloom for every employee. An economic downturn can actually translate into an advantage for many workers who find ways to recession-proof their careers. So what can you do to stay in control of your career? Think about ways to make yourself indispensable at your existing workplace Become the go-to person that everyone knows is a strong performer. Make sure that your contribution has an impact on the bottom line and improve your visibility in the company the people who add value will be the ones that survive staff cuts. Offer to take on the challenging tasks. Find out what skills are in demand (in the business and in your industry, or beyond your industry) and enrol in a course now. Keep up to date about your industry and other industries that are doing well Woolworths, for example, is planning to hire 7000 people in 2009. Be aware of the state of your company Rarely does a business go into decline without some warning. Keep your eyes and ears open and be aware of any possible problems that might mean laying off staff. Find companies and industries that are doing well even during the tough times and find out if your skills and experience will fit with them smart companies are finding creative ways to recruit and retain staff during the economic financial crisis. Other ways to keep your career on track Prepare a skills audit and plug any gaps that will make you more employable. Network in good times and bad, networking can be invaluable as many jobs dont even make it to Seek.com and other jobs websites. Be prepared keep your resume up to date and keep refining the language . Your resume should be a work in progress like yourself and your career. What industries are thriving? Even if you are working in an industry that appears to be going down the drain, thinking about your skills tischset from a different perspective might lead to similar but different work in another industry. Your communication/organisation/business/trade skills might apply to a field that has shortages so keep an eye on industries that are still going strong. According to new research by the Clarius Group and Link Recruitment, chefs, hairdressers, builders and health professionals continue to be in demand despite the economic downturn. And the aged-care industry is one that has a big future as the population ages. Tourism, hospitality, construction and community and health services are tipped to be popular training courses this year as many people make themselves work-ready, even if its not in the same industry they were in before the global financial crisis became a bigger househo ld name than Brangelina. CEO of the Australian Association of Graduate Employers, Ben Reeves, says employers know the conditions wont last forever and that they need to cultivate tomorrows managers and skills. So while times are tight, use your time wisely to shore up your employability and come out stronger on the other side. ResourcesMy first resumeCover letter for my first jobCareer Insider StoriesShelley Lask - Body Positive Health & FitnessInterested in becoming a?Human Resources OfficerGeneral ManagerBusiness ManagerAccountantOffice AdministratorPopular Career Searchescareer assessment testguide to ace your next interviewsick leave letter to school teachersample cover letter for career change to human resourcescareer objectives for hospitality CoursesBachelor of Social WorkEnquire Online Enquire OnlineCertificate III in Health AdministrationEnquire Online Enquire OnlineBachelor of Criminal JusticeEnquire Online Enquire OnlineCertificate III in Allied Health AssistanceEnquire O nline Enquire OnlineHelen IsbisterRelated ArticlesBrowse moreCareer changeHow To Write A Career Change ResumeWhen youre changing careers, preparing a resume for your new industry can be tricky. We have some tips on how to approach a career change resume.Online studyKeep Calm And Improve Yourself How Short Courses Can Help You SucceedTrend-spotters have deemed 2015 the year of self-improvement, so whats your master plan? The good news is that with single-unit study you dont actually need one to get started.WORKFORCE TRENDSRedundancy - what Australians wantWith redundancies on the rise due to the global financial crisis, nearly half of Australians say they would take a voluntary redundancy if the price is right.

Modern Resume Template - The 2019 List of Modern Resume Templates

Modern Resume Template - The 2019 List of Modern Resume TemplatesModern Resume Template - The 2019 List of Modern Resume TemplatesEverything is planed. Few things are entwurfed well.Building a resume starts with finding the perfect schablone. Choosing this perfect template not as difficult as it seems.Some people prefer a ververlottern, up to date entwurf while others like it simple and sweet.This template is the one that helps you stand out from all the other applications. It helps to weed out candidates easily. Someone who puts creativity and spends time is considered dedicated to the job.If you like a modern free resume templates with a trendy design, this blog post is for you.Professionals at Hiration have built 20+ customized free resume templates for yur profile. Check out our Online Resume Builder here. Build your resume nowIn this blog post we will cover the following topicsWhat are Modern Resume Templates?The Modern Resume Templates have been designed for todays professional s. People who work in newer industries need to showcase that they pay as much attention to design as they do to content.Our modern resume pack does all that for youProfessionals in Software Development, Analytics, digital marketing, product management, and many other domains can use our modern resume templates to entirely transform their resumes.This is one of our best selling packs and you can rest assured that this will highly increase your chances of getting shortlisted. Modern templates work best for both ATS and human recruiters alike - you stand out from the competition without compromising on the ATS optimization part.And the good news for you is that right now, some of them are completely free on our Resume BuilderTake a look at all our Modern Resume Templates and read on to choose the best modern template for you.Diamond TimelineThe Diamond Timeline resume template presents the resume in the form of a timeline with diamond shaped milestones.Use this resume template to give a modern look to your resume nowThe Diamond Timeline resume template is a one column modern design that appears very clean and compact.Key Featuresclean and compact designmodern outlookone columndimaond shaped timelinefree of cost on our Online Resume BuilderSample TemplateCheck out the following resume template of a Store Manager. This resume has been made using our Diamond Timeline design.Try this design nowBoxed NavyThe Boxed Navy Resume template uses boxes to separate the sections on your resume. It also has a provision for adding an image to your resume to give it that modern look which can instantly make you stand out.This is a mixture of one and two column design making it unique in its own way. It gives you that clean and trendy look while not being too packed.Key Featuresclean and compact designmodern outlookbox shaped sectionsimage adding featurefree of cost on our Online Resume BuilderSample TemplateCheck out the following resume template of a HR Coordinator. This resume has been made using our Boxed Navy design.Try this design nowModern TealThis resume template provides a very modern look to your resume. It employs a blend of colors such as teal and shades of grey.It is a two column template. It has a special bar, highlighting the professional title in the resume.You can also change the primary and secondary colours in this resume template.Key Featuresclean and compact designmodern outlookteal color designtwo columnchoose your own color combinationsfree of cost on our Online Resume Builderemploys multiple elementsSample TemplateCheck out the following resume template of a absatzwirtschaft Associate. This resume has been made using our Modern Teal design.Try this design nowCaliforniaThe California resume template is one of our best sellers in the Modern Resume Templates pack.It ia a two column design that employs a gradient scheme between orange and pink colors to give your resume the modern look it deserves. It also has a provision for adding an im age to your resume.You can even change the primary and secondary colours in this design.Key Featuresclean and compact designmodern outlooktwo column designimage adding featuregradient scheme between orange and pinkfree of cost on our Online Resume Builderchoose your own color combinationsSample TemplateCheck out the following resume template of an Executive Assistant. This resume has been made using our California design.Try this design nowSignature TimelineThe signature timeline resume template depicts your entire resume with a visual timeline. Moreover, it has icons and images which give a modern yet professional look to your resume.This resume template has an actual timeline, your image and icons which define each section. This provides a highly modern look to your resume and impresses every recruiter.Key Featuresclean and compact designmodern outlookone column designsignature timelineimage adding featurefree of cost on our Online Resume BuilderSample TemplateCheck out the follow ing resume template of an Online Marketing Associate. This resume has been made using our Signature Timeline design.Try this design nowRound TimelineThe Round Timeline resume template has a timeline to display your dated sections in a chronological order. To maintain consistency, it projects the whole resume as one timeline.This resume template can be used to depict your actual accomplishments as various milestones.It is certainly a novel way to get noticed and presents a clear professional picture to recruiters and hiring managers in a visual manner.Key Featuresclean and compact designmodern outlookround timelineone columnfree of cost on our Online Resume BuilderSample TemplateCheck out the following resume template of a Marketing Consultant. This resume has been made using our Round Timeline design.Try this design nowGreen DribbleThis is the green color variant of Malist Resume Template. THis is one of the most exclusive resume templates for technical profiles all round the indust ry.This comes in a package with cover letter and is highly customizable - just add your bio, experience and so on and you are ready to print and send.Key Featuresclean and compact designmodern outlookexclusive green varianttwo column designpackaged with cover letterhighly customizablecan add imagesfree of cost on DribbleSample TemplateCheck out the following resume template of a Web Designer. This resume has been made using Dribbles Green Dribble design.Try this design nowWhite Color Shot***The White Color Shot is a free creative resume template. It is designed with readable text and modern font styles.It is rich in design and contains distributed key information in well sorted structure. It fits all the skill sets and inventory details with graphical representation. It is highly printable ***Key Featuresclean and compact designmodern outlookcolor shot timelineemploys various splash colorstwo columnfree of cost on DribbleSample TemplateCheck out the following resume template of a Fr ont End Developer, UX Analyst and UI Designer. This resume has been made using Dribbles White Color Shot design.Try this design nowRose BlastThe premium Rose Blast template delivers a minimalist look for your personal resume while using rose and black colors.The resume has a very organized, and really easy to customize format. It is uniquely designed, keeping in mind the modern industry requirements.It gives you an option to add image, add/ remove columns on both sides. All-in-all your resume looks stellarYou can even download this template in psd format.Key Featuresclean and compact designmodern outlookuses rose and black colorstwo columncan include imagesfree of cost on FreesumeSample TemplateCheck out the following resume template of a Web Developer. This resume has been made using Freesumes Rose Blast design.Try this design nowThink of your resume design template as an opportunity to stand out For any doubts or queries, give us a shout out in the comments.

Research report 5 powerful rituals that will make you resilient

Research report 5 powerful rituals that will make you resilientResearch report 5 powerful rituals that will make you resilientEvery now and then, life punches below the belt. How can you be resilient when times get tough and you feel badeanstalt?There are all kinds of strategies for feeling happier and showing grit. But most of them are very conscious and deliberate. And the truth is, most of what we do every dayisnt all that conscious and deliberate.Ever since Freud, weve known that a lot of ur behavior is unconscious. If thats the case, shouldnt youleverage yurunconsciousmind to get through the tough times?Only makes sense, right?Now I dont know much about myunconscious mind. (I mean, its unconscious,right?) So I called an expert on the subject.Tim Wilson is a prof of psychology at the University of Virginia andauthor ofStrangers to Ourselves Discovering the Adaptive UnconsciousandRedirect Changing the Stories We Live By.Tim has some, well,mind-blowinginsights about how yur brain r eally works. Youre gonna learn a lot about how that grey matter functions, how to fix it when it cant cope, and youll even find out how to get to know yourself better to avoid future messes, how to stay happy when things suck, and even how to becomea better human being in the process. (Now howsthatfor value?)But I do need to make a disclaimer first Im gonna have to shake your confidence in yourself a bit before we fix it. We need to correct some myths - and some of the truths are a little disturbing. Hang with me. Well get you back to the Shire, Frodo.Alright, forget what you think you know about how your mind works.Youre wrong about a lot of stuff. In fact, youre wrong aboutyouYour conscious mind is an overconfident storytellerOkay, tough love time you dont know yourself as well as you think. Who you think you are, your rolleality traits, why you do thingsyour perception of yourself can bewayoff.Think your friends would agree with you on what youre really like? Actually, they woul d agree morawith each otheron your rolleality than you would agree with any one of them.FromStrangers to OurselvesFirst, the correspondence between peoples ratings of their own personality and other peoples ratings of their personality is leid very high. It depends somewhat on the trait for example, people tend to agree with others about how extroverted they are, but on most other personality traits the level of agreement is modest (correlations in the range of .40). Thus, Suzies judgment of how agreeable and conscientious she is correlates only modestly with how agreeable and conscientious her friends think she is. Furthermora, other people agree mora among themselves about what aleidher person is like than they agree with that persons own ratings.Some people would immediately push back on this,I know what Im really like I can see me from the inside Nobody else has that informationYes, you have a lot mora info about yourself than a stranger does but your conscious mindis kinda like the internet tons of great information and an awful lot ofinaccurateinformation as well.In some areas youd have more insight into yourself, but in others youd beway off.When you average it all out, the information you have about yourself is about as accurate as astrangersread on you.FromStrangers to OurselvesAveraging across several studies, there seems to be no net advantage to having privileged information about ourselves the amount of accuracy obtained by people about the causes of their responses is nearly identical with the amount of accuracy obtained by strangers.I know pretty shocking, isnt it?Why is it so shocking? Because your conscious mind is basicallyan overconfident storyteller.Your conscious mind doesnt have any direct access to everything going on in your unconscious mind.How do you determine what others are like? You watch and guess and make up a story. Well, your conscious mind does the same thing with your unconscious mind. Except your conscious mind is very overc onfident about its stories.FromStrangers to OurselvesThe analogy I favor is introspection as a personal narrative, whereby people construct stories about their lives, much as a biographer would. We weave what we can observe (our conscious thoughts, feelings, and memories, our own behavior, the reactions of other people to us) into a story that, with luck, captures at least a part what we canbedrngnis observe (our nonconscious personality traits, goals, and feelings).Think about it for a second. You lash out at someone. You say they deserved it. Then you have something to eat. And you feel much better. You realize they werent being awful, you were just cranky because you were hungry. We feel emotions and our conscious mind scrambles to figure out why. And sometimes its wrong.You think the voice in your head is in charge, that it makes every decision. But thats true a lot less often than you think. Ever been so wrapped up in your thoughts while driving that you barely remember the rid e home? You didnt crash the car. You made the decisions that allowed you to arrive safely without consciously thinking at all about them. In fact, youre on unconscious autopilot most of the day. But your conscious mind really loves taking credit for everything.Some people are gonna get freaked out at this realizationAHHH I cant trust myself Im leid in charge Why is my brain like this?Its okay. Your unconscious mind is totenstill you. But its not the you that is the voice in your head. To be fair, the voice in your head, your conscious mind, has areally reallytough job. Actually, it has two jobs - and theyre often at odds with one anotherJob 1 Provide as accurate a vision of yourself and the world as possible.Job 2 Keep you happy.You can compare this to giving advice to a friend about their bad behavior. You want to be accurate enough that you can help them course correct but you dont want to make them feel like a terrible person. It can be a tricky balancing act.Sometimes youneed t o hear,Youre right. Everyone else is wrong.Butother times you need to hear,You are being a jackass and shouldget your act together.Seeing yourself with rose-colored glasses - within limits - is agoodthing. Keeps your self-esteem up and depression away. But too rosy and you start saying things like, Ibet Im a naturalat skydiving I dont need lessonsYour conscious mind doesnt have perfect information about your unconscious mind, so it guesses. On top of that it also needs to try and keep you happy. So at times it comes up with very inaccurate stories about you and the world. Stories you often unquestioningly accept as truth. And thats why sometimes yougive its talesmore credence than your underlying feelings and end up in the kind of job you think you should love - but dont. Or you end up involved with the kind of person you think you should love - but dont.So what does all this have to do with resilience? (In fact, you may be feeling a lotlessresilient now that you realize the voi ce in your head cant always be trusted.)(To learn the 7-step morning ritual that will keep you happy all day, clickhere.)When life gets hard and youre feeling really bad, knowing how inaccurate your conscious mind can be isactually a big help.1)Its not that bad. Really.Tim and Harvard professor Dan Gilbert have done a lot of research on what they call affective forecasting. Thats a fancy term for predicting how youre going to feel in the future.Turns out, youre terrible at it. Feelingscome from your unconscious mind.But predictions come from that overconfident storyteller. Turns out that all of our storytellers have a tendency to exaggerate.Whats that mean? When times are tough, your storyteller says, WERE GOING TO FEEL BAD FOREVER THE PAIN WILL NEVER ENDDont believe your storyteller. Heres TimWe tend to exaggerate the impact of future events on our happiness and how lasting that impact will be. We tend to think that if something bad happens to us, that well feel terrible forever, o r at least for a very long time. The truth is, good things do make us feel good and bad things make us feel bad, but for not nearly as long as we think. Were very resilient creatures who recover as quick as we can from the pitfalls in life.Next time someone tells you youre overreacting to a bad situation, dont get angry with them. Theyre probably right. Your storyteller has a tendency to be way too creative - and way too confident as well.(To learn how 5 post-it notes can make you happy, confident and successful, clickhere.)Soknowing you havean unreliable narrator in your skull can be agoodthing. The pain isnt as bad as you think But theres still pain. Whats the first line of defense? Actually, its your unconscious mind. Like a superhero, it will come to save the day.How do you send up the Bat Signal to let it know youre in trouble? Heres some more good news you dont have to do anything at all.2) You have a psychological immune ordnungsprinzipYouve felt awful before. Your overconfi dent storyteller said the pain would never end. But it did. As the maximgoes, Time heals all wounds. Actually, thats not true your psychological immune system heals all wounds.Think about your body. You get the flu. But after a few daysyour immune system gets to work and knocks the hell out of the bug that infected you. Tims research shows that your unconscious mind actually does a similarthing when life throws you a curve ball.It will put things in perspective. It willhelp your conscious mind rationalize, and tell a happier story.Heres TimWhen something bad happens to us, we try tomake ourselves feel better. That happens, often, psychologically, behind the scenes. Just like theres a physical immune system that tries to ward off disease and cure us from physical ills, so there are a number of psychological processes we engage in to make us feel better about negative events. We might think in advance that if a romantic partner left us, that our hearts would be broken and it would tak e us years to get over it. But that psychological immune system kicks in sooner or later and we begin to have thoughts like, Well, maybe she wasnt the one for me. She did, after all, have these annoying habits. It enables us to recover more quickly than we think from negative outcomes.Have hope and hang in there. Your unconscious mind needs some time toget its emotional white blood cells going, but they will kick in.(To learn how to stop being lazy, clickhere.)Now I know what some people are thinkingWeeks have gone by. Months have gone by. I still feel awful. Im beginning to wonder if Im psychologically immunocompromised. Im not feelingbetter.Yes, some emotional problems, justlike some illnesses, dont heal on their own. A bad breakup. Losing a job. The death of a loved one. They can be devastating and difficult to bounce back from.Okay, enough relying on passive approaches. We need emotional antibiotics,stat3) Help your storytellerSo your overconfident storyteller isnt revising your story properly. The hurt is still there. So you need to help them get your newstory right.For four consecutive days, sit down and write about whats bothering you for 20 minutes straight. Your spelling can be atrocious. Thats okay. Nobody is going to read it. Evenyouarent going to read it. The magic is in the writing itself. Delete it or rip it up when youre done.Research byJames Pennebakershows this simple act can help you make sense of tragedy and set your mind at ease. Heres TimIf theres something troubling us, some traumatic event that weve had trouble moving past, take out a piece of paper and just write about our deepest feelings about this event. Typically for 20 minutes, four nights in a row. The reason it can be so beneficial is it forces us to view things from a different perspective. In fact, theres some research by others that suggests that one of the best ways to do this is to write in the third person, as an outside observer would, viewing our situation. That encourage s us to take an objective look at our situation and often to come up with a somewhat different interpretation of it that allows us to move on.(For more on how to do the writing exercise that can help you feel better, clickhere.)Alright, you arent believing your storytellers exaggeration of how bad things are and even if your psychological immune system doesnt kick in, you know you can write about the problem to feel better. But how about a longer term fix for the future?If your conscious mind doesnt understandyou very well and thats leading to bad decisions (No skydiving lessons for me), how can you really get to know yourself better so you dont end up in more rough spots?4) Actions speak louder than wordsSo why do other people often know us better than we know ourselves? Because they just look at ouractions.But when youre thinking aboutyou, youre focused on that not-so-accurate inside information only you know about yourself. The answer? Look at yourself the way others do. Just pay attention to your actions, not the overconfident storytellers tales. Heres TimHow can we better understand ourselves? One way is to take a step back and view ourselves like an outside observer to try to see what we actually do. Its also important to try to see ourselves through the eyes of others.Or if youve got brutally honest friends, ask them what youre like. That can be another great source of insight.(To learn the four rituals neuroscience says will make you happy, clickhere.)I need to put a warning label on the above the truth can hurt. Like we talked about, rose-colored glasses can be a good thing.You willfind out the inaccuracies in your personal story that are leading you to make bad decisions but you might also find out that the more accurate story isyoure a real jerk.Ouch. So how do you get accurate info about who you really are and the mistakes you make without ending up clinically depressed?5) Do good, be goodYou think youre an awesome person. You get accurate feedback and it turns out youre not.So now do you need to revise your personal story to say, Im a jerk? Nope.Do good things. Tims research shows that when your behavior changes, often your story changes too. Start doing volunteer work, for instance, and you will start to see yourself as the kind of person who does volunteer work a good person. Heres TimOften, if we want to change who we think we are, one of the best ways to do it is to change our behavior first. If we want to become a little more extroverted, then act that way for a while. Force ourselves to act in an extroverted way. If we want to become better, more pro-social, helpful people, well then go out and do some volunteer work. Often, the story follows the behavior change.(To learn the 6 things the most productive people do every day, clickhere.)Weve learned a lot. Lets round it all upSum upHeres what Tim Wilson says can help you be more resilientYourconscious mind isnt alwaysaccurateAnd this leads to problems.Youwill feel bette rBecause you dont know yourself all that well, youre terrible at predicting how youll feel in the future. Your storyteller exaggerates. Remember this.You have a psychological immune systemYou may feel lousynow but, with time, your mind will rewrite your story with a happier ending.Help that storyteller outYou can accelerate emotional recovery by writing about your problems.Actions speak louder than wordsIf you want to get to know yourself better so you can make smartdecisions and avoid future problems, pay attention toyour behavior, not your thoughts. But the truth can hurt.Do good, be goodYour story will follow your actions.Youre a bit of a mystery - even to yourself. Dont worry it keeps things interesting.When times get tough and you dont know how youre going to stay resilient, remember not to trust the doom and gloom coming from that voice in your head. The voice is an overconfident storyteller who exaggerates, not the truth.Your psychological immune system is slowly getting int o gear. And some scribbling can help it along. You can get to know yourself better by watching your behavior. And if you act like the kind of person you want to be, youll start telling yourself an accurateandpositive story about your life.Be careful though if you follow all of this advice you may end up becoming a really good person.Join more than 315,000 readers.Get a free weekly update via emailhere.Related postsNew Neuroscience Reveals 4 Rituals That Will Make You HappyNew Harvard Research Reveals A Fun Way To Be More SuccessfulHow To Get People To Like You 7 Ways From An FBI Behavior ExpertThis article first appeared at Barking Up the Wrong Tree.Research report 5 powerful rituals that will make you resilientEvery now and then, life punches below the belt. How can you be resilient when times get tough and you feel bad?There are all kinds of strategies for feeling happier and showing grit. But most of them are very conscious and deliberate. And the truth is, most of what we do eve ry dayisnt all that conscious and deliberate.Ever since Freud, weve known that a lot of our behavior is unconscious. If thats the case, shouldnt youleverage yourunconsciousmind to get through the tough times?Only makes sense, right?Now I dont know much about myunconscious mind. (I mean, its unconscious,right?) So I called an expert on the subject.Tim Wilson is a professor of psychology at the University of Virginia andauthor ofStrangers to Ourselves Discovering the Adaptive UnconsciousandRedirect Changing the Stories We Live By.Tim has some, well,mind-blowinginsights about how your brain really works. Youre gonna learn a lot about how that grey matter functions, how to fix it when it cant cope, and youll even find out how to get to know yourself better to avoid future messes, how to stay happy when things suck, and even how to becomea better human being in the process. (Now howsthatfor value?)But I do need to make a disclaimer first Im gonna have to shake your confidence in yourself a bit before we fix it. We need to correct some myths - and some of the truths are a little disturbing. Hang with me. Well get you back to the Shire, Frodo.Alright, forget what you think you know about how your mind works.Youre wrong about a lot of stuff. In fact, youre wrong aboutyouYour conscious mind is an overconfident storytellerOkay, tough love time you dont know yourself as well as you think. Who you think you are, your personality traits, why you do thingsyour perception of yourself can bewayoff.Think your friends would agree with you on what youre really like? Actually, they would agree morewith each otheron your personality than you would agree with any one of them.FromStrangers to OurselvesFirst, the correspondence between peoples ratings of their own personality and other peoples ratings of their personality is not very high. It depends somewhat on the trait for example, people tend to agree with others about how extroverted they are, but on most other personality trai ts the level of agreement is modest (correlations in the range of .40). Thus, Suzies judgment of how agreeable and conscientious she is correlates only modestly with how agreeable and conscientious her friends think she is. Furthermore, other people agree more among themselves about what another person is like than they agree with that persons own ratings.Some people would immediately push back on this,I know what Im really like I can see me from the inside Nobody else has that informationYes, you have a lot more info about yourself than a stranger does but your conscious mindis kinda like the internet tons of great information and an awful lot ofinaccurateinformation as well.In some areas youd have more insight into yourself, but in others youd beway off.When you average it all out, the information you have about yourself is about as accurate as astrangersread on you.FromStrangers to OurselvesAveraging across several studies, there seems to be no net advantage to having privileged information about ourselves the amount of accuracy obtained by people about the causes of their responses is nearly identical with the amount of accuracy obtained by strangers.I know pretty shocking, isnt it?Why is it so shocking? Because your conscious mind is basicallyan overconfident storyteller.Your conscious mind doesnt have any direct access to everything going on in your unconscious mind.How do you determine what others are like? You watch and guess and make up a story. Well, your conscious mind does the same thing with your unconscious mind. Except your conscious mind is very overconfident about its stories.FromStrangers to OurselvesThe analogy I favor is introspection as a personal narrative, whereby people construct stories about their lives, much as a biographer would. We weave what we can observe (our conscious thoughts, feelings, and memories, our own behavior, the reactions of other people to us) into a story that, with luck, captures at least a part what we cannot obs erve (our nonconscious personality traits, goals, and feelings).Think about it for a second. You lash out at someone. You say they deserved it. Then you have something to eat. And you feel much better. You realize they werent being awful, you were just cranky because you were hungry. We feel emotions and our conscious mind scrambles to figure out why. And sometimes its wrong.You think the voice in your head is in charge, that it makes every decision. But thats true a lot less often than you think. Ever been so wrapped up in your thoughts while driving that you barely remember the ride home? You didnt crash the car. You made the decisions that allowed you to arrive safely without consciously thinking at all about them. In fact, youre on unconscious autopilot most of the day. But your conscious mind really loves taking credit for everything.Some people are gonna get freaked out at this realizationAHHH I cant trust myself Im not in charge Why is my brain like this?Its okay. Your uncons cious mind is still you. But its not the you that is the voice in your head. To be fair, the voice in your head, your conscious mind, has areally reallytough job. Actually, it has two jobs - and theyre often at odds with one anotherJob 1 Provide as accurate a vision of yourself and the world as possible.Job 2 Keep you happy.You can compare this to giving advice to a friend about their bad behavior. You want to be accurate enough that you can help them course correct but you dont want to make them feel like a terrible person. It can be a tricky balancing act.Sometimes youneed to hear,Youre right. Everyone else is wrong.Butother times you need to hear,You are being a jackass and shouldget your act together.Seeing yourself with rose-colored glasses - within limits - is agoodthing. Keeps your self-esteem up and depression away. But too rosy and you start saying things like, Ibet Im a naturalat skydiving I dont need lessonsYour conscious mind doesnt have perfect information about your unconscious mind, so it guesses. On top of that it also needs to try and keep you happy. So at times it comes up with very inaccurate stories about you and the world. Stories you often unquestioningly accept as truth. And thats why sometimes yougive its talesmore credence than your underlying feelings and end up in the kind of job you think you should love - but dont. Or you end up involved with the kind of person you think you should love - but dont.So what does all this have to do with resilience? (In fact, you may be feeling a lotlessresilient now that you realize the voice in your head cant always be trusted.)(To learn the 7-step morning ritual that will keep you happy all day, clickhere.)When life gets hard and youre feeling really bad, knowing how inaccurate your conscious mind can be isactually a big help.1)Its not that bad. Really.Tim and Harvard professor Dan Gilbert have done a lot of research on what they call affective forecasting. Thats a fancy term for predicting ho w youre going to feel in the future.Turns out, youre terrible at it. Feelingscome from your unconscious mind.But predictions come from that overconfident storyteller. Turns out that all of our storytellers have a tendency to exaggerate.Whats that mean? When times are tough, your storyteller says, WERE GOING TO FEEL BAD FOREVER THE PAIN WILL NEVER ENDDont believe your storyteller. Heres TimWe tend to exaggerate the impact of future events on our happiness and how lasting that impact will be. We tend to think that if something bad happens to us, that well feel terrible forever, or at least for a very long time. The truth is, good things do make us feel good and bad things make us feel bad, but for not nearly as long as we think. Were very resilient creatures who recover as quick as we can from the pitfalls in life.Next time someone tells you youre overreacting to a bad situation, dont get angry with them. Theyre probably right. Your storyteller has a tendency to be way too creative - and way too confident as well.(To learn how 5 post-it notes can make you happy, confident and successful, clickhere.)Soknowing you havean unreliable narrator in your skull can be agoodthing. The pain isnt as bad as you think But theres still pain. Whats the first line of defense? Actually, its your unconscious mind. Like a superhero, it will come to save the day.How do you send up the Bat Signal to let it know youre in trouble? Heres some more good news you dont have to do anything at all.2) You have a psychological immune systemYouve felt awful before. Your overconfident storyteller said the pain would never end. But it did. As the maximgoes, Time heals all wounds. Actually, thats not true your psychological immune system heals all wounds.Think about your body. You get the flu. But after a few daysyour immune system gets to work and knocks the hell out of the bug that infected you. Tims research shows that your unconscious mind actually does a similarthing when life throws you a c urve ball.It will put things in perspective. It willhelp your conscious mind rationalize, and tell a happier story.Heres TimWhen something bad happens to us, we try tomake ourselves feel better. That happens, often, psychologically, behind the scenes. Just like theres a physical immune system that tries to ward off disease and cure us from physical ills, so there are a number of psychological processes we engage in to make us feel better about negative events. We might think in advance that if a romantic partner left us, that our hearts would be broken and it would take us years to get over it. But that psychological immune system kicks in sooner or later and we begin to have thoughts like, Well, maybe she wasnt the one for me. She did, after all, have these annoying habits. It enables us to recover more quickly than we think from negative outcomes.Have hope and hang in there. Your unconscious mind needs some time toget its emotional white blood cells going, but they will kick in.(T o learn how to stop being lazy, clickhere.)Now I know what some people are thinkingWeeks have gone by. Months have gone by. I still feel awful. Im beginning to wonder if Im psychologically immunocompromised. Im not feelingbetter.Yes, some emotional problems, justlike some illnesses, dont heal on their own. A bad breakup. Losing a job. The death of a loved one. They can be devastating and difficult to bounce back from.Okay, enough relying on passive approaches. We need emotional antibiotics,stat3) Help your storytellerSo your overconfident storyteller isnt revising your story properly. The hurt is still there. So you need to help them get your newstory right.For four consecutive days, sit down and write about whats bothering you for 20 minutes straight. Your spelling can be atrocious. Thats okay. Nobody is going to read it. Evenyouarent going to read it. The magic is in the writing itself. Delete it or rip it up when youre done.Research byJames Pennebakershows this simple act can hel p you make sense of tragedy and set your mind at ease. Heres TimIf theres something troubling us, some traumatic event that weve had trouble moving past, take out a piece of paper and just write about our deepest feelings about this event. Typically for 20 minutes, four nights in a row. The reason it can be so beneficial is it forces us to view things from a different perspective. In fact, theres some research by others that suggests that one of the best ways to do this is to write in the third person, as an outside observer would, viewing our situation. That encourages us to take an objective look at our situation and often to come up with a somewhat different interpretation of it that allows us to move on.(For more on how to do the writing exercise that can help you feel better, clickhere.)Alright, you arent believing your storytellers exaggeration of how bad things are and even if your psychological immune system doesnt kick in, you know you can write about the problem to feel be tter. But how about a longer term fix for the future?If your conscious mind doesnt understandyou very well and thats leading to bad decisions (No skydiving lessons for me), how can you really get to know yourself better so you dont end up in more rough spots?4) Actions speak louder than wordsSo why do other people often know us better than we know ourselves? Because they just look at ouractions.But when youre thinking aboutyou, youre focused on that not-so-accurate inside information only you know about yourself. The answer? Look at yourself the way others do. Just pay attention to your actions, not the overconfident storytellers tales. Heres TimHow can we better understand ourselves? One way is to take a step back and view ourselves like an outside observer to try to see what we actually do. Its also important to try to see ourselves through the eyes of others.Or if youve got brutally honest friends, ask them what youre like. That can be another great source of insight.(To learn th e four rituals neuroscience says will make you happy, clickhere.)I need to put a warning label on the above the truth can hurt. Like we talked about, rose-colored glasses can be a good thing.You willfind out the inaccuracies in your personal story that are leading you to make bad decisions but you might also find out that the more accurate story isyoure a real jerk.Ouch. So how do you get accurate info about who you really are and the mistakes you make without ending up clinically depressed?5) Do good, be goodYou think youre an awesome person. You get accurate feedback and it turns out youre not.So now do you need to revise your personal story to say, Im a jerk? Nope.Do good things. Tims research shows that when your behavior changes, often your story changes too. Start doing volunteer work, for instance, and you will start to see yourself as the kind of person who does volunteer work a good person. Heres TimOften, if we want to change who we think we are, one of the best ways to do it is to change our behavior first. If we want to become a little more extroverted, then act that way for a while. Force ourselves to act in an extroverted way. If we want to become better, more pro-social, helpful people, well then go out and do some volunteer work. Often, the story follows the behavior change.(To learn the 6 things the most productive people do every day, clickhere.)Weve learned a lot. Lets round it all upSum upHeres what Tim Wilson says can help you be more resilientYourconscious mind isnt alwaysaccurateAnd this leads to problems.Youwill feel betterBecause you dont know yourself all that well, youre terrible at predicting how youll feel in the future. Your storyteller exaggerates. Remember this.You have a psychological immune systemYou may feel lousynow but, with time, your mind will rewrite your story with a happier ending.Help that storyteller outYou can accelerate emotional recovery by writing about your problems.Actions speak louder than wordsIf you want to get to know yourself better so you can make smartdecisions and avoid future problems, pay attention toyour behavior, not your thoughts. But the truth can hurt.Do good, be goodYour story will follow your actions.Youre a bit of a mystery - even to yourself. Dont worry it keeps things interesting.When times get tough and you dont know how youre going to stay resilient, remember not to trust the doom and gloom coming from that voice in your head. The voice is an overconfident storyteller who exaggerates, not the truth.Your psychological immune system is slowly getting into gear. And some scribbling can help it along. You can get to know yourself better by watching your behavior. And if you act like the kind of person you want to be, youll start telling yourself an accurateandpositive story about your life.Be careful though if you follow all of this advice you may end up becoming a really good person.Join more than 315,000 readers.Get a free weekly update via emailhere.Related postsNew Neuroscience Reveals 4 Rituals That Will Make You HappyNew Harvard Research Reveals A Fun Way To Be More SuccessfulHow To Get People To Like You 7 Ways From An FBI Behavior ExpertThis article first appeared at Barking Up the Wrong Tree.

The best cities to start your career in each state

The best cities to start your career in each stateThe best cities to start your career in each stateYouve just qualittuated college or are changing careers and now you are faced with the task to find a job. Should you stay in your hometown or try out your luck somewhere else?Luckily for you,Zippiahas already done the research on what are the top cities in the U.S. to start your career and the results may surprise you.Click here to enlarge the mapYou dont need to move to the Big Apple or to ran an die buletten Angeles to be successful. In fact, sometimes it is the lesser-known cities that actually will create the biggest positive impact on your career.So if you are thinking of making a start in a new state or hoping to staycloserto home, behauptung are the top 10 cities to kickstart your career with a bangFargo, NDMadison, WIMidland, TXLincoln, NEColumbia, MONorman, OKAnchorage, AKLafayette, LAProvo, UTDuluth, MNStill asking yourself who lives in the flyover states?Even if these citi es seem a bit foreign to you, they are bustling with energy and are some of the most up-and-coming distribution policys to start your career in the U.S.Whether you prefer snow-covered cities like Fargo or Madison or are looking for the best pulled pork in Lafayette or Midland, Zippia has found a city perfect for you and your career.How we determined the best cities to start your career in each stateIn order to properly compare places, we platzset a minimum population threshold of 50,000 people, which led us to data for 831 cities in the U.S.We then ranked each place across a number of criteria from one to 831, with one being the best.We took the average rank across all criteria, with the place posting the lowest overall score being named Best Cities in Each State for Jobs.The criteria we looked at werePopulationUnemploymentPercent of the population being a MillenialCost of livingThe source of the criteria was the Censuss American Community Survey.1. Fargo, NDUnemployment satz3.6%Med ian Rent$727Median Income$48,060Fargo sits comfortably at 1 for the best place to start your career. Who wouldnt want to live in a city with low unemployment, low cost of living, and be surrounded by a bunch of other millennials?You could pay off your student loans faster, get your snow-fix, and not be the youngest person at your work by 20 years.This city also houses red pandas, a millennial favorite, in the Red River Zoo. So if you get stressed at work, you can go surround yourself with some of the cutest animals on the planet.2. Madison, WIUnemployment Rate4.8%Median Rent$959Median Income$56,464If you love going to a lake or being surrounded by nature, Madison is the place for you. The city boasts its 200 miles of hiking and biking trails, making it perfect for the outdoor enthusiast.Madison is a great city for any health or healthcare technology professional and is home for great companies like Epic, UW Hospital and Clinics, and American Family Insurance.Once you get there, you may never want to leave. Madison was rated one of the best places to retire in 2018 by Forbes, so Zippia is keeping you ahead of the game.3. Midland, TXUnemployment Rate4.0%Median Rent$1,143Median Income$71,500Oil, oil, and more oil. Midland is the city for any oil industry guru. Even if the petrolbusinessisnt in your future, there are many other exciting career opportunities in Midland, includingagriculture, aerospace, and health care.If you are yearning for the small-town atmosphere with big-town job opportunity, Midland may be a great first step for your career.Fun fact if you are George W. Bush fan, you can see his childhood home restored to its 1950s state.4. Lincoln, NEUnemployment Rate4.6%Median Rent$750Median Income$51,126You dont have to love corn to be happy in Nebraska. Lincoln is an up-and-coming vibrant town and home to the Nebraska Cornhuskers Football. From big arenas to see Beyonce to zen gardens to practice yoga, Lincoln is full of surprises for everyone.Plus, Linco ln is one of the most affordable places to live in America. You can find senderaum apartments for under $400/month. Try having the same in New York City.Our final thoughts on Lincoln? Why would you not want to live like a king while paying off student debt AND making a great start to your career?5. Columbia, MOUnemployment Rate4.2%Median Rent$803Median Income$45,221Columbia is bustling with millennials, has over 600 restaurants, and offers a diverse set of exhibits at over 30 museums and art galleries. Tired of being indoors? Columbia has caves, bike trails, and lakes fit for any outdoor lover.Combine all that with an incredibly affordable cost of living and a nice income what else could you possibly want?So if you just got a degree in education, health care, orinsurance, Columbia may soon be called home6. Norman, OKUnemployment Rate5.4%Median Rent$802Median Income$52,484You know those phone alarms that go off before a storm? Yeah, the National Weather tafelgeschirr ones? Those are brought to you in part by the NWC headquarters from Norman, OklahomaIf you have a degree inearth sciences, engineering,meteorology, or renewable energy, Norman is well-equipped to give you the opportunities needed to advance your career quickly.The University of Oklahoma is highly invested in Norman, so you can be sure the city offers every amenity for young professionals, including theaters,musicvenues, and the well-renown Chocolate Festival.7. Anchorage, AKUnemployment Rate6.0%Median Rent$1,231Median Income$80,862Enjoy beautiful scenery, cold weather, and polar bears? Anchorage comes in as 6 in our top ten best places to start a career.Anchorage is well known for its cultural diversity and is home to the Alaska Native Heritage Center. So if you have ever wanted to spot a moose, boat with some whales, or learn more about Native Americanhistoryand culture, Anchorage is easily a great option for your career.Not sure what types of companies are hiring in Americas backcountry? Luckily, we have already done the research to find the100 Largest Companies in Alaska.8. Lafayette, LAUnemployment Rate5.2%Median Rent$824Median Income$47,940Coming in at 8 on our top cities to start your career is Lafayette. If Anchorage seemed a little too cold for you, perhaps moving to the Deep South is more up your alley.After work in Lafayette, you can tour creole plantations, try different types of BBQ, and avoid alligators in Lake Martins swamp.The University of Louisiana-Lafayette helps drive small business andentrepreneurshipin this spicy cajun-filled city. Careers in healthcare, in infrastructure, and with Walmart are some top options to choose from.9. Provo, UTUnemployment Rate5.8%Median Rent$764Median Income$42,600Provo, the millennial boom-town, with nearly 46% of the population being a millenial in 2010. Brigham Young University is a vibrant student center of Provo and the university helps drive Provos economy.If you are not Mormon, dont erase Provo off a list of potential pl aces to start your career The epic scenery, canyons, and mountains are enough to allure any recent grad and the job market is excellent.The many international, Fortune 500, and tech start-up companies make Provo known as the Silicon Slopes. While you feel like you are surrounded by the great outdoors, you can have your Google Fiber top internet speeds and an amazing job.10. Duluth, MNUnemployment Rate5.6%Median Rent$752Median Income$45,950Rounding out our top ten list is Duluth, which is a fabulous port city on Lake Superior.Naturally, the port accessibility makes Duluth a top market for transportation, trade, and IT industries. Manufacturing companies invest in Duluth internationally so you can have easy access to international markets and companies.Plus, if you are an avid skier, Duluth offers a mountain with year-round programs. Cant say the same about Louisiana.There you have it you career-go-getter, youNow that youve seen our top 10 cities to start your career, you probably won der what the big fuss is about New York, D.C., and Los Angeles.At Zippia, we know your wallet is tight when you are first starting out with your careers, so why waste money on rent when you could live in a city surrounded by beautiful mountains or eat cajun jambalaya every day?No matter your style, there is a city fit to boost your career without breaking your bank.Thisarticlefirst appeared onZippia.

2 Phrases Currently Sabotaging Your Resume

2 Phrases Currently Sabotaging Your Resume2 Phrases Currently Sabotaging Your ResumeIf youre looking for an easy way to make sure your resume is up to par, look no further. A quick scan for the following two stichworts will tell you everything you need to know. But before we get to that, lets quickly agree on one key point A resume is not about what you can do, what youre supposed to do or what you should do, given your professional title. Its about what you have done concrete examples of your career achievements. Most resumes outline specific employment information and then provide a list of three to five bullet point statements for each position held. These bullets are the real meat of the document. They tell people what you did, how you did it and the impact your actions had. Unfortunately, I see a lot of bad practices in this area. The two phrases below are key indicators that your resume might be working against you. When I see these phrases, I can guess that the resume in h and will be one of two things a bland restatement of a job description or a generic list of skills that the writer may or may not possess. In either case, these phrases are warnings that revision is probably needed. Take a peek and then check your resume. If needed, take some time to rework your bullet points. 1. Responsible for This phrase is a neon sign that tells the reader youre listing job duties and not accomplishments. For example, consider this resume bullet point Responsible for completing monthly inventory audits. Reading this bullet point, few recruiters or hiring managers would be impressed. In fact, it might have them scratching their heads. You were responsible for it, but did you actually do it? Instead of focusing on the task, why not focus on how you did that task in an exceptional way and achieved something special for the organization? Perhaps your audits revealed inaccuracies in the tracking systems, for which you were then able to recommend improvements. M aybe you identified some kind of fraud or recognized a problem with over-purchasing. Its also possible that you never encountered any abnormalities at all, and the best you can do is point to your record of timely completion and meticulous attention to detail. Thats okay, too. Include it. Just rephrase the sentence and start it with a powerful action verb. 2. Ability to This phrase suggests that you can do something but it doesnt actually say youve done it. Its a broad statement that points to a skill but offers no tangible proof. For example, consider the following resume bullet point Ability to gain consensus and work well in collaborative environments. It sounds lovely but is essentially meaningless. How does the person reading the resume know this is true? He doesnt. Youre asking the reader to take a leap and just trust you. Instead, why not articulate a specific time in which you actually did gain consensus? Or mention a project in which you successfully collaborated with a team. Even better, see if you can identify a specific result that came of that experience something that positively impacted the organization in some way. Reword the sentence so it starts with a powerful action verb and provides evidence for the skill you claim to have. If you cant cite a specific instance in which you successfully used the skill, its not something that belongs in the bullet point statements on your resume. Remember that when revising a resume, the vast majority of your time should be spent on making those bullet point statements really pop. It takes time and effort, but the payoff is well worth it. Remove these two phrases and youll be one step closer.