25 Phrases I Wish I Had Put on My Resume (When I Was Unemployed)
By: Terri Miranda
Tags: Unemployment, Business, Resumes Writing Services, Self Improvement, Jobs

Photo by Tyler Franta on Unsplash

Looking for the right words for your resume? Try adding soft skills and get the job…

You’re unemployed…and feeling desperate. You’ve looked at that resume countless times.

You’re completely out of ideas and thinking:

I can’t figure it out — I’ll just settle.

Don’t!

I was in the exact same boat. I thought my resume was ready to go. But it lacked something I couldn’t pinpoint.

So, What’s Missing From My Resume?

Skills, education, and experience were the obvious and easiest parts to put in. But I wondered if I could add something (anything!) to get it noticed.

After a lot of research, it became clear to me that if my resume was going to stand out, I needed to emphasize soft skills.

So what are they?

Soft skills are the emotional intelligence you bring to the position you apply for.

They have to do with your:

Personality

The ability to communicate

Your manners

How you interact with people

How Do I Put Soft Skills on My Resume?

When I figured that I just needed a few soft skills, I got excited. Maybe my resume wasn’t so bad after all. I needed to examine my personal strengths and figure out which skills I was really good at.

So, my research continued and I noticed a pattern: the same soft skills kept popping up again and again. They included:

Collaboration

Communication

Customer service

Problem solving

Time management

Sounds easy enough, right?

But I got stuck again! None of these skills have come easily for me. And how could I show that they applied to my personal work experience over the years?

I had to get creative and real about how I could apply skills like “Collaboration” and “Time Management” to my resume.

(If you’ve read my ABOUT ME page, you’ll see it was all over the place. Feel free to skip down to the bottom of the article to read my ready-made phrases that I customized for my resume!)

So let’s start with:

Problem Solving

I have an unusual employment history. I was never a supervisor or manager. Also, I loved to temp and was never in any particular position for very long. I wasn’t exactly a superstar.

Also, I had never had the opportunity to deal with difficult situations and try to find solutions that were needed in any particular work environment.

How was I going to work “problem solving” into my resume?

I had to consider my experience.

I watched kids in my home and a daycare over a long period of time, so I knew plenty about that. It turned out to be my starting point.

I started thinking:

How many fights did I referee? Don’t ask!

How many sticky negotiations did I conduct with moms and dads? Plenty!

Some days I had to get downright creative just to stay ahead of the game.

I didn’t realize it, but I had problem-solved in one way or another for years in all kinds of situations. So I felt confident and comfortable about putting it on my resume.

Problem solving is an underrated skill that’s needed in all work situations. Like me, you probably have way more experience with this than you think. Be as specific as you can about how you problem-solved.

Customer Service

(There’s plenty of arguments about whether customer service is a hard or soft skill. I consider it both and have included it here.)

Over the years, I spent plenty of time on the phone in receptionist positions. Dealing with the public helped me understand how to communicate with them. I did a lot of cold calls, some sales, and basic receptionist duties.

Because I had plenty of positions where the whole office could hear me, I had to learn to adapt quickly. I dealt with all kinds of people in every mood you can think of. In a sink-or-swim environment, I quickly learned what true phone etiquette is and is not.

That included not taking customer’s complaints personally and watching my tone, language, and vocabulary.

The more I did it, the better I got. The better I got, the more I enjoyed it. Soon it became second nature for me.

Lots of people comment that customer service has declined in recent years. So when I was praised for it, I was touched and surprised. And I knew it was going on my resume.

Great customer service always benefits and reflects on your employer. It’s also rare. I’ve come up with some great phrases that will get your resume noticed.

Communication

And speaking of communicating effectively…

Despite my lack of education, I discovered that writing was a soft skill I enjoyed. It was one of those things that came naturally to me.

I also discovered that not many people can do it well.

For example, I once had a position as a private investigator. No, it wasn’t like TV and it wasn’t exciting.

Everyone assumes it was glamorous. No way! Try paperwork and tons of it. I had to do lots of research (that’s a marketable and employable skill) and background checks.

Then I had to write intelligent, credible, readable reports and summaries on the person. I had to know grammar, spelling, and punctuation (more skills).

It took real know-how to write the kind of report my supervisor needed. Until I took that position, I didn’t even know I could write. It definitely sharpened my skills.

So, my conclusion was obvious: Hey, I can write! I’m going to make sure every potential employer knows I can do it.

What can you do well? Maybe it’s not writing; maybe it’s negotiating or listening. But if it’s related to communication and you feel fairly confident about it, state it clearly and emphasize it!

Time Management

Do you have a reputation for always being on time? If so, you are sending out a message loud and clear to your colleagues:

I am dependable

I respect others

I plan well

For some positions, being “fashionably late” isn’t going to cut it and the idea of tardiness can’t be tolerated in any form. Think of airlines, first responders or those in the medical field.

When it comes to work, my mindset is that punctuality is non-negotiable (no, I’m not talking about emergencies!) It shows respect for your colleagues, yourself, and demonstrates professionalism.

Entire books have been written on how to master the art of time management. If this comes naturally to you, you’re halfway through the door and ahead of the game. Put it all over your resume (and cover letter.)

And finally,

Collaboration

I got stuck on this one (again!). I had very little experience with it. After all, I was alone with the kids all day and I was the boss.

But I didn’t just watch kids. I worked in plenty of offices, too.

As I reflected on that, it reminded me of when I’d have that nervous first day/week at any new temp assignment.

A normal first week in a new workplace would typically go like this:

Meet new people

Get oriented

Gauge their personality/mood

Learn schedules

Slowly learn to perform various tasks

Be the team player they needed

That’s not the easiest thing to do if you’re a newbie in the office. When I looked back, I had forgotten how much I had actually collaborated over the years. It deserved a spot on my resume.

Unless you’re a hermit or own your own business/startup, you have to learn to play with others. And if you do it really well, your future employer will appreciate it. Don’t underestimate it!

Examples of How I Used Soft Skills on My Resume

So after all of that research and reflection, I came up with my personal example of how I could highlight my best soft skills and update my resume.

With my unique work history and experience, I decided to go with the following phrases.

PROBLEM SOLVING:

Ability to handle conflict and find the best outcome

Ability to tackle new challenges

Keen focus on helping people resolve issues

Practiced neutrality

Resourceful and solutions-oriented

CUSTOMER SERVICE:

Ability to deliver great customer experiences in any environment

Greets customers in a personable manner by providing eye contact, smiling, and nodding

Highly professional telephone manner

Provided prompt and courteous customer service in person and via phone

Understands what excellent customer service looks like

COMMUNICATION:

Able to speak my mind diplomatically

Able to write concise, logical and grammatically correct written communication, including correspondence

Calm under pressure with a good sense of humor

Engaged in difficult conversations

Excellent communication skills: written, oral and phone

TIME MANAGEMENT

Ability to handle multiple functions at one time while paying strict attention to detail and deadlines

Able to deliver quality results on time

Balanced priorities and deadlines

Reliable, punctual, and on-time attendance record

Understands the need to get things done to a high standard in a timely manner

COLLABORATION

Ability to interact, communicate and present ideas

Confers with others to reach a resolution

Develops and maintains good relations and excellent collaboration with the team/office/department

Enjoys working alongside others every day, able to contribute to building a positive team spirit

Ready to collaborate

I felt a lot better knowing my resume is rewritten and ready to go.

Showing off your soft skills is one of the easiest resume tricks around. Find the right soft skills and show with your phrases that you have what employers want.

If you’re still working on your resume, examine your soft skills. They can be the trick to opening the door.

Final Thoughts

Soft skills are just as important as hard skills and experience

Put them all over your resume (and cover letter)

List at least three your good at

If possible, emphasize communication, problem solving, and collaboration

More Phrases for Your Resume!

Did you know? Sometimes all you need is ONE KEY WORD for your resume. In this case it’s “communication.” Click here to get my FREE download Ready-Made Phrases for Your Resume: Communication for 26 more phrases!

Visit My Blog

3 Simple Ways to Improve Your Resume

150+ Simple Communication Examples for Your Resume

10 Strategic Ways to Highlight “People Skills” on Your Resume

Tell Me

Did you like the article? Use my phrases? Get the job? Let me know! Plus feel free to share!

Contact Me

Terri Miranda is the founder of Resumes Rewritten and a freelance blogger. She learned not to panic when she put soft skills on her resume. Find more of her articles at resumesrewritten.com.