" PROFITS
If there's one common denominator all business people understand, its profits. Quite possibly you were reluctant to mention your contributions to profits because they may have been small ones. Mention them anyway. Not every person is in a position to add a million dollars in profits to the company's coffers. I know of a woman who, after seven years with a company, could report that she had saved her company only $17,000 in excess-interest charges. The size of your personal profit contribution is less important than your ability to recognize an opportunity to increase profits at all.
" INCREASED SALES
You don't have to be a salesman to have helped increase your company's sales. You may have introduced a potential client to your firm. You may have corrected a pricing error which could have cost your company the loss of a customer. As a result of your production ideas, you may have contributed to a decrease in product cost which in turn resulted in a lower price to consumers. That lower price may have resulted in increased sales. You may have engineered a product improvement that helped the sales of a product. It doesn't matter whether you are in production, finance, marketing, or research, etc.; you have opportunities to help your company increase its sales. Your prospective boss should know about your contributions, no matter how small. Because, in the end, increased sales (with profits) are the aim of every business.
" REDUCED COST
As with increased sales, reduced costs are not the exclusive franchise of any single department. If you are a process engineer, chances are you reduced the cost of a manufacturing system. If you are in purchasing, you may have made an extraordinary buy that saved your company money. If you are an office manager, you may have improved an administrative procedure so that you didn't hire an extra clerk. Prospective employers are looking for people who know how to save money. Because, ultimately, reduced costs become increased profits. If you've saved your company money, let it be known.
" ESTABLISHMENT OF NEW OBJECTIVES AND STRATEGIES
I know a man who joined a great old New England company that produced a limited line of five products. Within a year after joining, this man had persuaded management to introduce three new product lines. Three months later this person decided to leave in a dispute with management over the introduction of additional new products. At the time he prepared his resume, results were not yet in on the success of the three new product lines he had introduced to the trade. He could not, therefore, refer to increases in sales and profits on his resume. But his resume was strong nonetheless, because he said in it: "Introduced three totally new products for the XYZ Company, the first introduced by this company since 1933."
" SUCCESSFUL PERSONNEL TRAINING
A woman who attended one of my classes complained to me that she wasn't getting anywhere. As a claims supervisor in an insurance firm, she had trained no less than four men who had gone on to become vice-presidents of the company. Yet she herself remained as a claims supervisor, with no corporate title. As she discussed her future, I suggested that she focus on her ability to train. Her resume now sports this worthpoint: "Developed successful training techniques which have resulted in advancing careers of four key insurance company officers." The ability to develop people is an extremely important asset that can increase the profits of the corporation for whom the trainer is employed.
" RECOGNITION OF OVERLOOKED PROBLEMS
Recently I came across a resume that said: "Analyzed costs and selling prices of three sizes of paints sold by the ABC Company. Discovered price structure, in effect for ten years, resulted in reduced profit to firm on larger sizes. Recommended price changes that increased profits on larger sizes while making it worthwhile for consumers to trade up to the bigger packages." This candidate scored well not only for his contribution to profits, but also for his curiosity, which led to the profit increase.
THE WORDS THAT SELL
Not all words create excitement. Take the difference between "hitting the ball" and "walloping" it. Certain words are active words; others are passive words. In talking about your career, try to use words that are exciting and active. Nothing annoys me more than a memo from one of the people who work for me saying, "Per your request, this document reviews ..." I would much prefer the person to write instead, "Here are my recommendations concerning the pressing problem ..."
So when you review your worthpoints let the words you select reveal your initiative, your extraordinary interest, and your ability to move mountains. In this respect, there are several kinds of words and phrases you should try to incorporate into your interviews, resumes and letters. These include:
¢ TAKE-ACTION WORDS
Some to consider for yourself are initiated, developed, conceived, planned, created, formulated.
¢ TAKE-CHARGE WORDS
Like directed, organized, supervised, administered, managed, took responsibility for, presided over, and led.
¢ GET-RESULTS PHRASES
Some you may want to use are resulted in, led to, contributed to, demonstrated that, reduced, saved, increased, provided.
There are other active, exciting words. The sampling above only gives you an idea. Choose your own. But make sure each evokes a positive interest in you.
