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Do these 2 things to your resume, says ex-Microsoft HR exec: One makes you sound ‘much more interesting'

[CNBC] Do these 2 things to your resume, says ex-Microsoft HR exec: One makes you sound ‘much more interesting’
Violetastoimenova | E+ | Getty Images

[CNBC] Do these 2 things to your resume, says ex-Microsoft HR exec: One makes you sound ‘much more interesting’

There are certain things Sabina Nawaz doesn't like to see on a resume.

Nawaz worked at Microsoft for 15 years, including as a senior director of HR, and has been working as an executive coach since 2005. Her book, "You're the Boss," about how to be a good manager, comes out in March.

Among Nawaz's resume red flags are general statements like "I facilitated lots of things" and a lack of "so what" statements that really illustrate the impact of your work. That "so what" should be "in every single" bullet, she says. 

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Nawaz does have some resume green flags as well. Here's what she likes to see.

'Most of us are not working in isolation'

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To begin with, Nawaz looks for candidates who both highlight their accomplishments and remember to mention when something was a team effort.

"Most of us are not working in isolation," she says. "We're working with others." If all of your bullets indicate you worked on projects alone, "you're overselling yourself." It's not going to be a red flag, but she's going to wonder if you really could've done everything on your own and ask you about team efforts in the interview.

When candidates highlight collaboration by using statements like "me and a team of so and so" completed a project, she sees that they're giving credit to the others who contributed. It also gives her a sense of the kinds of group dynamics you've encountered on the job.

You don't have to include these kinds of statements too frequently on a resume. "One or two mentions are sufficient," she says.

Get 'much more specific'

Both in bullets about team work and those about the individual's work, Nawaz likes get a sense of what the candidate actually did.

"Sometimes people use some really generic and broad terms, like 'I facilitated,' 'I worked on,' 'I synergized,'" she says. But these don't give a clear sense of the candidate's accomplishments. Saying something like "I was responsible for gathering the data and providing the analysis that helped us land the client," for example, she says, is very specific and makes it clear how you contributed.

"It's much more interesting and much more specific" for the person reading your resume, and a positive sign of what you're capable of.

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