Powerful words to use in your Assistant CV

The competition for Executive and Personal Assistant jobs is fierce. Now more than ever. That is why making your CV (or resume) stand out is essential. To do that, you have to make your CV come to life. You must list your accomplishments and responsibilities, not just your duties and responsibilities. Using powerful words is the way to go because they help you demonstrate your strengths, how you will fit into the organisation’s culture, and where you will add value.

Powerful words get noticed. They leap off the page.

Recruiters look through a lot of Assistant resumes. It would be best to give them something to make your CV stand out and get past the algorithm recruiters use to select top-level candidates for an interview.

There are many powerful words that Assistants can use to make their CVs stand out. We will take a deep dive into all of the powerful words to use in your Assistant CV.

Keywords

You will find all the keywords you need to add to your CV from the job description or listing. Adding them to your resume will demonstrate quickly that you are qualified for the role.

We cover keywords you can add to your CV in our Guide: Preparing for a Personal or Executive Assistant job search in 2021 and beyond.

Action Words

It is time to get a little creative! Actions words help bring your Assistant’s CV to life. These strong action verbs will set your CV apart.

Here is an example of 25 powerful action words you can use throughout your Assistant’s CV.

1. Accomplish
2. Advance
3. Advise
4. Brief
5. Collaborate
6. Compile
7. Contribute
8. Deliver
9. Enable
10. Establish
11. Generate
12. Handle
13. Identify
14. Maximise
15. Operate
16. Oversaw
17. Prioritise
18. Resolve
19. Scrutinize
20. Streamline
21. Track
22. Transform
23. Undertake
24. Visualise
25. Yield

CV Template for Assistants

Use this template to craft the perfect resume for your Assistant job search. 

 Assistant Skills to include in your CV

Use this guide to capture all of your high-level Assistant skills.

Self-descriptive words

There are skills that almost every organisation is looking for in their Assistants, and you must pepper your resume with these critical qualities.

These specific hard skills will help you as a critical business asset in your organisation. I have also given an example of how you can phrase this skill in your CV to showcase the attributes that will make you a great employee.

Download our list of Executive and Personal Assistants’ skills to keep for your next job hunt!

There are also self-descriptive words that will help your Assistant CV stand out. Here are 20 examples:

1. Accomplished
2. Astute
3. Attentive
4. Competent
5. Dedicated
6. Determined
7. Diligent
8. Dynamic
9. Diplomatic
10. Focused
11. Honest
12. Knowledgeable
13. Meticulous
14. Motivated
15. Organised
16. Passionate
17. Proactive
18. Professional
19. Strategic Thinker
20. Trusted

Accomplishments

Rather than just outlining duties and responsibilities, Assistants should think about adding their accomplishments to their CVs.

This shows how well you do the job, where you perform and add value. Here are ten examples of accomplishments that you have most likely achieved in your Assistant role.

1. Meticulously managed the schedule of three C-Suite Executives.
2. Planned and executed global travel arrangements for five senior Directors.
3. Saved £5000 in hotel fees after negotiating a new contract with our travel management supplier.
4. Introduced a new CRM system, saving our department time and creating efficiency.
5. Proactively handled all email correspondence for two Executives, reducing email back-and-forth by 40%.
6. Developed relationships with all of my Executive’s direct reports and the Executive Committee to understand and incorporate objectives and key metrics into my work.
7. Supported Executives with cross-departmental projects. Commended for organisational skills and strategic thinking.
8. Delivered group training to 100 employees on Microsoft Office. Improving their efficiency and technical knowledge.
9. Proofed all documents and correspondence coming out of the CEO’s Office. Reducing errors by 90%.
10. Supported Executives with all meeting prep and ensured follow-up after every meeting to move projects and tasks forward.

You now better understand the effect powerful words can have on Assistant CVs. The right combination of words in the right place can make your CV stand out and get that dream job!

Investing your time, talent and resources into ensuring your resume shines is key to landing that interview and being offered the position. Creating an exceptional vision for potential employers will help you overcome the first hurdle. With confidence, effort and creativity, you can create an outstanding document that shows who you are and why someone should hire you – and then use powerful words to drive it home. Ultimately, using powerful words could be just what you need for success. Take the next step: enrol on our Accelerate your Assistant job search Online Course to gain access to further invaluable tips on acing this job race!