SINGAPORE, 9 Feb 2010: The labour movement is making productivity growth a top priority for this year.

At its Workplan Seminar on Tuesday morning, it set a target of three per cent productivity growth that is broad—based and inclusive for workers and companies.

The past year had been a busy one for unionists — helping workers and companies ride out the economic downturn. It is now time to take stock of what has been achieved and set the tone and direction for the future.

The buzzword this year is productivity. NTUC is pushing for productivity improvement of three per cent, in line with the recommendations of the Economic Strategies Committee. And it wants this growth to be broad—based.

The Singapore job market is expected to do much better in 2010 as the global economy recovers. In 2007 and 2008, the finance sector saw one of the largest cutbacks as the financial crisis struck at the core of the financial system. Fast forward to today, it is expected to be one of the fastest growing sector in Singapore. From the wealth management industry to the investment banking industry, hiring is expected to pick up significantly. Pay packages too are likely to fatten as well. Refer to the salary ranges pages for more detail.

SINGAPORE, Jan 15 - With the economy improving, the outlook for IT jobs looks brighter in 2010, though candidates should be flexible in accepting employment terms, said human resource executives.

Quarterly surveys by Manpower Staffing Services Singapore have shown improvements in the job market over the last three quarters, said country manager Peter Haglund in an e-mail interview with ZDNet Asia. If the trend continues, Haglund said hiring for the IT industry as well as other industries is expected to pick up to pre-recession levels.

SINGAPORE, Feb 3 - Fewer foreign workers, but better productivity to drive a smaller growth rate in the Gross Domestic Product.

This strategy has some Singaporeans wondering to what extent it was economically or politically motivated. And what makes this productivity drive different from previous ones?

The Economic Strategies Committee (ESC) sub-committee on fostering inclusive growth noted in its report yesterday that the "large" foreign worker presence has "incurred infrastructural and social costs".

SINGAPORE, 4 Feb - The job market appears to be looking up with the private sector ready to hire more fresh graduates this year.

It's offering two-thirds of the job openings at a career fair organised by the National University of Singapore.
NUS students who will graduate in July had a field day on Thursday checking out the job openings.The big players such as financial and banking services, life sciences and even fashion houses were present.

SINGAPORE, 22 JAN 2010 – The Asian economy is definitely looking up because hiring expectations in Singapore has accelerated in the first quarter of 2010. This insight is reported in the Hudson report based on information collection by surveying more than 400 executives across key business sectors.

Hudson is a global provider of permanent recruitment, contract professionals and talent management services. These respondents were questioned during November 2009 and 51 per cent of them said they expect increased hiring in the first quarter of 2010. This represents an increase from 34 per cent in the fourth quarter of 2009.

SINGAPORE, Feb 1 — The tentative economic recovery here has taken its first foothold in the job market. Three months after resident unemployment hit 5 per cent, the highest since 2003, December brought Christmas cheer as well as a sharp drop in the jobless rate.

The latest 3 per cent figure is also lower than the 3.6 per cent in December 2008. Overall unemployment now stands at 2.1 per cent, seasonally adjusted.

SINGAPORE, Jan 25 - The market has continued to improve since the third quarter of last year, with things looking a lot more promising forSingapore's job-seekers.

Human resource departments are looking to increase and nurture their talent pool for the upturn and doors are beginning to open, with job opportunities on the rise.

It may seem that there’s nothing you can do about your stress level. The bills aren’t going to stop coming, there will never be more hours in the day for all your errands, and your career or family responsibilities will always be demanding. But you have a lot more control than you might think. In fact, the simple realization that you’re in control of your life is the foundation of stress management.

Managing stress is all about taking charge: taking charge of your thoughts, your emotions, your schedule, your environment, and the way you deal with problems. The ultimate goal is a balanced life, with time for work, relationships, relaxation, and fun – plus the resilience to hold up under pressure and meet challenges head on.

Identify the sources of stress in your life

Stress management starts with identifying the sources of stress in your life. This isn’t as easy as it sounds. Your true sources of stress aren’t always obvious, and it’s all too easy to overlook your own stress-inducing thoughts, feelings, and behaviors. Sure, you may know that you’re constantly worried about work deadlines. But maybe it’s your procrastination, rather than the actual job demands, that leads to deadline stress.

To identify your true sources of stress, look closely at your habits, attitude, and excuses:

• Do you explain away stress as temporary (“I just have a million things going on right now”) even though you can’t remember the last time you took a breather?
• Do you define stress as an integral part of your work or home life (“Things are always crazy around here”) or as a part of your personality (“I have a lot of nervous energy, that’s all”).
• Do you blame your stress on other people or outside events, or view it as entirely normal and unexceptional?

Until you accept responsibility for the role you play in creating or maintaining it, your stress level will remain outside your control.

Unhealthy ways of coping with stress

These coping strategies may temporarily reduce stress, but they cause more damage in the long run:

• Smoking
• Drinking too much
• Overeating or undereating
• Zoning out for hours in front of the TV or computer
• Withdrawing from friends, family, and activities
• Using pills or drugs to relax
• Sleeping too much
• Procrastinating
• Filling up every minute of the day to avoid facing problems
• Taking out your stress on others (lashing out, angry outbursts, physical violence)

Learning healthier ways to manage stress

If your methods of coping with stress aren’t contributing to your greater emotional and physical health, it’s time to find healthier ones. There are many healthy ways to manage and cope with stress, but they all require change. You can either change the situation or change your reaction. When deciding which option to choose, it’s helpful to think of the four As: avoid, alter, adapt, or accept.
Since everyone has a unique response to stress, there is no “one size fits all” solution to managing it. No single method works for everyone or in every situation, so experiment with different techniques and strategies. Focus on what makes you feel calm and in control.

Stress management strategy #1: Avoid unnecessary stress

Not all stress can be avoided, and it’s not healthy to avoid a situation that needs to be addressed. You may be surprised, however, by the number of stressors in your life that you can eliminate.

• Learn how to say “no” – Know your limits and stick to them. Whether in your personal or professional life, refuse to accept added responsibilities when you’re close to reaching them. Taking on more than you can handle is a surefire recipe for stress.
• Avoid people who stress you out – If someone consistently causes stress in your life and you can’t turn the relationship around, limit the amount of time you spend with that person or end the relationship entirely.;
• Take control of your environment – If the evening news makes you anxious, turn the TV off. If traffic’s got you tense, take a longer but less-traveled route. If going to the market is an unpleasant chore, do your grocery shopping online.
• Avoid hot-button topics – If you get upset over religion or politics, cross them off your conversation list. If you repeatedly argue about the same subject with the same people, stop bringing it up or excuse yourself when it’s the topic of discussion.
• Pare down your to-do list – Analyze your schedule, responsibilities, and daily tasks. If you’ve got too much on your plate, distinguish between the “shoulds” and the “musts.” Drop tasks that aren’t truly necessary to the bottom of the list or eliminate them entirely.

Stress management strategy #2: Alter the situation

If you can’t avoid a stressful situation, try to alter it. Figure out what you can do to change things so the problem doesn’t present itself in the future. Often, this involves changing the way you communicate and operate in your daily life.

• Express your feelings instead of bottling them up. If something or someone is bothering you, communicate your concerns in an open and respectful way. If you don’t voice your feelings, resentment will build and the situation will likely remain the same.
• Be willing to compromise. When you ask someone to change their behavior, be willing to do the same. If you both are willing to bend at least a little, you’ll have a good chance of finding a happy middle ground.
• Be more assertive. Don’t take a backseat in your own life. Deal with problems head on, doing your best to anticipate and prevent them. If you’ve got an exam to study for and your chatty roommate just got home, say up front that you only have five minutes to talk.
• Manage your time better. Poor time management can cause a lot of stress. When you’re stretched too thin and running behind, it’s hard to stay calm and focused. But if you plan ahead and make sure you don’t overextend yourself, you can alter the amount of stress you’re under.

Stress management strategy #3: Adapt to the stressor

If you can’t change the stressor, change yourself. You can adapt to stressful situations and regain your sense of control by changing your expectations and attitude.

• Reframe problems. Try to view stressful situations from a more positive perspective. Rather than fuming about a traffic jam, look at it as an opportunity to pause and regroup, listen to your favorite radio station, or enjoy some alone time.
• Look at the big picture. Take perspective of the stressful situation. Ask yourself how important it will be in the long run. Will it matter in a month? A year? Is it really worth getting upset over? If the answer is no, focus your time and energy elsewhere.
• Adjust your standards. Perfectionism is a major source of avoidable stress. Stop setting yourself up for failure by demanding perfection. Set reasonable standards for yourself and others, and learn to be okay with “good enough.”
• Focus on the positive. When stress is getting you down, take a moment to reflect on all the things you appreciate in your life, including your own positive qualities and gifts. This simple strategy can help you keep things in perspective.

Adjusting Your Attitude

How you think can have a profound affect on your emotional and physical well-being. Each time you think a negative thought about yourself, your body reacts as if it were in the throes of a tension-filled situation. If you see good things about yourself, you are more likely to feel good; the reverse is also true. Eliminate words such as "always," "never," "should," and "must." These are telltale marks of self-defeating thoughts.

Stress management strategy #4: Accept the things you can’t change

Some sources of stress are unavoidable. You can’t prevent or change stressors such as the death of a loved one, a serious illness, or a national recession. In such cases, the best way to cope with stress is to accept things as they are. Acceptance may be difficult, but in the long run, it’s easier than railing against a situation you can’t change.

• Don’t try to control the uncontrollable. Many things in life are beyond our control— particularly the behavior of other people. Rather than stressing out over them, focus on the things you can control such as the way you choose to react to problems.
• Look for the upside. As the saying goes, “What doesn’t kill us makes us stronger.” When facing major challenges, try to look at them as opportunities for personal growth. If your own poor choices contributed to a stressful situation, reflect on them and learn from your mistakes.
• Share your feelings. Talk to a trusted friend or make an appointment with a therapist. Expressing what you’re going through can be very cathartic, even if there’s nothing you can do to alter the stressful situation.
• Learn to forgive. Accept the fact that we live in an imperfect world and that people make mistakes. Let go of anger and resentments. Free yourself from negative energy by forgiving and moving on.

Stress Management Strategy #5: Learn to Rest and Relax

Beyond a take-charge approach and a positive attitude, you can reduce stress in your life by nurturing yourself. If you regularly make time for fun and relaxation, you’ll be in a better place to handle life’s stressors when they inevitably come.

Healthy ways to relax and recharge

• Go for a walk.
• Spend time in nature.
• Call a good friend.
• Sweat out tension with a good workout.
• Write in your journal.
• Take a long bath.
• Light scented candles
• Savor a warm cup of coffee or tea.
• Play with a pet.
• Work in your garden.
• Get a massage.
• Curl up with a good book.
• Listen to music.
• Watch a comedy

Don’t get so caught up in the hustle and bustle of life that you forget to take care of your own needs. Nurturing yourself is a necessity, not a luxury.

• Set aside relaxation time. Include rest and relaxation in your daily schedule. Don’t allow other obligations to encroach. This is your time to take a break from all responsibilities and recharge your batteries.
• Connect with others. Spend time with positive people who enhance your life. A strong support system will buffer you from the negative effects of stress.
• Do something you enjoy every day. Make time for leisure activities that bring you joy, whether it be stargazing, playing the piano, or working on your bike.
• Keep your sense of humor. This includes the ability to laugh at yourself. The act of laughing helps your body fight stress in a number of ways.

Learn the relaxation response

You can control your stress levels with relaxation techniques that evoke the body’s relaxation response, a state of restfulness that is the opposite of the stress response. Regularly practicing these techniques will build your physical and emotional resilience, heal your body, and boost your overall feelings of joy and equanimity.

Stress management strategy #6: Adopt a healthy lifestyle

You can increase your resistance to stress by strengthening your physical health.

• Exercise regularly. Physical activity plays a key role in reducing and preventing the effects of stress. Make time for at least 30 minutes of exercise, three times per week. Nothing beats aerobic exercise for releasing pent-up stress and tension.

• Eat a healthy diet. Well-nourished bodies are better prepared to cope with stress, so be mindful of what you eat. Start your day right with breakfast, and keep your energy up and your mind clear with balanced, nutritious meals throughout the day.

• Reduce caffeine and sugar. The temporary "highs" caffeine and sugar provide often end in with a crash in mood and energy. By reducing the amount of coffee, soft drinks, chocolate, and sugar snacks in your diet, you’ll feel more relaxed and you’ll sleep better.

• Avoid alcohol, cigarettes, and drugs. Self-medicating with alcohol or drugs may provide an easy escape from stress, but the relief is only temporary. Don’t avoid or mask the issue at hand; deal with problems head on and with a clear mind.

• Get enough sleep. Adequate sleep fuels your mind, as well as your body. Feeling tired will increase your stress because it may cause you to think irrationally.

We've already looked at the survival benefits of the fight-or-flight response, as well as the problems this caused for our performance in work-related situations. We've also seen the negative “burnout” effect of exposure to long-term stress. These effects can also affect your health – either with direct physiological damage to your body, or with harmful behavioral effects.

The behavioral effects of an over-stressed lifestyle are easy to explain. When under pressure, some people are more likely to drink heavily or smoke, as a way of getting immediate chemical relief from stress.

Others may have so much work to do that they do not exercise or eat properly. They may cut down on sleep, or may worry so much that they sleep badly. They may get so carried away with work and meeting daily pressures that they do not take time to see the doctor or dentist when they need to. All of these are likely to harm health.

The direct physiological effects of excessive stress are more complex. In some areas they are well understood, while in other areas, they are still subject to debate and further research.

The link between stress and heart disease is well-established. If stress is intense, and stress hormones are not ‘used up’ by physical activity, our raised heart rate and high blood pressure put tension on arteries and cause damage to them. As the body heals this damage, artery walls scar and thicken, which can reduce the supply of blood and oxygen to the heart.

This is where a fight-or-flight response can become lethal: Stress hormones accelerate the heart to increase the blood supply to muscles; however, blood vessels in the heart may have become so narrow that not enough blood reaches the heart to meet these demands. This can cause a heart attack.

Stress has been also been found to damage the immune system, which explains why we catch more colds when we are stressed. It may intensify symptoms in diseases that have an autoimmune component, such as rheumatoid arthritis. It also seems to affect headaches and irritable bowel syndrome, and there are now suggestions of links between stress and cancer.

Stress is also associated with mental health problems and, in particular, anxiety and depression. Here the relationship is fairly clear: the negative thinking that is associated with stress also contributes to these.

The direct effects of stress in other areas of health are still under debate. In some areas (for example in the formation of stomach ulcers) diseases traditionally associated with stress are now attributed to other causes.

Regular exercise can reduce your physiological reaction to stress. It also strengthens your heart and increases the blood supply to it, directly affecting your vulnerability to heart disease.

Although this site focuses mainly on stress and work performance, many of the tools and techniques within it will help you manage stresses that would otherwise adversely affect your health. However, if you suspect that you are prone to stress-related illness, or if you are in any doubt about the state of your health, you should consult appropriate medical advice immediately. Keep in mind that stress management is only part of any solution to stress-related illness.

There have been many different definitions of what stress is, whether used by psychologists, medics, management consultants or others. There seems to have been something approaching open warfare between competing definitions: Views have been passionately held and aggressively defended.

What complicates this is that intuitively we all feel that we know what stress is, as it is something we have all experienced. A definition should therefore be obvious…except that it is not.

One problem with a single definition is that stress is made up of many things: It is a family of related experiences, pathways, responses and outcomes caused by a range of different events or circumstances. Different people experience different aspects and identify with different definitions.

Hans Selye (one of the founding fathers of stress research) identified another part of this problem when he saw that different types of definition operate in different areas of knowledge. To a lawyer or a linguist, words have very precise, definite and fixed meanings. In other fields, ideas and definitions continue evolving as research and knowledge expands.

Selye’s view in 1956 was that “stress is not necessarily something bad – it all depends on how you take it. The stress of exhilarating, creative successful work is beneficial, while that of failure, humiliation or infection is detrimental.” Selye believed that the biochemical effects of stress would be experienced irrespective of whether the situation was positive or negative.

Since then, ideas have moved on. In particular, the harmful biochemical and long-term effects of stress have rarely been observed in positive situations.

Now, the most commonly accepted definition of stress (mainly attributed to Richard S Lazarus) is that stress is a condition or feeling experienced when a person perceives that demands exceed the personal and social resources the individual is able to mobilize.

People feel little stress when they have the time, experience and resources to manage a situation. They feel great stress when they think they can't handle the demands put upon them. Stress is therefore a negative experience. And it is not an inevitable consequence of an event: It depends a lot on people's perceptions of a situation and their real ability to cope with it.

This is the main definition used by this site, although we also recognize that there is an intertwined instinctive stress response to unexpected events. The stress response inside us is therefore part instinct and part to do with the way we think.

Responses to Stress
There are two types of instinctive stress response that are important to how we understand stress and stress management: the short-term “Fight-or-Flight” response and the long-term “General Adaptation Syndrome”. The first is a basic survival instinct, while the second is a long-term effect of exposure to stress.

A third mechanism comes from the way that we think and interpret the situations in which we find ourselves.

Actually, these three mechanisms can be part of the same stress response – we will initially look at them separately, and then show how they can fit together.

“Fight-or-Flight”
Some of the early work on stress (conducted by Walter Cannon in 1932) established the existence of the well-known fight-or-flight response. His work showed that when an animal experiences a shock or perceives a threat, it quickly releases hormones that help it to survive.

These hormones help us to run faster and fight harder. They increase heart rate and blood pressure, delivering more oxygen and blood sugar to power important muscles. They increase sweating in an effort to cool these muscles, and help them stay efficient. They divert blood away from the skin to the core of our bodies, reducing blood loss if we are damaged. And as well as this, these hormones focus our attention on the threat, to the exclusion of everything else. All of this significantly improves our ability to survive life-threatening events.

Unfortunately, this mobilization of the body for survival also has negative consequences. In this state, we are excitable, anxious, jumpy and irritable. This reduces our ability to work effectively with other people.

With trembling and a pounding heart, we can find it difficult to execute precise, controlled skills. And the intensity of our focus on survival interferes with our ability to make fine judgments based on drawing information from many sources. We find ourselves more accident-prone and less able to make good decisions.

It is easy to think that this fight-or-flight, or adrenaline, response is only triggered by obviously life-threatening danger. On the contrary, recent research shows that we experience the fight-or-flight response when simply encountering something unexpected.
 
The situation does not have to be dramatic: People experience this response when frustrated or interrupted, or when they experience a situation that is new or in some way challenging. This hormonal, fight-or-flight response is a normal part of everyday life and a part of everyday stress, although often with an intensity that is so low that we do not notice it.

There are very few situations in modern working life where this response is useful. Most situations benefit from a calm, rational, controlled and socially sensitive approach.

The General Adaptation Syndrome and Burnout
Hans Selye took a different approach from Cannon. Starting with the observation that different diseases and injuries to the body seemed to cause the same symptoms in patients, he identified a general response (the “General Adaptation Syndrome”) with which the body reacts to a major stimulus. While the Fight-or-Flight response works in the very short term, the General Adaptation Syndrome operates in response to longer-term exposure to causes of stress.

Selye identified that when pushed to extremes, animals reacted in three stages:

1. First, in the Alarm Phase, they reacted to the stressor.
2. Next, in the Resistance Phase, the resistance to the stressor increased as the animal adapted to, and coped with, it. This phase lasted for as long as the animal could support this heightened resistance.
3. Finally, once resistance was exhausted, the animal entered the Exhaustion Phase, and resistance declined substantially.

Selye established this with many hundreds of experiments performed on laboratory rats. However, he also quoted research during World War II with bomber pilots. Once they had completed a few missions over enemy territory, these pilots usually settled down and performed well. After many missions, however, pilot fatigue would set in as they began to show “neurotic manifestations”.

In the business environment, this exhaustion is seen in “burnout”. The classic example comes from the Wall Street trading floor: by most people’s standards, life on a trading floor is stressful. Traders learn to adapt to the daily stressors of making big financial decisions, and of winning and losing large sums of money. In many cases, however, these stresses increase and fatigue starts to set in.

At the same time, as traders become successful and earn more and more money, their financial motivation to succeed can diminish. Ultimately, many traders experience burnout. We look at this in more detail in our section on burnout.

Stress and the way we think
Particularly in normal working life, much of our stress is subtle and occurs without obvious threat to survival. Most comes from things like work overload, conflicting priorities, inconsistent values, over-challenging deadlines, conflict with co-workers, unpleasant environments and so on. Not only do these reduce our performance as we divert mental effort into handling them, they can also cause a great deal of unhappiness.

We have already mentioned that the most common currently accepted definition of stress is something that is experienced when a person perceives that “demands exceed the personal and social resources the individual is able to mobilize.”

In becoming stressed, people must therefore make two main judgments: firstly they must feel threatened by the situation, and secondly they must doubt that their capabilities and resources are sufficient to meet the threat.

How stressed someone feels depends on how much damage they think the situation can do them, and how closely their resources meet the demands of the situation. This sense of threat is rarely physical. It may, for example, involve perceived threats to our social standing, to other people’s opinions of us, to our career prospects or to our own deeply held values.

Just as with real threats to our survival, these perceived threats trigger the hormonal fight-or-flight response, with all of its negative consequences.

Building on this, this site offers a variety of approaches to managing stress. The navigation bar in the left hand column offers a range of practical methods for managing these stresses by tackling them at source. It also offers some powerful tools for changing your interpretation of stressful situations, thereby reducing the perception of threat.

Pulling these mechanisms together – the integrated stress response…
So far, we have presented the Fight-or-Flight response, the General Adaptation Syndrome, and our mental responses to stress as separate mechanisms. In fact, they can fit together into one response.

The key to this is that Hans Selye’s ‘Alarm Phase’ is the same thing as Walter Cannon’s Fight-or-Flight response.

We can therefore see that mental stress triggers the fight-or-flight response, and that if this stress is sustained for a long time, the end result might be exhaustion and burnout.

Your cover letter presents your intentions, qualifications, and availability to a prospective employer in a succinct, appealing format. It's your first chance to make a great impression, a personalized letter indicates you are serious about your job search. Your resume can give the nitty-gritty of dates, places of employment, and education but your cover letter must entice the reader to take the extra few minutes to consider you when faced with hundreds and thousands of candidates for any one job opening.

1. Do you really need a cover letter?
You bet! Just as you would never just show up unannounced at a prospective employer's door, your resume should Never just appear solo on a decision- maker's desk. Your cover letter is your first opportunity to introduce yourself, present your qualifications, and show the search committee you are a potential candidate for the advertised position.

2. Personalize it to the company.
Anyone can reproduce a "canned" cover letter and hope for the best. Instead, take a few minutes to personalize your letter by showing that you are really serious about working for the companies you are contacting. State the reason that you are interested in working for that particular company. Mention a department, a new project the company is involved in, an acquisition the company has made. Show that you have done your homework. Address the cover letter to a specific individual whenever possible.

3. Why are you sending your resume and cover letter?
Cover letters should be clear and to the point. Include the specific job title, two to three reasons why your experience makes a good fit, and a brief outline of career highlights.

4. Highlight your strengths!
You may be a great person and never call in sick, but prospective employers really want to know why they should consider you for this position. Brag a little! Give a few facts, list relevant skills, and state accomplishments on your present or most recent jobs that will be impressive. Increased overseas sales by 93%? Negotiated new financial leases/loans? Implemented new training programs which reduced staff turnover by 15%?

5. State your intentions and qualifications right up front.
If you expect a senior personnel manager or recruiter to wade through a mish- mash of information on your cover letter before understanding why you are sending your resume, chances are, it will never happen.

6. What makes you different?
Emphasize your skills, talents, and experiences to show how you would be a valuable addition to the team. If you have relevant volunteer or professional experience include it briefly in your cover letter. Example: An accountant who serves as volunteer treasurer for a nonprofit community health organization; an international sales rep who has lived in Europe and Asia and speaks several languages.

7. No negative information!
Never include personality conflicts with previous employers, pending litigation suits, or sarcastic remarks in your cover letter. If you are bad-mouthing your present place of employment, interviewers may fear a repeat performance if they hire you.

8. When should you include salary/relocation information?
The rule of thumb is to always include salary requirements and/or salary history in the cover letter if a prospective employer requests it. For example: My salary requirements are $60,000-$75000 (negotiable). Or: My current salary is $53,000 at XYZ corporation. To eliminate this information from your cover letter may justify your resume getting tossed out. Never include salary and relocation information on your resume, only address this information in your cover letter.

9. Action Steps to Take
Take a proactive approach in your cover letter. State the fact that you are available for a personal interview; give your home, work, e-mail, and/or cell phone numbers where you can be reached; note that you will follow up by phone (where possible) to provide any additional information required.

10. Be direct!
A professionally written cover letter and resume can open the doors to your next position on the corporate ladder, as well as a new career in a different field. A clean, error-free presentation combined with strong phrasing and solid facts will encourage the reader to review the attached resume and call you in for an interview.

Strong action verbs can really help drive home your previous success and career achievements. Often times, we draw a blank on which verbs to use. This page provides an alphabetical index of power verbs that can be used in a resume, mainly to start action oriented statements.

Though keywords may impress a computer enough to get your resume to the hiring manager's desk, you still have to impress that live human being enough to keep it out of the trash.

As any writer will tell you, the key to compelling prose lies in the action words: verbs. Below you will find a comprehensive list of power verbs that will make your resume stand out from the pack.

A	Synonyms	D	Synonyms
abated	decline, decrease, lessen	dealt	Traded, Marketed, Sold
abbreviated	concise, condensed, summarized	debated	Argued, Discussed, Disputed
abolished	ended, eradicated, terminated	debugged	Corrected, Fixed, Cured
abridged	compressed, condensed, compact	decided	Determined, Resolved, Settled
absolved	cleared, excused, exonerated	decoded	Decipher, Fathom, Solve
absorbed	consumed, engrossed, fascinated	decreased	Abate, Decline, Ebb
accelerated	fast, rapid, swift	dedicated	Apply, Assign, Commit
accentuated	heightened, highlight, stress	defined	Decide, Explain, Specify
accommodated	adapt, aid, support	delegated	Charge, Elect, Invest
accomplished	achieve, attain, realize	delineated	border, define, edge
accounted for	available, at hand, near	delivered	distribute, remit, transfer
accrued	accumulate, amass, build up	demonstrated	determine, Establish, indicate
accumulated	accrued, amass, collect	deployed	Arrange, display, position
achieved	accomplished, concluded, done	derived	conclude, deduct, judge
acquired	attained, earned, received	described	communicate, explain, Specify
acted	mock, pretended, simulate	designated	entitle, label, name
adapted	accommodate, conform, tailor	designed	construct, devise, invent
adopted	accept, endorse, foster	detailed	allocate, commission, designate
added	augment, summated, supplement	detected	discover, encounter, uncover
addressed	discourse, lecture, remark	determined	decide, regulate, terminate
adjusted	altered, diversified, revised	developed	advance, promote, thrive
administered	execute, manage, oversee	devised	Arrange, construct, improvise
advanced	continue, further, promote	diagnosed	determine, interpret, identify
advertised	amplify, notify, publicize	differentiated	contrast, demarcate, separate
advised	apprise, enlighten, inform	diffused	disburse, mitigate, temper
advocated	advance, bolster, encourage	directed	govern, lead, manage
affirmed	approved, assured, confirmed	disbursed	distribute, expend, outlay
aided	alleviate, benefit, subsidize	discovered	detect, identify, reveal
alerted	caution, notify, signaled	discussed	confer, converse, review
aligned	commensurate, level, parallel	dispatched	forward, remit, transmit
allayed	abate, assuage, relieve	dispensed	allot, distribute, portion
alleviated	ease, improve, mitigate	displayed	Arrange, demonstrate, showcase
allocated	allot, budget, designate	disposed	actuate, induce, regulate
allotted	appoint, budget, mete	disproved	belie, confute, rebut
altered	adjust, convert, revised	dissected	dismember, part, sever
amassed	compile, collect, gather	disseminated	circulate, disperse, publish
amended	enhance, improve, modify	dissolved	decline, disband, terminate
analyzed	consider, examine, interpret	distinguished	collate, label, judge
answered	comment, reply, remark	distributed	administer, bestow, prorate
anticipated	assume, expect, deduce	diversified	alter, expand, variegate
appeased	conciliate, contend, subdue	diverted	deflect, modify, veer
applied	correlated, exercised, related	divested	deprive, remove, seize
appointed	assign, delegate, determine	divided	detach, segment, unbind
appraised	assess, evaluate, inspect	documented	certify, record, script
approached	advance, offer, propose	doubled	binary, dual, paired
appropriated	appoint, devote, disperse	drafted	compose, devise, formulate
approved	commend, praise, sanction	dramatized	amplify, exaggerate, overdo
arbitrated	mediate, negotiate, settle	drew up	compose, prepare
aroused	animate, enliven, provoke	drove	compel, induce, urge
arranged	classify, methodize, organize	E
articulated	express, state, told	earned	acquire, collect, obtain
ascertained	confirm, determine, verify	eased	assist, expedite, mollify
aspired	aim, strive, yearn	economized	conserve, manage, save
assembled	accumulate, convene, unite	edited	alter, compile, prepare
assessed	estimate, evaluate, judge	educated	coach, Develop, teach
assigned	apportion, delegate, designate	effected	cause, Complete, enforce
assimilated	accommodate, incorporate, standardize	elaborated	devise, Develop, enhance
assisted	abet, collaborate, facilitate	elected	Appoint, cull, select
assured	ensured, insured, guaranteed	elevated	dredge, erect, hoist
attained	acquire, obtain, procure	elicited	cause, evoke, obtain
attended	appear, frequent, visit	eliminated	cancel, discharge, eradicate
audited	examine, review, verify	embraced	clasp, enfold, seize
augmented	amplify, compound, supplement	emphasized	assert, headline, prioritize
authored	created, penned, wrote	empowered	accredit, enable, vest
authorized	accredit, enable, entitle	enabled	approve, commission, permit
automated	computerized, mechanized, programmed	encouraged	buoy, fortify, incite
averted	advance, broach, propose	ended	cease, dissolve, terminate
avoided	abstain, desist, evade	enforced	compel, dictate, evoke
awarded	bestow, confer, grant	engaged	Appoint, enlist, retain
B		engineered	Arrange, devise, manage
balanced	collate, offset, stabilize	enhanced	amplify, embellish, upgrade
began	activate, commence, initiate	enlisted	draft, enroll, hire
benchmarked	commence, leveled, targeted	enriched	cultivate, endow, supplement
benefited	advance, further, promote	enrolled	accept, engage, register
bid	propose, tender, venture	ensured	certify, Establish, warrant
billed	debit, invoice, reckon	entered	access, arrive, probe
blended	combine, compound, integrate	entertained	captivate, inspire, regale
blocked	intercept, prevent, stonewall	enticed	beguile, lure, tempt
bolstered	maintain, reinforce, support	equipped	endow, prepare, supply
boosted	amplify, augment, elevate	established	create, decree, enact
bought	acquire, purchase, procure	estimated	assess, budget, gauge
branded	establish, identify, designate	evaluated	appraise, classify, value
bridged	bind, link, unite	examined	audit, consider, research
broadened	link, increase, supplement	exceeded	eclipse, excel, surpass
brought	effectuate, convey, import	executed	achieve, enact, render
budgeted	allocate, calculated, computed	exercised	apply, employ, utilize
built	calculated, construct, engineer	exhibited	display, feature, proclaim
C		expanded	amplify, broaden, increase
calculated	appraise, consider, enumerate	expedited	facilitate, promote, urge
calibrated	adjust, attune, regulate	experienced	confront, encounter, endure
capitalized	attune, use, utilize	experimented	examine, explore, speculate
captured	caught, contained, detained	explained	clarify, decipher, interpret
cared for	aid, provide for, support	explored	examine, probe, survey
carried	channel, convey, sustain	expressed	exert, state, testify
carved	form, hew, shape	extended	amplify, increase, widen
categorized	hew, group, sort	extracted	derive, glean, wrest
catalogued	arrange, class, index	F
caught	apprehend, capture, seize	fabricated	Assemble, compose, create
cautioned	advise, alert, forewarn	facilitated	aid, further, promote
cemented	combine, merge, seal	factored	allow for, consider,
certified	approved, authenticate, authorize	familiarized	condition, enlighten, inform
chaired	judge, mediate, preside	fashioned	create, devise, mold
challenged	dispute, investigate, question	fielded	deflect, handle, return
championed	investigate, defend, uphold	filed	finish, level, refine
changed	adjust, modify, transform	filled	furnish, inflate, pervade
charged	impugn, indict, reproach	finalized	complete, conclude, decide
charted	arrange, graph, plot	financed	capitalize, endow, promote
checked	compare, inspect, verify	fine tuned	adapt, conform, hone
chose	accept, elect, select	finished	alter, modify, complete
chronicled	enter, narrate, report	fixed	imbed, implant, stabilize
circulated	broadcast, distribute, issue	focused	convene, rivet, spotlight
circumvented	avoid, elude, prevent	followed	ensue, displace, pursue
cited	indicate, quote, reference	forecasted	anticipate, conclude, infer
clarified	define, illuminate, simplify	forged	duplicate, invent, produce
classified	categorize, sort, group	formalized	invent, denote, entitle
cleaned	clarify, expunge, sanitize	formed	Arrange, compose, develop
cleared	absolve, clarify, cleanse	formulated	compose, contrive, invent
closed	end, seal, shut	fortified	brace, consolidate, reinforce
coached	advise, encourage, support	forwarded	advance, expedite, promote
coded	arrange, classify, organize	fostered	cultivate, further, support
collaborated	corporate, concur, conspire	fought	challenge, dispute, strive
collated	, ,	found	detect, observe, pinpoint
collected	arrange, find, gather	founded	begin, induce, start
combined	add, mix, integrate	framed	assemble, forge, produce
commanded	, ,	fulfilled	achieve, complete, perfect
commended	Acclaim, Exalt, Praise	functioned as	act, operate, perform
commenced	Exalt, Innate, Start	funded	endow, finance, support
commissioned	Appoint, Command, Enlist	furnished	Appoint, equip, purvey
communicated	Talk, Speak, Verbalize	furthered	assist, Contribute, patronize
compared	Analyze, Contrast, Consider	G
compiled	Assemble, Amass, Gather	gained	acquire, consummate, procure
complemented	Acclaim, Laud, Recommend	garnered	accumulate, collect, reap
completed	End, Finish, Stop	gathered	amass, group, unite
composed	Author, Create, Design	gauged	appraise, count, quantify
compounded	Blend, Combine, Mix	gave	cede, endow, supply
computed	Estimate, Sum, Tally	generated	cause, develop, produce
conceived	Accept, Believe, Understand	governed	command, execute, regulate
concentrated	Consider, Muse, Ponder	graduated	complete, earn, finish
conceptualized	Conceive, Imagine, Invasion	grasped	accept, comprehend, understand
condensed	Abridge, Compress, Reduce	greeted	herald, receive, welcome
conducted	Compress, Direct, Oversee	grew	advance, evolve, increase
conferred	Consult, Discuss, Parley	grouped	arrange, class, order
configured	Arrange, Assemble, Group	guaranteed	affirm, pledge, verify
confirmed	Affirm, Endorse, Verify	guided	advise, govern, teach
confronted	Encounter, Resist, Withstand	H
connected	Affix, Equate, Relate	halted	cease, curb, stop
conserved	Hoard, Save, Stash	halved	bisect, divide, split
considered	Contemplate, Muse, Ponder	handled	advise, operate, Supervise
consolidated	Amass, Combine, Join	headed	chair, manage, supervise
constructed	Build, Create, Make	heightened	enhance, increase, magnify
consulted	Ask, Confer, Discuss	held	confine, detain, retain
consummated	Achieve, Complete, Finish	helped	aid, assist, support
contacted	Approach, Communicate, Relate	hired	employ, engage, retain
continued	Extend, Maintain, Persevere	honed	instruct, teach, practice
contracted	Abate, Confine, Edit	hosted	accommodate, entertain, receive
contributed	Advance, Assist, Fortify	hypnotized	charm, entrance, mesmerize
controlled	Manage, Oversee, Supervise	hypothesized	consider, deem, judge
converted	Adjust, Change, Modify
conveyed	Bring, Carry, Transport
convinced	Assure, Establish, Persuade
cooperated	Aid, Contribute, Further
coordinated	Group, Manage, Organize
copied	Duplicate, Transcribe, Xerox
corrected	Alter, Better, Fix
corresponded	Accord, Coincide, Match
counseled	Advise, Caution, Warn
created	Author, Design, Make
critiqued	Assess, Examine, Rate
cultivated	Breed, Develop, Harvest
customized	Alter, Convert, Modify
cut	Bisect, Curtail, Prune

1. Determine your job search objective prior to writing the resume. Once you have determined your objective, you can structure the content of your resume around that objective. Think of your objective as the bull’s-eye to focus your resume on hitting. If you write your resume without having a clear objective in mind, it will likely come across as unfocused to those that read it. Take the time before you start your resume to form a clear objective.
 
2. Think of your resume as a marketing tool. Think of yourself as a product, potential employers as your customers, and your resume as a brochure about you. Market yourself through your resume. What are your features and benefits? What makes you unique? Make sure to convey this information in your resume.
 
3. Use your resume to obtain an interview, not a job. You don’t need to go into detail about every accomplishment. Strive to be clear and concise. The purpose of your resume is to generate enough interest in you to have an employer contact you for an interview. Use the interview to provide a more detailed explanation of your accomplishments and to land a job offer.
 
4. Use bulleted sentences. In the body of your resume, use bullets with short sentences rather than lengthy paragraphs. Resumes are read quickly. This bulleted sentence format makes it easier for someone to quickly scan your resume and still absorb it.
 
5. Use action words. Action words cause your resume to pop. To add life to your resume, use bulleted sentences that begin with action words like prepared, developed, monitored, and presented.
 
6. Use #’s, $’s and %’s. Numbers, dollars, and percentages stand out in the body of a resume. Use them. Here are two examples:
    · Managed a department of 10 with a budget of $1,000,000.
    · Increased sales by 25% in a 15-state territory.
 
7. Lead with your strengths. Since resumes are typically reviewed in 30 seconds, take the time to determine which bullets most strongly support your job search objective. Put those strong points first where they are more apt to be read.
 
8. Play Match Game. Review want ads for positions that interest you. Use the key words listed in these ads to match them to bullets in your resume. If you have missed any key words, add them to your resume.
 
9. Use buzzwords. If there are terms that show your competence in a particular field, use them in your resume. For marketing people, use "competitive analysis." For accounting types, use "reconciled accounts."
 
10. Accent the positive. Leave off negatives and irrelevant points. If you feel your date of graduation will subject you to age discrimination, leave the date off your resume. If you do some duties in your current job that don’t support your job search objective, leave them off your resume. Focus on the duties that do support your objective. Leave off irrelevant personal information like your height and weight.
 
11. Show what you know. Rather than going into depth in one area, use your resume to highlight your breadth of knowledge. Use an interview to provide more detail.
 
12. Show who you know. If you have reported to someone important such as a vice president or department manager, say so in your resume. Having reported to someone important causes the reader to infer that you are important.
 
13. Construct your resume to read easily. Leave white space. Use a font size no smaller than 10 point. Limit the length of your resume to 1-2 pages. Remember, resumes are reviewed quickly. Help the reader to scan your resume efficiently and effectively.
 
14. Have someone else review your resume. Since you are so close to your situation, it can be difficult for you to hit all your high points and clearly convey all your accomplishments. Have someone review your job search objective, your resume, and listings of positions that interest you. Encourage them to ask questions. Their questions can help you to discover items you inadvertently left off your resume. Revise your resume to include these items. Their questions can also point to items on your resume that are confusing to the reader. Clarify your resume based on this input.
 
15. Submit your resume to potential employers. Have the courage to submit your resume. Think of it as a game where your odds of winning increase with every resume you submit. You really do increase your odds with every resume you submit. Use a three-tiered approach. Apply for some jobs that appear to be beneath you. Perhaps they will turn out to be more than they appeared to be once you interview for them. Or perhaps once you have your foot in the door you can learn of other opportunities. Apply for jobs that seem to be just at your level. You will get interviews for some of those jobs. See how each job stacks up. Try for some jobs that seem like a stretch. That’s how you grow -- by taking risks. Don’t rule yourself out. Trust the process. Good luck in your job search!