Let’s face it—dermatology is a competitive market. Preparing an elevator pitch that asserts your expertise as a professional in the field and practicing your answers to popular physician interview questions will give you a leg up during your first interview.
But, before a potential employer can even shake your hand, you’ll need a resume that piques their interest and represents you as a highly-qualified potential candidate for the job.
Most Effective Resume Words
The goal of your resume is to showcase your experience and expertise in dermatology. This first impression must set you apart from other job seekers. Your resume needs to assure practice managers that you possess the qualities they are seeking in a dermatology practitioner.
Harnessing the power of specific wording will help you accomplish this goal. These critical word types include:
- Strong action words
- Leadership words
- Words that symbolize responsibility
- Positive change words
Carefully choosing which words to include on your resume will help a practice manager form a favorable opinion of you before you even step foot in their office.
15 Powerful Words to Use on a Resume
Words carry a great deal of weight when it comes to resumes. Use these words to improve your resume and your chances of securing that first interview.
- Created or Developed—Engage the interviewer with examples of original ideas that demonstrate your ability to take initiative to solve a problem.
- Valuable—This adjective is an excellent way to show you care about the company and want to make positive contributions as an employee.
- Prominent—This adjective is perfect to use when describing educational or scholarly achievements in your field.
- Improved or Advanced—Action words that show you’ve made positive changes in previous careers are fantastic for building credibility on a resume.
- Served or Volunteered—These verbs are excellent indicators that you will go above and beyond what’s required for the betterment of the company and its patients.
- Achieved—Help a practice manager feel confident in your success in previous roles by using this dynamic verb.
- Supportive—This adjective demonstrates one’s ability to assist either patients or colleagues in a variety of situations.
- Diagnosed—As a dermatology practitioner, use this verb to clearly describe skin conditions or types of disorders you’ve effectively treated in the past.
- Collaborated—Office managers need candidates that work well with others. Using this verb is a great way to demonstrate that you possess this trait.
- Supervised or Trained—These verbs indicate a responsibility to oversee others, which managers will be thrilled to see on a resume.
- Resolved—This verb is perfect for demonstrating problem-solving skills. You can also use it to imply conflict management skills.
- Meticulous—This adjective shows you pay attention to detail, which is a vital trait for dermatology professionals.
- Flexible—Use this adjective to demonstrate your ability to adapt to change quickly.
- Specialized—Indicate which areas of dermatology you have studied in-depth with this action word.
Learning how to articulate your accomplishments as a dermatology physician, nurse practitioner or physician assistant is an essential skill that will make your career search progress smoothly.
Do Your Research
Avoid a one-size-fits-all approach when it comes to writing a resume. The experiences and examples you include will likely stay the same for each practice you apply to, but the words used to describe them may need changing.
Each practice has a unique culture and set of values that you should acknowledge in your resume. Linking your skills into the company’s culture and values will differentiate you from the candidates that take a cookie-cutter approach.
It’s also important to incorporate words that demonstrate soft-skills that are often found in job descriptions. For example, a practice seeking a “hardworking, team-oriented and caring individual” will want to see these soft-skills represented on a resume. However, use words with similar meanings to avoid generic and frequently-overused phrases on a resume.
With a little fine-tuning, you can create an outstanding resume that distinguishes you as a highly-successful candidate prepared to bring your knowledge and skill set to a new dermatology position!
7 Words to Avoid Putting on Your Resume
Avoid using these seven terms and phrases on a resume. In general, these words lack the professionalism needed to impress an interviewer in this competitive field:
- Think Outside the Box—This is an unprofessional way of describing one’s ability to think creatively. Instead, use words like “created, developed or conceptualized” to demonstrate this trait.
- Team Player—Every company is looking for candidates that work well with others, and this is a crucial characteristic to portray on a resume. However, listing yourself as a “team player” is overused. Use words like “collaborated, mentored or cooperated” instead.
- Proactive, Hard Worker and Self-Motivated—These adjectives are general terms that are overly used on a resume. They generalize your abilities and should be avoided when possible.
- Detail-Oriented—Again, paying attention to detail is something nearly all employers are looking for in a candidate. Describing yourself as detail-oriented won’t impress interviewers when ten resumes ahead of you also list this trait. Instead, use words like “meticulous, accurate and consistent” to describe your past experiences.
- People-Person—Being personable is best displayed during the first interview or even during a phone interview. Instead of listing yourself as “a people-person,” use career examples to demonstrate your interpersonal and communication skills on your resume.
The words you use on a resume can make or break your chances of receiving an interview with a desired employer—which is why avoiding certain words is just as important as making sure to use the right ones.
The First Impression
The resume you submit to a potential employer is the first impression you give to dermatology professionals looking to hire; make sure it’s a good one by using words that promote your strengths and expertly describe your experiences.
If you’re ready to find a career in dermatology that will lead you to ultimate career satisfaction, contact myDermRecruiter today! There are never any fees for job seekers, and our ethical recruiters will walk alongside you every step of the way.