Abstract writing is a lot like poetry, you have to be very careful with your choice of words. You only have one page to show your skills. Start by understanding that, to the interviewer, the resume is a presentation to you, the job applicant. In just a minute or two as the employer scans your resume, you should grab their attention and set yourself apart.

Employers look for employees they can trust to get the job done, so self-sufficiency and self-starter skills are paramount to employers. You want your resume to build confidence in you. You build trust by showing that other employers have trusted you. Have you been trusted to handle money? Have you been entrusted with hiring/firing? Did you supervise others? Did you train others?

Here are the five golden skills employers are looking for:

1.) Responsibility for hiring/firing.

2.) Management of money or important assets or accounts.

3.) Initiative/Business Development.

4.) Supervision of people.

5.) Training others.

Move the positions in which you have had these skills to the top of your resume. Move the entries about these skills to the top of the lists for each job.

Make sure you are using the powerful words that convey the golden abilities.: “Responsible for”, “Established training for”, “Developed”, “Directed”, “Leadership of”, “Supervision of”, “Managed a team of”, “Recognized for”

These words (when true) should replace the weak versions of the sentences beginning: “Help with”, “Help to”, “Was a part of”, “He was instrumental to”.

The golden words that support the golden phrases must be followed by details that support the skill. For example: “Monitoring all aspects of staff performance, including promotions, bonuses, performance appraisal, dispute mediation, and grievance procedures in accordance with state and federal law.”

Make the job entries that are most relevant to this job application the most rich in detail. Its purpose is to ask questions about these areas. Be prepared to elaborate with rich anecdotes and stories.

Stories that are detailed and easy to link to resume entries create a rich picture of what type of employee you will be and build trust with interviewers. Building that trust with an interviewer makes it much more likely that you’ll get the job.

Use business-grade language interspersed with the language of your industry. If your industry relies on an acronym, use the correct terminology, but for the context in the resume, make it clear to the layman. Ex: “Trained in the administration of a wide variety of medical tests: EKG/ECG, blood tests.” In the case of prior military service, translate the job to the civilian workforce and review your resume with a non-military specialist in your field.

The language used in an abstract has power. Use the right words to tell your story and land the job of your dreams.