Any idea what the #1 challenge my clients face when preparing to update their resume?

If you guessed that they can’t remember what they accomplished, you’re correct.

Consider the following comments from your fellow job seekers:

I’d forgotten I’d done that! I actually achieved more than I realized!

How about this:

Yes, I do all that, but I didn’t think it was anything special.

That’s because when we become an expert at something, the skill becomes second nature. And we start telling ourselves that anyone can do it. We’re so close to the skill, we don’t realize how amazing it is.

Sound familiar?

Make it easy on yourself by tracking results and collecting feedback in the moment, so you won’t have to scramble if you unexpectedly need a new job. Carving out just 15 a week (on Friday?) for this exercise should be manageable.

If you’re like me, this is the only way you’ll remember every achievement.

Following are 5 (easy, I promise!) steps for capturing your awesomeness:

1: Start with a brain dump

At this point, don’t worry about crafting the perfect bullets, and don’t stress over the details. Simply start by listing your ideas without a filter.

Get those fingers moving on the keyboard or pen on your journal. Good is better than nothing.

Even if you just start by writing down words, you can go back to them later and build on what you have.

If you find that you’re just not feeling the flow, go do something else for a while and return to it later.

Sometimes you just need to let things percolate in the back of your mind.

If you’re a fellow crossword puzzler, you know what I mean ;).

2: Track your measurable achievements

Tracking and storing your MEASURABLE achievements prepares you to act quickly when a job opportunity arises.

But again—don’t get hung up on the numbers if you don’t have them on hand. Use a space saver like “xx” and fill the numbers in later.

3: Include context when appropriate

As we’ve learned over the last few years, the only thing that’s certain is uncertainty. Be sure to leverage that by showing the recruiter how you’ve successfully led your team through a challenging situation.

Nothing tells the hiring manager that you can help guide a company through both good times and bad like telling a story within the context of an industry slump, an import shortage, or even an environmental crisis.

I know an operations leader who gained hero status within his company (and beyond) because he found a path to getting supplies to a disaster site in record time.

Yes, if you made a quick training or IT pivot during Covid, that still counts.

Don’t just add “Change Management” to your list of skills. Share how you successfully led your organization through an acquisition, or had already built an agile team that was prepared to ride out the wave and deliver results during an economic downturn.

4: Don’t forget to include challenges and mistakes

A journal isn’t just for recording your wins. It also helps you track your learnings AND course corrections when things don’t go quite the way you intended.

Inevitably, you’ll be asked about a mistake you’ve made and how you dealt with it, so be ready.

5: Look ahead

If you really want to turn this into a new year’s resolution, try writing your 2026 performance review now.

Think about 3 to 5 things you’d like to say you’ve accomplished by the end of 2026.

Need inspiration? Scan your company (and others) for opportunities:

Make it a point to stay aware of internal openings. These are the easiest transitions to make when you need a career refresh. And they’re great opportunities for gaining new experience.

Consider stretch goals that are realistic but will advance your career.

Offer to step up when you notice your boss or colleagues could use some help on a major project outside your comfort zone.

Do a LinkedIn search for 3 job postings that are similar to what you currently do. Look for gaps between your resume and the job requirements and seek out opportunities in your current role or higher ed to close them. Who knows…you may even find you’re a great fit for one of those jobs.😀

Let’s go!

Your journal can be as fancy as a colorful planner with lots of inspiring quotes, or as simple as a google doc. Keeping a master resume with all of your achievements is also a great way to keep track.

Whatever you use, the goal is to be prepared when a recruiter calls you out of the blue.

Checking in with yourself on a regular basis is key.

BONUS: I guarantee you’ll get a boost in your self-esteem when you realize all you’ve achieved.

Remember, luck is the intersection of preparation and opportunity (thanks, Seneca!).

I wish you a joyful and fulfilling 2026!

Copyright © 2026 Words of Distinction, All rights reserved.

Over the summer, I learned to sail on my sister Alice’s 38’ sailboat, True Blue III.

This was especially meaningful because it was Blue that safely carried Alice and her 2 crew during their 14-month global circumnavigation (8.5 months at sea), which began (2012) and ended (2014) in Hawaii. This, after a “test” run from British Columbia to Hawaii in 2011.

Of course, there are others who’ve sailed around the world. But there are some things that stand out about Alice and her crew:

She and her crew were all 50+ year-old women.

She completed the circumnavigation because she built her strong team around their complementary skills.

She was an expert on boat mechanics and maintenance (when was the last time you heard about that skill in the context of glamorous sailing stories?)

I already knew Alice was highly skilled at boat handling. But, being in her environment at sea, I was also reminded that she’s a patient yet no-nonsense leader, with the crew’s safety as her highest priority.

The rest of us don’t have to take such extraordinary measures to set ourselves apart. I’m using Alice as an example to show you that—even in the sailing world—people have skills that distinguish them from each other. (And yes…I’m also sharing because I’m deeply proud of her 😁.)

Now, let’s get busy…

📃 AI isn’t the tool for raising your profile.

If something seems too good to be true, it usually is.

I worry that Gen Z especially is risking commoditization due to their reliance on ChatGPT and similar apps to write their resumes.

AI makes a great assistant and copyeditor. But it shouldn’t be promoted to a leadership role when it comes to telling your unique story.

Two years ago, I tested ChatGPT for resume writing. It didn’t impress me then, and it still doesn’t.

💡 Pro tip: I’m not anti-AI, but please use it for specific purposes—such as suggestions for rewriting a line in your resume that’s stumping you, or highlighting the most important skills for a job posting. Be careful, though. I tested it recently to see which of a candidate’s experience matched a job posting’s requirements, and it gave the candidate credit for having skills that weren’t even on their resume.

🎨 Strategic use of style features makes reading easier.

Speaking of AI…

When I get Canva AI-designed resumes from job seekers, my first impression is typically, This is fancy, but where’s the substance?

You don’t need an app to create visual interest. Spiff up your Word-based resume by shading your section headings and bolding your role and company name. You can use a table to break out content sections. All of these Word features are applicant tracking system (ATS)-friendly—I promise.

You don’t need to go overboard. Just remember your purpose: To make your resume easier to skim than the competition’s.

⚠️There’s continued debate about whether a typical ATS can read a Canva-created resume, so be careful.

💡 Pro tip: Compelling content is the most important part of your resume. Gather and organize your achievements before you make major formatting changes, such as inserting a table. You want the format to serve your content…not the other way around.

🌟 A title that pops is the hook that captures the reader.

The top of your resume is the first place you get to grab the attention of your reader. Yet, often I see resumes that start with the headline “Executive Summary.”

Your reader will understand that the intro section is your career or executive summary—you don’t have to tell them. Instead, start with your title.

Your title could be as detailed as Award-winning Biotechnology People Leader or Corporate Sustainability Expert & In-Demand Keynote Speaker.

Or it could be as simple as VP of Global Operations or General Counsel.

The point is to communicate who you are and the job you want right at the start.

💡 Pro tip: If your current title is VP of Sales & Marketing, and that’s the role you’re applying for, by all means use that. But if your highest role is Director of Sales & Marketing and you want to avoid being confined to that level, use something like Sales & Marketing Leader.

🦄 There’s always something that sets you apart.

If you keep a record of your achievements, I guarantee that eventually you’ll uncover a common thread that distinguishes you. You may be a sales leader who’s unusually skilled at leading marketing or operations teams. Or an engineer who loves public speaking and knows how to break down technical ideas for the rest of us.

Uncover what your superpower is, and include that in your resume intro, your LinkedIn About section, and your interviews.

💡 Pro tip: if you have a side passion, include a line about that at the bottom of your resume. If there’s no room on your resume, be sure to include it in your LinkedIn About section. It’s amazing how often I’ve heard my clients say they’ve connected with their interviewers due to a shared interest.

🔎 Specifics give you an edge over vague adjectives and lists of responsibilities.

Someone recently asked me what the most overused descriptive word is that I see on resumes. The word driven immediately came to mind. Besides being common, it’s one of those words that doesn’t really convey to the recruiter anything about your skill set. Besides, if you’re a leader, you’re expected to be driven.

Instead of saying you’re driven, prove it by including hard data. For most roles, the recruiters expect to see results. The numbers don’t have to be financial; they could be percentages related to operational improvements or simple efficiency.

Another way to de-commoditize yourself is to replace words like responsible for with action verbs.

Using action verbs gives you more ownership, AND takes up less space.

Here’s an example:

Rather than:

Responsible for building…

Try:

Built…

If you kick off your bullet with a verb like Spearheaded, Improved, or simply Led, you’ll get to the point a lot quicker.

💡 Pro tip: Make it easy on yourself by tracking results and collecting feedback now, so you won’t have to rush if you find yourself in a position where you need a new job.

🌟 LinkedIn recommendations increase social credibility.

I know our focus is resumes here, but nothing reinforces what’s on your resume like what others have to say about you—and LinkedIn is the perfect place to showcase testimonials about your work. Tap into your network to ask for recommendations.

Cast a wide net; ask for 10 if you want 3. Nothing personal if some of your connections don’t respond. People are busy.

I coach clients to get recommendations from a 360 POV, such as direct reports, collaborators from different parts of the organization, and their own leaders.

Nothing says “servant leader” like a glowing review from one of your past employees.

💡 Pro tip: If you have space, you can include a testimonial (from LinkedIn or another source) in the body of your resume. Just not at the expense of your actual achievements.

Copyright © 2025 Words of Distinction, All rights reserved.

I recently learned to row. After a few lessons in a single scull, I had the opportunity to row in an 8-person boat.

There’s nothing more humbling than joining an experienced crew and trying to match my movements with theirs. When we rowed in unison, we were stable, smooth, and efficient. But if one of us was out of sync (🙋🏼‍♀️), the rhythm was disrupted, the boat slowed down, and we all wobbled.

The last thing I wanted was to be that person in the boat who messed up the flow. Let’s just say my fellow rowers were kind.

Just as rowers have to synchronize their strokes to get that elegant sweep of blades, resume writers follow one grammatical pattern when creating a list—whether within a sentence or bulleted list. It’s how we ensure rhythm, balance, and clarity.

Most importantly, it helps our reader keep track of our achievements.

How to Ensure Parallel Bullets

An example of where that parallel structure can get disrupted is in the branding section at the top of your resume.

Take a look at the following bullets from a technical sales leader’s resume and see if you notice what’s “off.”

• Accomplished mid-market and small business pre-sales leader
• In-demand keynote speaker and technical sales expert
• Recognized for transforming and mobilizing technical teams

Yep. The last bullet just doesn’t belong, since it starts with a verb rather than a noun phrase.

💡 Let’s try this, instead:

• Accomplished mid-market and small business pre-sales leader
• In-demand keynote speaker and technical sales expert
• Builder of high-performing teams

Why We Care

Can the non-parallel bullet be understood just as easily as my corrected version?

Arguably, yes.

But a parallel structure leads to uniformity throughout the section, which in turn results in clarity and a smooth read. And a smooth read makes for a happy reader…🤗

By the way, there are other ways to call out your accomplishments in the branding section; you can talk about specific achievements rather than your broader contributions, as I did in the example above.

But again…either start with a strong verb (Steered the organization through multiple changes) or a noun (Winner of 10 industry awards). Just be sure to stick with one grammatical form.

How to Ensure Parallel Structure Within a Sentence

Don’t forget to follow this rule within a sentence.

Here’s an example where I see clients struggle:

❌ Incorrect: Increased revenue, profits, and scaled for growth.

If you start a series with one verb, don’t introduce a new verb unless…

You use a new verb for every series item, as in:

👌 Grew revenue, increased profits, and scaled for growth.

Or…

The new verb is part of a new clause:

👌 Increased revenue and profits while scaling for growth.

If you call out your superior communication skills in your resume, cover letter, or LinkedIn profile, you never want to create doubt in the mind of your reader—who may well be one of those scary grammarians 😱. Don’t get caught with this common mistake.

Even if they aren’t sure what the exact error is, the hiring manager may feel it if something’s off.

They’re also less likely to be as forgiving as my teammates.

Copyright © 2025 Words of Distinction, All rights reserved.

Following are 10 tips to modernize your resume. Good news: you should be able to complete this in 15 minutes if you know your way around your resume software.          

✂️ #1: Cut back your margin

If you’re like me, you were taught early that you needed a one-inch margin around your page. But that’s not true when it comes to resumes. My recommendation? Change it to .6 or .7.

This will allow you to create more space between bullets and within the document.

Which leads me to…

🌬️ #2: Give your bullets breathing room

I usually set my spacing at 3 points between bullets (and single spacing between lines of the same bullet). The reader will appreciate this because your document will be easier to read.

🖋️ #3 Update your font

If you’re using Times New Roman as your default, it’s time for a refresh. Times New Roman has been around forever—and you can tell.

If you’re wondering which font to use instead, you can’t go wrong with Calibri. To add variety, you can use Cambria for headings (e.g., Professional Experience and Education).

Now, it’s not necessary to use more than one font—and definitely don’t use more than two. That’s a design no-no.

🌟 #4 Kick off your resume with a title that pops

Your title could be as fancy as Award-winning Biotechnology Sales Leader or Global Technical Sales Leader & Keynote Speaker.

Or it could be as simple as Director of Global Security or General Counsel.

The point is to communicate who you are and the job you want.

❌ #5 Remove irrelevant statements

Remove words and phrases like objective or references available upon request. Both are dated and take up valuable real estate.

Worse, an objective statement shouts me, me, me! Marketing is about addressing what the reader needs. Not what we want. Our resumes are marketing documents, so let’s treat them as such.    

Re: references, it’s a given that we’ll provide them if asked, so no need to mention them.

🔤 #6 Use font variety

Make it easy for the reader to distinguish between your job title, company name, dates of employment, and location.

I see a lot of resumes that have the title, company name, location, and date all scrunched together and in the same font style, making for a challenging read.

If your role’s the most important item—maybe you have an impressive career progression—and you want to showcase that, then bolding and all caps work great.

Your company name is the next priority. Maybe use bold (without all caps) to set it apart from location and dates while distinguishing it from the job title.

Your dates and location don’t need much attention, so visually separate them (off to the right is fine) and just stick with regular (un-bolded) font.

Sometimes the company name is more important than your role. You may want to draw more attention to the company names because you’ve worked for some top brands.

In this case, follow the same principle as I described for the prioritized job title, above.

🎨 #7 Use color and shading

Spiff up your resume by shading your section headings and then use that color for your name and title at the top. You could also use color for your job titles or company names.

📝 #8 List (if you must) older roles without dates

If you’ve been working for a while and you’re worried your resume might date you, here’s a tip: add a Prior Experience subsection, and then just list your roles and the names of your companies—sans dates.

Since this section is separate from the main Experience section, omitting dates won’t appear inconsistent.

I had a client who worked at Kraft early in her career and was looking for a role in CPG. Since Kraft is known as a leader in CPG, we wanted to keep Kraft on her resume, so we listed it under Prior Experience—with no dates.  

🔎 #9 Find and replace worthless words

If you know me, I’ve been saying this for years, but I still see it from time to time, so I’ll repeat it here:

Replace words like responsible for with action verbs and data points.

Action verbs give you more ownership, AND take up less space.

Here’s an example:

Rather than:

Responsible for launching…

Try:

Launched…

If you kick off your bullet with a verb like Oversaw or Spearheaded, you’ll get to the point a lot quicker than Responsible for...

Don’t forget to include data points (results) wherever possible to prove how fabulous you are.

Read my thoughts on other words we can cut here.

💻 #10 Update your email address

If you still have an AOL or even Yahoo address, consider opening a free Gmail account, even if you use it just for your job search.

Need examples and inspiration for your updates? Check out my samples.

Copyright © 2023 Words of Distinction, All rights reserved.

Last weekend, we celebrated Easter.

Whether we celebrate the holiday or not, many of us can appreciate the message of renewal.

As a resident of Northern California, I’m grateful for the signs of renewal and glimpses of spring, after a whooole lotta rain.

Personally, I’m fine with the rain. We needed to fill our reservoirs, and I’m convinced the bursts of extra-vibrant colors are, in part, a result of all those atmospheric rivers.

Speaking of renewal, I’m excited to see the new roles some of my clients have landed recently.

And speaking of new roles, if you have one…

Have you refreshed your LinkedIn profile to reflect your new position?

If we’ve worked together on your LinkedIn profile, I’ve already done the heavy lifting. So a quick refresh should be easy.

Just remember that your profile is a dynamic site. It’s meant to evolve just as you and your career are. So be careful not to set it and forget it.

Below are steps you can take now to refresh each LinkedIn profile section, assuming you updated them before you landed your latest job.

The best part? Unlike house spring cleaning, you should be able to do this in under an hour:

Headline (⏰ 5 minutes)

Are you now a VP rather than a director?

Did you expand the scope of your role, say from strictly sales to sales and marketing leadership?

Make sure your heading reflects what you’re doing in your current position, as opposed to what you did in your last job.

About (⏰ 15 minutes)

In this section, does it read as if your last role is still current?

If so, add a couple of sentences re: your current role, and change any references to your previous job to the past tense.

For your older roles, use words like “Previously…” or “Prior to leading global operations for…”

Make room for your current role by condensing any information from your earlier jobs.

If you list your top skills in this section, are they up to date?

Skills & Endorsement (⏰ 5 minutes)

Take a quick inventory: what skills are you applying in the new role? Are they listed in this section?

Experience Section (⏰ 15 minutes)

Be sure to add your new role in the Experience section.

Although you may not have had a chance to add measurable impact, you can include the scope of your role.

If you have made an impact, but you’re not ready to share publicly, that’s OK, too.

But at least keep an easy-access diary of your achievements so you won’t have to go searching for them later.

Recommendations (⏰ 10 minutes)

One of the best times to ask for recommendations? Right after you’ve left your previous job, while your fabulous contributions are still fresh in your colleagues’ minds!

Remember, it’s not just those you’ve worked for that you should ask. Endorsements from industry colleagues, clients, and peers from different business units also add credibility.

And nothing says leadership like a glowing recommendation from someone who considered you a mentor—even if they didn’t work directly for you.

Education, Courses, and Certifications (⏰ 5 minutes)

Have you gone through additional training at your new organization?

As part of onboarding, you may have benefitted from training for leadership or DEI. Go ahead and add that to your courses.

Education or certification that are in progress qualify, too. And will boost SEO.

Volunteering and Organizations (⏰ 5 minutes)

Check in on what you have listed in your Volunteering section.

Have you taken on new leadership roles? This is a great section for adding additional keywords—especially if the skills you use in your board or volunteer work is related to your profession.

So there you have it. Just one hour.

Just like spring, your profile should be growing and evolving.

Time passes. Seasons change. Keep your LinkedIn profile refreshed so you’re prepared for your next opportunity.

Happy spring! 🌸🌱

Copyright © 2023 Words of Distinction, All rights reserved.

I hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving and that you’re off to a joyful, low-stress start to the holiday season.

Speaking of low stress, I recently had a refreshing conversation with Lynda McDonell from PiqueProsperity. A financial coach, Lynda has an unconventional approach to managing finances—specifically during a career transition.

Spoiler alert: You don’t have to give up everything in order to be fiscally responsible when the going is tough.

Some nuggets from our conversation:

Continue reading “How to Manage Finances During Your Job Transition”

For more than a year, there was a billboard near my home that read “BETTER LEFT UNREAD THAN DEAD.” It was a powerful ad that aimed to convince drivers that no risk was worth texting while driving.

The problem for my hyper-orderly mind was that grammatically, the subject of “dead” was the text, not a person—an incongruence that wreaked havoc on my grammarian sensibilities. In other words, the writer didn’t follow the rule of parallel structure.

Parallel Structure Defined

As a refresher, the rule of parallel structure calls for the repetition of a chosen grammatical form within a sentence or bulleted list. By following the same grammatical pattern for each listed or compared item, you ensure parallel construction.

So every time I drove by that sign, I’d get annoyed and try to think of a better way to say it that was grammatically acceptable. (Yes, I realize this puts me on some sort of OCD spectrum—hopefully I don’t scare up too many bad memories from high school English😅).

I’ll admit—I’m hard-pressed to come up with a grammatical alternative that’s just as powerful. No doubt (and hopefully!) the ad folks spent some time around a conference table debating alternatives, finally settling on poetic license to justify their form. And let’s face it: The meaning is clear.

Unfortunately, most of us can’t claim poetic license if we make grammatical mistakes in our resumes and other career docs. So we need to make sure our content is strong both in terms of storytelling AND grammar.

Continue reading “Your Resume Branding Section & Parallel Structure”

I remember a time during my corporate days when we’d sit around the conference room and discuss how we’d “leverage” things.

As in “leverage ad spend,” “leverage available retail floor space,” “leverage our high-demand product to get more retail ads.”

There was a LOT of leveraging going on!

During the pandemic, “pivot” emerged as the popular kid. My rebellious nature told me to avoid using this word at all costs. And most of the time, I’ve managed to do that, through replacement words and phrases like “change course,” “shift,” and “adjust.”

But honestly, there’s no word that quite conveys what we’ve all had to learn to do over the past couple of years, so I’ve settled on grudging respect for the term.

Case in point: When one of my clients returned for a resume refresh, I asked her if she’d like me to replace that word. But she liked “pivot” just as much as she did when I originally used it pre-pandemic. So we left it in.

The point is, no word is inherently bad. Not even “leverage.” We just need to be mindful of when and how we use them.

👉 Don’t confuse buzzwords with words that can bolster a bullet.

Buzzwords won’t necessarily add strength to your career profile. In fact, if used as filler or to amplify already-weak content, they’ll just slow down (and potentially annoy!) the reader.

Here’s an example of a phrase (in the resume’s top branding section) that I reworked for a client:

Skilled strategist maximizing workable solutions and performance for key marketing goals.

Unfortunately, there’s nothing here that tells a hiring manager what the candidate actually accomplished. Instead, the reader gets a hodgepodge of buzzwords that are thrown together with no apparent value.

During our intake meeting, I had a chance to uncover the actual meaning behind that sentence, and translated it as follows:

Strategic Product Leader known for introducing scalable solutions that help companies exceed ambitious revenue goals.

In the revised sentence, I combined “marketing” and “strategist” at the beginning to convey who the candidate is right from the get-go. And a record of exceeding revenue goals gives the recruiter a reason to follow up with the candidate.

Sure, “scalable solutions” might be considered a buzz phrase, but it was relevant to what the company was looking for, and it matched their language.

💪 Exercise:
Print out a copy of your resume, bio, or cover letter, and ask a friend to highlight any sentences that are confusing.

TIP: Tell them they don’t have to edit (and listen for the sigh of relief). Ask them to just identify anything that doesn’t make sense with a quick read. Nothing works better than a fresh pair of eyes to uncover what’s not working.

Once you get your feedback, play with the words, rearrange them, and see what you can cut. Hands down, the #1 reason resumes are a drag to read is that they’re bloated with words that don’t convey value. Have fun on the chopping block!