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Source: https://writers.stackexchange.com/a/47067
License name: CC BY-SA 3.0
License URL: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/

Source: https://writers.stackexchange.com/a/47067
License name: CC BY-SA 3.0
License URL: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/

### Q. Do I use active verbs or nouns in a job description?

The key is brevity. You want your reader to remember the relevant information, without having to process loads of unnecessarily long grammatical constructs. If you think of it, these descriptions are often arranged as lists, instead of writing a narrative across long paragraphs. The rationale is again brevity.

In German, nouns are surprisingly better suited for this task. In my opinion they are also better suited in English.

As an example:

> I have followed the deployment of processes related to waste disposal

is probably better replaced by

> Deployment of waste disposal processes

### Q. How do I customize my job description?

The easy path is to use the specific terms that you know from being an experienced professional in the field. Use jargon if needed, and if professionally acceptable. For instance, considering the following example from finance:

> C++ Equity quant dev

instead of

> developer of object-oriented software for the quantitative monitoring of stock market data

or, worse

> C++ software engineer

The harder path is to add specifics of your role to the specific description given above. In the case of the equity quant dev, it may be further customized by adding information about the specific role and problems that were tackled:

> emerging markets equity quant dev

or

> equity quant dev for ultra-high-frequency trading platforms

or

> buy-side equity quant dev

or a combination thereof, to nail down the specifics of your role, skills and position.

Original score: 2