How to Create and Use Power Statements in Your Job Search

When presenting your skills in an interview, on a resume, or on your LinkedIn profile, it is important to use concise and powerful statements to demonstrate the skills you have. The best way to accomplish this is by using power statements. Learn how to create and use power statements below.

What is a Power Statement?

A Power Statement is a concise statement that briefly describes the value you can bring to an organization. It highlights the strengths that you have and shows how you have used that strength to achieve results. Presenting facts about your skills allows others to understand how you can add value to their organization.

The purpose of a Power Statement is to promote your soft skills—or, in other words, the characteristics you bring to the job. These soft skills make up who you are and transfer with you from one job to the next. Proving that you have the right set of soft skills:

1. Gives you a huge competitive advantage in your job search.
2. Helps the interviewer understand how you will fit in with the organization.

Elements of a Power Statement

Power statements include two elements: power words and achievements.

Power Words

When highlighting your strengths, use power words—positive words or short phrases that describe you, such as:

Achievements

When you describe an achievement, you may include:

• A challenge you faced.
• Actions you performed to overcome the challenge.
• The results of your actions.

Be sincere about your achievements, and do not explain every detail. Be brief, but share enough so the person you are talking to will be interested in hearing more. He or she will keep the conversation going by asking for more details or calling you for an interview.

Below are some examples of different types of achievements you could share:

Efficiency

• Implemented a new statistical tracking method that reduced the average error rate by 14 percent.
• Introduced the design of a new product line that became a best-seller in the marketplace.
• Successfully kept all delinquent accounts under 5 percent each week.

Value

• Developed a new employee training program that increased employee retention by more than 80 percent.
• Facilitated the reorganization of the inventory-purchasing department. More than 90 percent of the employees identified the changes as improvements.
• Implemented product design changes that resulted in fewer rejects.

Magnitude

• Developed a training program that contributed to a 35 percent increase in customer participation.
• Implemented a marketing strategy that directly increased quarterly sales by 25 percent.
• Restructured the manufacturing department, increasing daily yield by 15 percent.

Cost and Revenue

• Designed a new product line that increased annual revenue by $250,000.
• Negotiated a contract that increased annual revenue by over $3 million.
• Reduced quarterly operating expenses by 35 percent.
• Facilitated the turnaround of a troubled organization from negative $150,000 to positive $1.5 million.

Note: When crafting your Power Statement using power words and achievements, be sure to use words and achievements that match the employer’s needs. Also remember to be specific. Each Power Statement is a story, and stories are memorable when they include elements like who, what, when, where, and how.

Examples of Power Statements

• I am a problem solver. For example, when I was operations manager at Finley Incorporated in 2015, one of the biggest challenges we faced in the supply chain was errors in the tracking system. I developed and implemented a new tracking method that reduced the errors by 14 percent, which led to a savings of 100K the first year and 200K the second year.
• I collaborate with others effectively. For example, a few years ago when I was a quality service manager at Kessler Foods, the company was having a real issue with rejects. In analyzing the issue, we determined that there was a design flaw in some of the products. I collaborated with the product management team to apply product-design changes that resulted in 60 percent fewer rejects, which saved the company 1.2 million dollars.
• I am creative. For example, as a product manager for Baker Industrial two years ago, I designed a new product line of children’s athletic socks based on popular characters that increased revenue by $250,000.
• I have organization management skills. For example, when I was Associate Plant Manager at Tippler Furniture, every department was told to cut costs by 10 percent in the next fiscal year. Most divisions cut staff, but I reorganized the company’s manufacturing department, which increased yield by 15 percent in only six months and met the goal to cut costs.

Create Your Own Power Statement

Use the following formula to create a power statement:

I am [use a power word to describe a major strength]. For example, I [describe an achievement]. I am confident that I can put these same [power word] skills to work for you.