Crafting a Passion Statement

Do you love your job?

Smart managers want to hire someone passionate about what they do. So, when all things are equal between candidates - skills, experience, and education - the hiring manager will take the person who is excited to do the job. They have even been known to choose the passionate candidate over more qualified ones. 

So why not tell the hiring managers your passion in your resume and cover letter?

It's a bold move, which makes some people uncomfortable. It's easy to write the standard "results-oriented professional with 10 years of experience in creating highly effective teams."  It's safe. It's comfortable.

And it also won't impress anybody.

You must go beyond being safe and comfortable in this crowded job market to make a good impression. A resume that sounds just like everybody else is not unique.

This is why the Passion Statement is so important. A Passion Statement is a three-sentence summary of what you love about your job, expressed in keywords and phrases that HR and managers will recognize. That's the real trick: it's not enough to say your zeal; it also has to be in keywords.

Sample Passion Statement:

For over 12 years, I have exceeded my personal and professional sales goals. I live to find clients, discover their needs, build relationships, and close deals. Once committed to a project, nothing can stand in the way of my success.

Let's take a closer look at our sample Passion Statement for the experienced salesperson.

• Sentence one: "For over 12 years, I have exceeded my personal and professional sales goals." 

We always start with years of experience because that is one of HR's major screening criteria. Next is the core screening criteria; in sales, reaching and exceeding goals is what all hiring managers want. 

• Sentence two: "I live to find clients, discover their needs, build relationships, and close deals."

Each of these steps comes straight from a job description and utilizes the top keywords for a typical salesperson. But even more important than that, these are the aspects of the job that this candidate loved the most. So including it in a Passion Statement lets managers know that the candidate understands exactly what is important about this job.

• Final sentence: "once committed to a project, nothing can stand in the way of my success." 

The closing sentence is all about a key personality trait. Personality matters on resumes, not just facts. By demonstrating a relevant personality feature, it ties together all of the elements in the Passion Statement.

Using Passion Statements beyond the resume

A well-crafted Passion Statement can be used anywhere, from your elevator speech to your LinkedIn profile. You can even use pieces of it in your cover letters. 

Passion Statements are the one piece of your resume that is all about you, making it a valuable tool throughout your job search process.

Need help crafting your passion statement?

Check out our professional resume writing services:

https://www.personaltouchcareerservices.com/resumes