Winning words to career success revealed

’Achievement’, ’evidence’ and ’experience’ - these are just three of the ten magic words guaranteed to bring career success, according to experts at the University of Hertfordshire.

Admissions experts have worked with academic colleagues in Psychology at the University to reveal the specific words and phrases which, when used on application forms, are the most likely to get your foot in the door.

The findings have been released as hundreds of thousands of students get ready to send off their UCAS application forms, prior to the first application deadline on the 15th October, and over a million people look to change job this month*.

University of Hertfordshire experts have also identified application taboo words that are likely to turn off admissions officers, recruiters and HR managers.

Words such as ’always’ and ’never’ in application forms suggest the applicant is making an exaggeration which is seldom true. Confessing to a ’mistake’ should be avoided and instead applicants should admit to learning a ’valuable lesson’. Claiming that someone was at ’fault’ should be replaced with an admission that there were ’differences’ of opinion or approach, which were overcome.

Ian Douglas, Head of Education Liaison from the University of Hertfordshire who compiled the list using his experience working with potential students, reminds job hunters and university applicants alike to relate the personal statement section of application forms to their own aims and objectives. He says:

Giving evidence of academic ability and life skills will help bring any personal statement to life and makes it easier for admissions tutors and recruiters to realise what applicants have already achieved and what they want to achieve in the future.

Karen Pine, a development psychologist at the University of Hertfordshire said: Every recruiter and admissions officer will have to assess hundreds if not thousands of personal statements from hopeful applicants and will make their decisions based on what they can see on paper. Choosing the right words is therefore vitally important if your application is to stand out from the rest.

UCAS applications opened for entry in year 2006/2007 on 1st September 2005 and the main closing date is the 15th January 2006, although students applying to Oxford or Cambridge, and for all medicine, dentistry and veterinary medicine/science courses, must do so by the 15th October 2005 - more information and application forms are available from www.ucas.ac.uk Young people needing further advice on writing their applications are encouraged to visit www.herts.ac.uk