Find the words people actually use about you

Not the words you would pick. The ones someone else has already said about your work, which are almost always the ones worth using.

How It Works

Asked to describe yourself, almost everyone reaches for the same handful: hard working, organized, reliable, good with people. Those are not lies, they are just the words that come first for everyone, which is why they carry nothing. What separates you is usually a word somebody else used, often one you would never have picked because it did not feel like a compliment at the time.

1

Recognize, do not describe

Thirty words. Pick the ones a real person has actually used about your work.

2

Cut to three

Three is the limit on purpose. A list of eight qualities reads as no qualities at all.

3

See what each is worth

Which of yours carry weight, which everyone claims, and the occasion you need behind each.

Enter your info to unlock this tool. Instant access, no spam.

nothing picked yet

Start here

The words you would choose are not the words they use

Asked to describe yourself, almost everyone reaches for the same handful: hard working, organized, reliable, good with people. Those are not lies. They are just the words that come first, and they come first for everyone, which is exactly why they carry nothing.

What actually separates you is usually a word somebody else used about you, often in passing, often one you would never have picked for yourself because it did not feel like a compliment at the time.

So do not describe yourself. Recognize instead. Below are thirty words. Pick the ones a real person has actually used about your work, then cut to three.

Step one

Which of these has someone actually said about you?

A manager, a colleague, a client, a review. Not what you would like to be true, and not what you think you should pick. If you cannot remember someone saying it, leave it.

0 picked

Now cut to three

From what you picked, choose the three you could actually back with an occasion. Three is the limit on purpose, because a list of eight qualities reads as no qualities at all.

0 of 3 chosen

Pick some words, then choose three.