Stop spending all your time looking for work and land the perfect job for you. Those searching for employment in today’s job market can easily make themselves stand out from the crowd by craftily using the following five words: passion, adaptable, ownership, loyal, diligent.   

If you can naturally sprinkle these words into your conversations with interviewers, recruiters, and other HR personnel, you are more likely to stand out as a catch. It is an excellent way to separate yourself from the pack.

Let’s break down how these five words sow the seeds of you being a top candidate with all those involved in the hiring process:

1. Loyal

Who doesn’t appreciate loyalty? There’s a reason most people are fond of dogs. It’s hard not to love a pet that will never betray you – even if you deserve it. What do we do in return for the dog’s loyalty? We take care of them like they’re part of the family. The same rules applied to employees. At least 40 employees in the U.S. proved their loyalty by getting tattoos of their employer’s name, and they were rewarded with a 15 percent raise! No worries, you don’t have to go that far, just make sure you display your integrity and commitment during interviews.

Illustration: “My former employer often called me loyal. This was because I habitually went above and beyond what was expected of me. For example, I occasionally obtained new business for the company even though my role wasn’t sales.”

2. Passion

Employers love employees who enjoy every minute they are at work and put everything they have into the tasks assigned to them. Make sure you display your excitement during interviews and make sure the interviewer knows you are passionate about the role, product, or company.

Illustration: “One of the things I enjoyed the most about my former job was those I worked with. I’m very passionate about people.”

3. Ownership

The best employees at any given company tend to take ownership of any roles or responsibilities they have been assigned, and they are capable of working without any supervision. You are not going to hear these types of people saying things like: “it’s not my responsibility.” No, these people know that it takes their participation to get the job done. Make sure the interviewer knows that you take ownership for all projects you are involved with at work, which lets them know you’re the type of person that’s accountable to your co-workers, employer, and clients.

Illustration: “A project I was working with at my former job stalled and everyone else in the group was ready to give up and accept failure. I decided to take ownership of the project and completed my portion of the work. That motivated others to follow suit.”

4. Diligent

Employers look favourably upon diligent people since they are typically determined and persistent. These people are always willing to go through all the necessary steps to get a task completed, while being careful and thorough. A diligent worker will always give his/her all every time they step in the office, and never a half-hearted effort on any task. Why wouldn’t an employer like an employee that doesn’t back down from challenges and can handle a difficult work load?

Illustration: “I’m not one to give up on a challenge, and people often point out my diligence. For example, I refused to give up on a staff member who was struggling with a new accounting software I had installed. I decided to sit her down for 10 minutes a day until she was able to comfortably navigate the system on her own.”

5. Adaptable

Most jobs include taking on new tasks as needed so differentiate yourself from the pack by letting your employer know you are the type to take on new challenges and excel at them. Make sure the interviewer knows you can handle surprises as they arise, yet, are willing to back up ideas that are different from yours.

Illustration: “I would say one of my best attributes is my ability to adapt to different situations. One of the staff members I worked with was difficult to work with, and my initial approach didn’t garner the response I wanted. I went to HR for new ideas on how to deal with the situation. Those strategies ended up turning the person around.”