Using Powerful Verbs In Your Resume
Writing and creating a resume for the first time—or even the 10th time—can be confusing and difficult. You may have amazing experiences and skills, but how do you show it off to your future employers? How do you stand out among hundreds and hundreds of other people who may be just as qualified as you are?
Employers look through a lot of resumes every day. So much so that “the average initial screening time for a candidate’s resume clocks in at just 7.4 seconds” (Ladders, Inc.) You only have 7.4 seconds to make a strong impression, so how you present yourself on paper matters. The words you choose to describe your skills and past experience can either highlight you as a strong candidate, or place you in the “forgettable” category.
So, what should you do?
Photo by Markus Winkler on Unsplash
Use powerful action verbs.
Here are a few examples of weak or passive verbs:
assisted, utilized, contributed, held
They’re not bad, but they can be better. Your resume is the place where you can and should brag about all that you have done and are able to do. Don’t downplay yourself and your accomplishments. Don’t just say you “helped” on a project, because we all know you did so much more than that!
Ask yourself: do I want the job? If you answered yes, then show your future employers why you are the right candidate for it!
And if you’re at a loss for strong verbs to include in your resume, then a quick Google search can help you.
💡 Search "verbs for resume”
Here are some examples of powerful action verbs:
executed, overhauled, identified, produced, instituted, incorporated, achieved, delivered, partnered, spearheaded, analyzed, incorporated, completed, advocated, resolved, developed, launched, boosted, leveraged, chaired, enacted, established, outperformed, supervised, pioneered
Include detailed descriptions
Just like reading a novel with vague details and descriptions can make it boring, the same goes for your resume. What did you actually do? How did you improve sales — by how much? It’s perfectly fine to put in data, numbers, and statistics so your future employer knows just what and how much you did.
✗ Lacks strength and clarity: “Handled daily activities and long-term projects.”
✓ Empowered and detailed: “Leveraged key data points to boost monthly sales by $10,000.”
Try to list at least 3 bullet points under each experience you include in your resume. Future employers want to know what you did in that role, not just that you landed the role. They can be your accomplishments (weekly, monthly, yearly, or at the end of your job), tasks you completed, or problems you resolved.
Keep it consistent
Keep your verb tenses consistent. Using the past tense on a resume is the norm, but you can use present tense to describe your role in the job you are currently in. Regardless of what you choose, make sure that each set of bullet points has a consistent verb tense.
💡 Example of using past verb tense to describe job experience:
Content Writer (2021-2022)
Completed four articles every week
Increased blog readership by 50%
Supervised a team of writers and content creators
