How to Take Your Resume to the Next Level Using Powerful Words

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It is not so easy to write a resume that will grab recruiter’s attention on the spot and will impress them enough to invite you for interviews. Therefore, while applying for jobs, you should think of diverse strategies and powerful resume words are among the best ones. Your well-written and well-organized resume can help showcase your core strengths and career skills and convince recruiters that you are the best professional fit for the position. Keep reading, if you want to know why strong resume words are important for creating a unique resume or cover letter, which types exist and how to properly use them in your resume or cover letter and become a dream candidate.

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The importance of power words for resume

Typically, recruiters flick through candidate's resume quickly, so your job is to fill your resume or cover letter with power words in order to attract their attention instantly and show that you have relevant skills, knowledge, and aptitudes. During their career, hiring managers have read so many resumes, so applicant’s language can seem very boring and repetitive. If you use resume buzzwords, it will be very difficult to stand out from the crowd. In this case, powerful keywords for resumes will be very useful for you. In addition, most companies use ATS to screen candidate’s resume, so including these words will help you increase your chances to get through this screening process.

Types of powerful action words

·         Action verbs

Strong, compelling action verbs are the first type. This kind of strong verbs demonstrates your capability to succeed in a position. Descriptive verbs can show your skills that you have implemented during your previous experience and that led you to achieve success.

For example, these strong verbs are: accomplished, managed, initiated, launched,  supervised, designed, implemented.

·         Company values

It is extremely important to tailor your resume and cover letter to each position you want to apply for. Mass mailing your documents won’t bring you any luck. Customized resume-cover letter will increase your chances to get noticed by the employer. In order to show recruiters that you are a perfect match for a position and you will definitely fit in company culture, make a research, read carefully information through the web and flick through the company website and try to use words they included to describe their activities, values, and goals. Pay extra attention to the job description and company page “About Us”. These pages include the most relevant catchy words that will come in handy for your resume highlights. You can simply repeat these words or use some detail-oriented synonyms.

·         Common skill words

You should include some specific skills, personal traits, and qualities that hiring managers and employers are willing to see in a perfect candidate’s resume. For example, recruiters are seeking a responsible person with leadership skills. Try to demonstrate all your main skills but don’t use cheesy language. You will definitely find a synonym for team player. There are a few synonyms for hard worker (variants such as “achiever”, “laborious” or “industrious” will be suitable). 

·         Keywords

Include keywords from job description in your resume and cover letter. It is necessary to demonstrate recruiter that you meet all the requirements and will be a suitable fit for a position. But try not to exaggerate your abilities and skills. Include only those that you can prove with some concrete examples from your professional life.

·         Industry jargon

There is certain vocabulary inherent for a specific field. Industry jargon is very important, so it’s imperative to include some. However, you should know how to use these words appropriately and accurately in order to showcase your competency. It will also demonstrate that you understand this professional domain and you are a part of it. So, don’t use words, if you don’t know their exact meaning. Otherwise, recruiters will never consider your candidacy because misusing industry jargon is a sign that you are not qualified enough for a job.

How to use power words

Use these diverse power words throughout your resume. They will be appropriate in your professional summary as well as in job descriptions. In order to make your application stronger, include action words in cover letter while describing your skills and achievements. Try not to repeat words. There are so many synonyms so try to impress recruiters with diversity.

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List of top used powerful resume words

Each candidate has to remember that hiring managers spend only 6 seconds to skim applicant’s resume. They simply don’t have time to read all the CVs they receive. Therefore, it is extremely important to use these action-packed words to write a compelling resume or cover letter that will help you in getting hired. Here is the list that can help you. Choose some of these words:

A

Absorb, Accelerate, Access, Accomplish, Accrue, Acquire, Achieve, Act, Activate, Adapt, Address, Adjust, Administer, Advertise, Advise, Advocate, Affirm, Aid, Alert, Align, Allocate, Analyze, Apply, Appraise, Approve, Arbitrate, Arranged, Assemble, Assess, Assign, Assist, Attain, Authorize, Award

B

Begin, Brief, Bring, Broadcast, Budget, Build, Business

C

Calculate, Campaign, Certify, Chaired, Change, Chart, Check, Choose, Clarify, Classify, Coach, Collaborate, Collate, Collect, Combine, Communicate, Compare, Compile, Complete, Comply, Compose, Compute, Conceptualize, Conclude, Condense, Conduct, Confer, Configure, Connect, Conserve, Consolidate, Construct, Consult, Contact, Continue, Contribute, Control, Convert, Convey, Convince, Coordinate, Correspond, Counsel, Critique, Cultivate, Customize

D

Decide, Declare, Decline, Decorate, Dedicate, Define, Delegate, Deliver, Demonstrate, Depreciate, Describe, Design, Detail Oriented, Determine, Develop, Development, Devise, Diagnose, Direct, Dispatch, Dispense, Distribute, Document, Draft

E

Edit, Educate, Effective, Efficient, Emphasize, Encourage, Energized, Enforce, Engineer, Enhance, Ensure, Enthusiastic, Establish, Estimate, Evaluate, Examine, Execute, Expand, Expedite, Experience, Explain

F

Fabricate, Facilitate, Finance, Focus, Forecast, Formulate, Foster, Fund, Furnish

G

Gain, Generate, Graduate, Greet, Guide

H

Handle, Help, Hire, Host

I

Identify, Illustrate, Implement, Improve, Improvise, Increase, Index, Influence, Inform, Initiate, Initiative, Innovate, Inspire, Install, Institute, Integrate, Interact, Interested, Interview, Introduce, Investigate, Itemize

J

Join, Justify

K

Knowledge

L

Launch, Leadership, Learn, Lecture, Lessen, Lift, Link, Listen

M

Maintain, Manage, Management, Manipulate, Map, Market, Measure, Mediate, Merge, Mobilize, Modify, Monitor, Motivate

N

Negotiate

O

Observe, Obtain, Open, Operate, Order, Organize, Originate, Outpace, Outperform

P

Participate, Passion, Perform, Persuade, Plan, Practical, Prepare, Present, Prevent, Printed, Prioritize, Priority, Process, Produce, Professional, Program, Project, Promote, Propose, Prospect, Prove, Provide, Publicize, Purchase, Pursue

Q

Qualify

R

Run, Rate, Reach, Receive, Recommend, Reconcile, Record, Recruit, Reduce, Refer, Refocus, Regulate, Reorganize, Repair, Replace, Report, Represent, Research, Reserve, Resolve, Respond, Responsibility, Restore, Restructure, Results, Results-Oriented, Retrieve, Review, Revise, Revitalize

S

Schedule, Screen, Search, Secure, Seize, Select, Send, Serve, Share, Showcase, Simplify, Skill, Solution, Solve, Sort, Specialize, Specify, Sponsor, Staff, Standardize, Start, Succeed, Suggest, Summarize, Supervise, Supply, Support, Surpass, Survey, Sustain

T

Target, Teach, Team, Team Player, Test, Timely, Track, Trade, Train, Transact, Transcribe, Transform, Translate, Transmit, Transport, Tutor

U

Unite, Update, Upgrade, Use, Utilize

V

Validate, Value, Verify, View, Volunteer

W

Watch, Weigh, Witness, Win, Write

Y

Yield