Show Don’t Tell: Brave Words to Use on Your Resume

The mundane usage of verbs on resumes elicits a yawn from hiring managers. This is not new. Since the inception of resumes as a way to secure employment, the same words have popped up. Responsible for, handled, led, and other phrases lead the charge of monotony that quickly lands your resume on the “no pile.” But that doesn’t mean it has to continue. With bold, courageous, and brave words to use on your resume, you can add some zest and fervor that piques the interest of your potential employer. While less is often more, the idea of using action verbs doesn’t weigh down your resume; it makes it something that strengthens your overall profile.

Action Verbs and Their Importance on Your Resume

Before you revamp your resume, take a look at the verbiage you currently use. Do you repeat a ton of verbs? Are the verbs in your job-by-job bullet points relatively homogenous? If so, the words you use on your resume may fall under a veil of tediousness. That’s not to say that your resume is lacking in experience or is any less impressive than other resumes. The issue is if your resume is more impressive than other applicants. And that advantage lies in the usage of action verbs.

Active vs. Passive Voice

The words to use on your resume should paint a picture. Therefore, active voice is always preferred over passive voice. If you’re unfamiliar with active and passive voice, just think of it like this:

Although seemingly harmless at a glance, passive voice creates a confusing web of prepositional phrases, uses more words, and tends to be far vaguer. None of these aspects are particularly helpful for your resume. In fact, a hiring manager only has a limited time to look at your resume — some studies say only six seconds. Therefore, you want to use fewer words, be more concrete, and show your achievements. Active voice allows you to do this.

How to Know If You’re Using Passive Voice

When you use passive voice, you’ll see some telltale signs. These include:

Pro Tip: Scan your resume for any usage of passive voice and change these phrases to active voice. Once you complete this task, you can begin the task of sprucing up your resume with action verbs.

And Now for the Action Verbs

Understanding the importance of action verbs is integral to retooling your resume, but you have to know which words to use. Start by taking a particular role in your past work history and spinning new action verbs in place of the same, old, tired ones. For the sake of brevity and ease of use, the following verbs are grouped by a particular role you may have had.

These are just a few of the categories and verbs you can use for particular roles or topics. But if you want the ultimate guide, you should definitely check out the Virtual Vocations Active Verb List. Curated by Virtual Vocations’ Customer and Career Services Division Manager, this list provides hundreds of synonyms that are sure to enhance your resume. You can access this Active Verb List by upgrading to a Premium Membership, which will also allow you to enjoy full access to our complete jobs database, premium courses, priority job alerts and career industry downloads.

Here are a few examples of the exciting words contained in the Virtual Vocations Active Verb List to get you started.

Led a Team

Increased Sales, Revenue, or Efficiency

Improved a Process or Workflow

Researched or Provided Quality Analysis

Listing Achievements

Customer Service-Related

Bold and Brave Words to Use on Your Resume

In an article from LinkedIn, the social media company studied the language and verbiage that successful professionals use to describe themselves. You can think of them as resume buzzwords. Not only are these brave words to use on your resume, but they also convey a sense of accomplishment and the idea that you’re a vital asset to an organization. LinkedIn’s list included:

The underlying theme of these resume buzzwords is that they don’t just tell the hiring manager about the candidate. Although seemingly simple word choices, these words show employers what an applicant can bring with concrete detail. That’s not to say you should pepper these throughout your resume. Instead, find the ones that apply to your specific role or desired position. Then, use the Virtual Vocations Action Verb List or a thesaurus to make your resume your own. Just remember that any type of fad or buzzword can eventually lose its cachet and get relegated to the list of tiresome, cliched phrases.

Power Words and the Impact on Your Application

Action words and brave words to use on your resume aren’t the only aspects of upgrading your resume. Instead, you have to integrate numerous other facets to complete the package. These are power words. Power words are an all-encompassing idea that includes not only bold words, active voice, and strong verbs, but also:

Skill Words

Very simply, skill words are the words you would use to describe a soft skill or more intangible quality. Leadership, responsibility, passion, and many of the words found in the LinkedIn article above would fall under this description. If you have a particular soft skill that warrants attention, don’t be shy about boasting a bit. Once you’ve listed the skill, follow up by adding strong action verbs that further convey your qualities.

Keywords and Keyphrases

Applicant tracking systems (ATS) have become one of the most popular ways that companies screen applicants. This software sifts through your resume and looks for particular keywords and keyphrases that the company inputs into the program. If your resume lacks these words, you may find that you don’t hear back from the employer, even if you meet or exceed all of the necessary qualifications for the job.

To pass the ATS test and actually boost your resume overall, you need to identify these keywords and keyphrases. The most effective way to do this is to analyze job descriptions on the web for the particular role that you want. In general, you’ll want to look at somewhere between 10 and 50 of these job descriptions. While this will undoubtedly be time-consuming, the results will make an impact. By adding these keywords and keyphrases into your resume, you’ll find that you get more responses from employers while also wowing the interviewer — a one-two punch that’s sure to get your foot in the door.

Company Culture and Values

One of the biggest problems that many jobseekers make is that they’re just looking for a job. They aren’t in it to fulfill a passion, advance their career, or garner respect. It’s just a paycheck and a means to survive. As such, they don’t conduct any due diligence by researching the company or reaching out to current or former employees.

The issue is that even if you’re a vigorous go-getter with a strong work ethic and brilliant ideas, you can come off as an apathetic candidate. The reason? You didn’t fine-tune your resume to include words that the company uses frequently. But the holy grail is usually found on the company’s “About Us” page. On this page, you’ll find the company’s history, core values, vision, and mission statement.

In these descriptions, take careful note of what’s included as far as word usage. Do they constantly use words like innovative, forward-thinking, or something similar? Well, guess what? Those are the very words you need to apply to your resume. Because language and writing are heavily influenced by those around you, these words to use on your resume will stick out to potential employers.

Words, Phrases, and Other Things to Never Use on Your Resume

Even if you’ve bolstered your resume by using the tips above, your resume probably isn’t perfect just yet. Sometimes, word choice on a resume is just as much what you put in as what you leave out. As a final touch to your amazing new resume, scan for these words and phrases that may come off as cliched, boring, or shallow:

Everything listed above won’t necessarily eliminate you from job contention. However, hiring managers see these as examples that you send out the same resume to every company or that you just copied a template. And when you think about all the brave words to use on your resume and action verbs, you really have no excuse for using these. Just put in the effort.

Show, Don’t Tell: The Key to a Top-Notch Resume

Above all, remember that you’re showing — not telling — employers why you’re the right person for the job. Unfortunately in the remote world, you can’t wait until the interview that you may or may not get. It all starts with a one-page document. Though you may feel like a lot rides on a few words, it’s those very words that count. So be bold. Be courageous. Your resume is sure to stand out.

Did you have any suggestions for brave words to use on your resume that have led to success? Or are you a HR manager that has seen action verbs that illustrate what a candidate can bring to your company? Connect with Virtual Vocations on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram, and YouTube to share your thoughts and tips. We’d love to hear from you!