The Pongo Blog
Using Power Verbs to Get the Interview
October 04, 2011 (8:06AM) by Rebecca Rapple
Verbs are the action of a sentence; they are the part that packs all of the punch. And if you want to get the interview, you’d better have power and impact.
But most job seekers brush through their word choice, sticking with commonly used and passive verbs, which practically put hiring managers to sleep. So, today, we are going to give you the power to change that!
Word choice - and specifically verbs - signify more than just what you accomplished. Verbs signify the perception of your education (or lack thereof), your intelligence and even how much ownership you take over your work. Don’t believe me? Check out these examples:
Example One: The Sales Guy
I was responsible for the Pacific NW Territory
Versus:
I grew the Pacific NW territory by 20% YOY or
I opened 4 markets in the Pacific NW, each reached profitability
in less than 7 months
Example Two: The IT Guy
I managed online software development
Versus:
I owned the deployment of 26 games to a base of 269,00 users
I improved the game deployment process, cutting time and costs by 5%
Which person would you hire?
Lucky for you, there are two simple steps to using great, powerful, impactful verbs on your resume. So, let’s walk through them one at a time. But, before we get started, I need you to think of one line on your resume to use as an example. Thinking... thinking... got it? Good!
STEP ONE: Identify the Accomplishment
To really make a verb pop, they should highlight an accomplishment, rather than a responsibility. In other words, they should focus on the outcome of your work, rather than the process of getting it done. This is a key differentiator on your resume and the verbs you chose to go along with an accomplishment exude ownership and action, rather than a passive job description.
STEP TWO: Pick a Verb with Impact
So now that you know what you want to say, we need to figure out the best way to say it! Test out a few verbs for each line, making sure that NONE of them are passive -- responsible for is the biggest culprit in the category. To help, you can find a (free) list of 297 active verbs here!
How will you know when you’ve found the right one?
You’ll know because you’ll be impressed with your own accomplishment. It is great that you owned that project or that you lead that conference, or that you increased the revenue! So keep trying, until you impress yourself!
About the Author
Rebecca Rapple is the founder of The Resume Revolution – the fast track to your dream job! She dishes out a weekly dose of inspiration and practical wisdom each Monday through her newsletter – The Fast Track – join today!
RELATED LINKS
3 Easy Tips for Perfect Bullet Lists on Your Resume
50 Action Words for Your Resume
Another 5 Power Words to Make Your Resume Get Noticed
Thanks for this article, Rebecca.
Livening up your resume with exciting and impressive verbs will give you an edge over competition. When in doubt, have a friend or family member read your resume to test out a few of your best action words.
Jessica Take the Interview http://taketheinterview.com/ @taketheview "Making the hiring process more efficient"
Posted by: Jessica_TaketheInterview | October 04, 2011 at 4:15 PM | Quote This Comment
Overall your resume writing is good,you mostly concentrate in grammar that is most important in resume. Example are very useful as different field guy's for fresher as well as experience guys.
Posted by: Jennifer @ Cover Letters | October 05, 2011 at 12:47 AM | Quote This Comment
Nice and managed writing style.... The key elements of clarity, preciseness are important in this resume examples
Posted by: Masood | October 05, 2011 at 2:44 AM | Quote This Comment
Thank you for the comments Jessica, Jennifer and Masood! I agree all around.
Rebecca
Posted by: Rebecca | October 05, 2011 at 9:22 AM | Quote This Comment
Writing style is very important for resume.Nice way to teach the lesson.
Posted by: Steven Cruiser | December 28, 2011 at 1:51 AM | Quote This Comment
Hi, everyone, if you're looking for a job, you might find this webinar interesting. Ivy Exec, a premium career resource network for professionals has a free webinar available on its blog about the 10 Most Impressive Things a Candidate Can do to Execute a Successful Job Search. You can view the webinar here: http://blog.ivyexec.com/2011/12/01/the-10-most-impressive-things-a-candidate-can-do-to-execute-a-successful-job-search/?ref=PIEC2011&promo=DK1
Posted by: Gordon | January 20, 2012 at 3:31 AM | Quote This Comment
Hi, very useful post. I've just bumped into it and found it concrete and useful, very straight to the point. With your tips and some tricks I've heard during the webinars organized by http://www.blog.ivyexec.com I'm sure I'll easily go through next job interview. Thanks once again!
Posted by: Gordon | February 03, 2012 at 2:55 AM | Quote This Comment
Power words/verbs are important, however you don't want to over do this. Over-use of action verbs can start to seem overzealous on a resume and may look as if you are exaggerating your actual abilities. Be cautious and use diversity when selecting these words, then you can rest assure you will be on your way to a powerful resume.
Posted by: Careers Plus | May 07, 2012 at 11:07 AM | Quote This Comment