With the use of electronic resume readers on the rise, job candidates are more often concerned with filling their resumes with keywords that will get them past screening rather than with writing a powerful, effective resume that will entice a human being. This misjudgment can – and has – cost qualified candidates an invitation to interview.
The key to writing an effective resume is to remember that, while it may initially be screened electronically, it will ultimately end up in the hands of a human being, and it is this person that the resume must impress for the candidate to reach the next level. One of the most effective resume writing techniques to accomplish this is the use of action verbs in both the descriptions of prior experience and the summary of skills.
What are Action Verbs?
Many people think all verbs are action words, but in reality, some verbs are more active than others. Many verbs convey a state of being rather than actual action – for example, “able” (which makes an appearance on many a resume, usually more than once) is actually shorthand for “am able” or “to be able”, which is a state of being rather than an action. Any verb that requires “to be” or one of its versions (am, is, are, was, were) isn’t really an action verb.
The Benefits of Action Verbs for Resumes
Action verbs convey power, authority, and, well, action. They tell readers what the candidate has actually done, not what he or she is able to do. This is what employers really want to know, after all – what results have candidates achieved elsewhere and could they possible repeat for them?
Action verbs also allow candidates to be more precise about their prior duties and accomplishments. For example, rather than simply stating “reports” as a duty at a previous job, candidates can use action verbs to tell employers exactly what they did with reports – “wrote reports” or “delivered reports” or “published reports” or “contributed to reports” etc.
Finally, action verbs help candidates keep their resumes readable and professional. Detailing previous experience using action verbs forces candidates to focus on their accomplishments, and beginning each point with an action verb helps ensure parallelism, which makes for a more pleasing and professional presentation.
Examples of Resume Action Verbs
There are numerous websites that offer entire lists of resume power words, but here are a few examples of weak resume statements rewritten using action verbs:
Example #1:
Weak: Able to determine client needs
Action: Determined client needs through interviews and assessment exercises
Example #2:
Weak: Report writing
Action: Wrote reports varying in length from 5 to 100+ pages
Example #3:
Weak: Knowledge of conventional grammar rules
Action: Edited communications according to conventional grammar rules
Notice that in the above examples, all of the new resume verbs are in the past tense and begin the statement. This ensures parallelism and creates a more pleasant reading experience for potential employers – something that is sure to have an effect when it comes time to choose candidates for interviews.
Emily Jones - Emily Jones began her writing career by practising the alphabet on her mother's newly papered kitchen walls. She was promptly given a ...
