Action words or verbs show hiring managers the actions you’ve taken in previous jobs. Where action words activate your CV, keywords are the nouns that explain to hiring managers how you performed the actions. Employers want to know the skills and qualifications you’re offering to them, so explain your skills with the right action verbs to activate keywords on your CV and get yourself onto the hiring manager’s job interview list.
New technology has helped recruiters to streamline the hiring process by digitizing CVs. It’s easy to store CV in a database and sort through them by using keywords filter to narrow down their search for the ideal candidates. Then they use the results to create an interview list. This way, recruiters have circumvented the time consuming manual check of stacks of CVs to fish out the right candidates.
The keyword identifying system sorts and ranks CVs based on the number of related “keywords” contained in it. As a job seeker, having the right action verbs and keywords in a CV will not necessarily guarantee you a job, however not having the right keywords or the action verbs necessary guarantees that you won’t be invited for a job interview.
If your CV doesn’t contain the right mix of action words to make your CV pop or any job-specific keywords, then it may stay buried in the digital vault. Both action words and job-specific keywords are used in job descriptions to describe critical job qualifications and actions taken in the past.
Use any of these powerful action words to make your CV pop:
| Communication | Data Financial Skills | Helping Skills | Management |
| Addressed Advertised Articulated Authored Clarified Collaborated Communicated Composed Consulted Contacted Conveyed Corresponded Developed Discussed Drafted Edited Elicited Explained Expressed Influenced Interacted Interpreted Involved Lectured Marketed Mediated Moderated Negotiated Observed Outlined Persuaded Presented Promoted Proposed Publicized Recruited Referred Reported Resolved Responded Solicited Suggested Summarized Synthesized Translated | Administered Adjusted Allocated Analyzed Appraised Assessed Audited Balanced Budgeted Calculated Computed Conserved Corrected Determined Developed Estimated Forecasted Managed Marketed Measured Netted Planned Prepared Programmed Projected Qualified Reconciled Reduced Researched Retrieved | Adapted Advocated Aided Answered Arranged Assessed Assisted Clarified Coached Collaborated Contributed Cooperated Counselled Demonstrated Diagnosed Educated Encouraged Ensured Expedited Facilitated Familiarized Furthered Guided Helped Insured Intervened Motivated Prevented Provided Referred Rehabilitated Represented Resolved Simplified Supplied Supported Volunteered | Administered Analyzed Approved Assigned Authorized Chaired Consolidated Contracted Controlled Coordinated Delegated Developed Directed Eliminated Enforced Established Executed Generated Handled Improved Incorporated Increased Initiated Inspected Instituted Led Managed Motivated Organized Overhauled Oversaw Planned Prioritized Produced Recommended Reorganized Replaced Restored Reviewed Scheduled Secured Selected Streamlined Strengthened Supervised |
| Organizational Skills | Research Skills | Teaching Skills | Technical Skills |
| Arranged Catalogued Categorized Charted Classified Coded Collected Compiled Corrected Distributed Filed Generated Incorporated Inspected Logged Maintained Monitored Obtained Operated Ordered Organized Prepared Processed Provided Purchased Recorded Registered Reserved Responded Reviewed Routed Scheduled Screened Submitted Supplied Standardized Systematized Updated Validated Verified | Analyzed Clarified Collected Compared Conducted Critiqued Detected Determined Diagnosed Evaluated Examined Experimented Explored Extracted Formulated Gathered Inspected Interviewed Invented Investigated Located Measured Organized Researched Reviewed Searched Solved Summarized Surveyed Systematized Tested | Adapted Advised Clarified Coached Communicated Conducted Coordinated Critiqued Developed Enabled Encouraged Evaluated Explained Facilitated Focused Guided Individualized Informed Instilled Instructed Motivated Persuaded Simulated Stimulated Taught Tested Trained Transmitted Tutored | Adapted Applied Assembled Built Calculated Computed Conserved Constructed Converted Debugged Designed Determined Developed Engineered Fabricated Fortified Installed Maintained Operated Overhauled Printed Programmed Rectified Regulated Remodelled Repaired Replaced Restored Solved Specialized Standardized Studied Upgraded Utilized |
Remember to use action words that recruiters or hiring managers will use when looking for CVs on job boards or databases. Ensure you use relevant industry terminology – this will help your CV to be picked up by recruiters and hiring managers when they run keyword searches. For instance, if you are looking for a Graphic Designer role, put “Graphic Designer” in your CV instead of “Graphic Artist”.
As a job-seeker, using the right keywords and action verbs on your CV is essential if you want your resume to leap out of a pile and be found in a database to land a job interview.
Have any other action words to add in order to make your CV pop? Add your comments below.
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