Explore these 385 power words to make your résumé pop if you are struggling to find the right powerful keywords or phrases to include in your CV or résumé.

By Catherine Adenle

If you are looking for a job, these 385 power words to make your résumé pop will be useful when you prepare your résumé or CV.

The importance of knowing and using the right words on your résumé cannot be ignored. Having the right industry related power words or action verbs in prominent positions on your CV or résumé can go along way in getting you noticed by recruiters.

Remember, you will first be judged on how well your résumé is written and how good it is at communicating your skills, attributes and past achievements to recruiters. Properly incorporating some of these 385 power words to make your résumé pop will help convey strong writing skills and increase the strength of your résumé.

According to a research done by TheLadders.com where they used an eye-tracking software to study the behavior of 30 recruiters over a 10-week period, to see what they read in résumés, the study showed that recruiters spend 6.25 seconds looking at a candidate’s résumé. Out of this minuscule time, recruiters spend 20% of the 6.25 seconds résumé-scanning time looking for keywords that matched the open position after they had spent 80% of the 6.25 seconds looking at just six things: your name, current title/company, previous title/company, previous position, start and end dates.

If your résumé is scanned electronically by a potential employer, the selecting computer scanner will only pick up on these much needed keywords by employers. All electronic résumé scanners are programmed to look for key terms that fit the position that you are applying for on your résumé. Without these résumé keywords, your résumé could easily be discarded.

It is not usually difficult to come up with power keywords as demonstrated with the list of 385 power words provided below to make your résumé pop.

Recruiters know the keywords that they are looking for and will usually be included in the job posting. For this reason, you need to review the terms used in the job description. However, if you are just preparing a core CV to tweak each time for a job application, then using some of these 385 power words to make your résumé pop is a good starting point. Regardless, we recommend that you always need to read job descriptions, highlight the keywords used and cleverly repeat such keywords in your résumé to beat résumé scanners and insure your résumé makes the cut.

Write your resume keywords in past tense

By writing your action words in past tense, it creates the impression of something you have previously done or completed. If you use the present tense then it may convey the message that you are still in the process of doing it.

You can list some of these 385 power words to make your résumé pop using bullet points to communicate the problem, action taken and the result in the right section of your résumé usually under ‘Achievements’, ‘Expertise’ and ‘Experience’. Whatever you do, ensure to plant some of these 385 power words to make your résumé pop in sentences in the body of your résumé. However, the most effective way to strengthen your résumé with these 385 power words to make your résumé pop is to use them sparsely and effectively.

How to use some of the 385 power words to make your résumé pop

First, research the job you are applying for and find relevant associated keywords to fit the job. Read the job descriptions about three times highlighting the keywords, then check another vacancy of similar jobs and note down strong industry related technical words that stand out. Then, check the list of these 385 power words to make your résumé pop to find and use a link-able power keyword that will showcase your past achievement effectively.
Any of these 385 power words to make your résumé pop can also be used with industry specific words that can impress the recruiter by showing your in-depth knowledge and understanding of your field.

Use some of these 385 power words to make your résumé pop:

See 200 Action Words to Make Your CV Pop!

See What words should I use on my CV?

Now that you have explored these 385 power words to make your résumé pop, are there other powerful keywords that you can share with us? Leave your comments below.

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Catherine Adenle

Founder at Catherine's Career Corner

Founder, Catherine's Career Corner. The career site empowering and inspiring ambitious candidates of all ages and professions to thrive and work smarter on their careers. Gladly helping all career-minded people worldwide to explore their career, manage change and understand how new technologies are changing and enhancing the future of work.

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Catherine Adenle

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