Wednesday, August 1, 2007

175 Power Verbs and Phrases for Resumes, Cover Letters, and Interviews

While you’re revamping your resume or cover letter or constructing your proof-by-example stories for interviews, you’ll find you need to watch your word choice. Why? Communication is powerful if the words we use to communicate are powerful. That’s not all it takes, but the right words make for a good beginning.

So as you craft achievement statements or write paragraphs that sell your skills or draft interview responses to knock the employers’ socks off, consider these suggestions:

  • Use verbs in active tense, not passive tense.
  • Use verbs that convey power and action.
  • Use verbs that claim the highest level of skill or achievement you can legitimately claim.
  • Use verbs to accurately describe what you have done on the job.
  • Use adjectives and adverbs sparingly, but when you use them, use them well.
  • Use nouns that are as specific and as descriptive as possible.
  • Use numbers whenever possible.
  • Use the most impressive (and still honest) form of the number you use.
  • Never lie! It IS NOT worth it. It WILL catch up with you.
  • Proofread all your verbs and nouns for agreement, tense and appropriateness.

Here, then, are 175 powerful verbs and phrases to make use of in resumes, cover letters and interviews:

  • abated
  • abolished
  • accelerated
  • accomplished
  • achieved
  • actively participated
  • administered
  • advanced
  • advised
  • aggressively analyzed
  • applied
  • assumed a key role
  • authored
  • automated
  • built
  • hired
  • closed
  • coached
  • co-developed
  • codirected
  • co-founded
  • cold called
  • collected
  • co-managed
  • communicated
  • completed
  • computerized
  • conceptualized
  • conducted
  • consolidated
  • contained
  • contracted
  • contributed
  • controlled
  • convinced
  • coordinated
  • cost effectively created
  • critiqued
  • cut
  • dealt effectively
  • decreased
  • defined
  • delivered
  • designed
  • developed
  • developed and applied
  • directed
  • doubled
  • earned
  • eliminated
  • emphasized
  • enforced
  • established
  • evaluated
  • exceeded
  • executed
  • exercised
  • expanded
  • expedited
  • facilitated
  • filled
  • focused
  • formulated
  • fostered
  • founded
  • gained
  • generated
  • ground-breaking
  • headed up
  • helped
  • identified
  • implemented
  • improved
  • increased
  • initiated
  • innovated
  • instituted
  • instructed
  • integrated
  • interviewed
  • introduced
  • investigated
  • lectured
  • led
  • leveraged
  • maintained
  • managed
  • marketed
  • motivated
  • negotiated
  • orchestrated
  • organized
  • outmaneuvered
  • overcame
  • oversaw
  • penetrated
  • performed
  • permitted
  • persuaded
  • planned
  • played a key role
  • positioned
  • prepared
  • presented
  • prevented
  • produced
  • profitably
  • project managed
  • promoted
  • proposed
  • prospected
  • protected
  • provided
  • published
  • quadrupled
  • ranked
  • received
  • recommended
  • recruited
  • reduced
  • removed
  • renegotiated
  • replaced
  • researched
  • resolved
  • restored
  • restructured
  • reversed
  • satisfied
  • saved
  • scheduled
  • scoped out
  • selected
  • self-financed
  • set up
  • sold
  • solved
  • staffed
  • started
  • stopped
  • streamlined
  • substituted
  • supervised
  • taught
  • tightened
  • took the lead in
  • trained
  • trimmed
  • tripled
  • troubleshooted
  • turned around
  • upgraded
  • yielded

While you certainly can use the list anytime you’re looking to say something in a more powerful way, you can also use it to help jog your memory about accomplishments on present and past jobs that you might otherwise overlook. Also, consider using the list to help you refine your resumes and cover letters to be more powerful in their presentation and communication.

7 Comments:

Anonymous said...

registry cleaner freeware , A computer program program that scans the Your computer windows registry and looks for out-of-date and sick entries.
registry cleaner , [url=http://www.bjork.net/forum_fb3/index.cfm?fuseaction=main.Show_a_Board]registry cleaner[/url]
free registry cleaner , [url=http://nixitro.awardspace.com/index.php?comm_start_from=630]free registry cleaner[/url]
registry cleaner , [url=http://ex.x0.com/~shinobu/photo-bord/imgboard.cgi]registry cleaner[/url]
registry cleaner , [url=http://en.zh-auto.com/newEbiz1/EbizPortalFG/portal/html/MessageBoard.html]registry cleaner[/url]
registry cleaner , [url=http://www.iidds.com/Forum/test02.asp?ofact=1]registry cleaner[/url]
registry cleaner , [url=http://botambepor.com/content/index.php?option=com_simplestforum]registry cleaner[/url]
registry cleaner , [url=http://heezedoornsaints.com/index.php?option=com_jambook]registry cleaner[/url]
registry cleaner , [url=http://festivaltimes.co.uk/index.php?limitstart=10]registry cleaner[/url]

Programs usually produce Registry entries for temporary data and pointers along with other files, but in no way delete them. Furthermore, if files are personally deleted from the user.
Registry entries may point to files that don't exist. A Registry cleaner software can ahtvniwxnjnjnjnnjaw participate a package of system utilities or a stand-alone, registry cleaner software

Anonymous said...

Incredible site I enjoyed reading your information

[url=http://partyopedia.com]birthday supplies[/url]

Anonymous said...

Thank you, that was extremely valuable and interesting...I will be back again to read more on this topic.

Anonymous said...

Fantastic website I loved reading your info

[url=http://partyopedia.com]birthday party supplies[/url]

Anonymous said...

Sweet site, I had not come across bizmambo.blogspot.com previously during my searches!
Continue the superb work!

Anonymous said...

Hello,

I have a question for the webmaster/admin here at bizmambo.blogspot.com.

May I use some of the information from this post right above if I provide a backlink back to your site?

Thanks,
Thomas

public services said...

please what type of content we put for getting adsense account ,& i heard should be unique,in the sense any thing can we place...plz...
or kindly request u to join me as an refferal under your google affialiate network.from sunilrunway@gmail.com
www.thukalisoft.blogspot.com