101 Great Words to Use in Your Resume (and 5 NOT to)
I’ve seen a ton of resumes over the years. Some were awesome. Some were okay. Many sucked. Flat out sucked.
Why do I say they sucked? Typos, poor formatting, too long, too qualitative, too flowery, too boring, too nebulous. I’ve written about resume writing mistakes and resume myths before so today’s post is written to complement those perspectives.
First, remember – all a resume does is get you a chance to interview for the job. It does not get you the job. That said, resumes can quickly eliminate you from contention in the first place if the resume happens to suck (see above for suck reasons).
One other big suck reason in addition to the ones above is poor writing. Words matter. If you’re boring, lazy, and unoriginal in your writing, the recruiter won’t even pick up the phone to extend an interview your way. One of the most boring, laziest things I repeatedly see is the use of the word “develop.” It is the most overused, useless word in resume writing. Unless you work in the photo finishing section at Walgreens, you don’t develop anything.
Right now some of you are saying to yourselves “That’s fine Mike but I don’t overuse the word ‘develop’ – I’ve used it very sparingly in my resume.” I’ll bet you a cup of coffee right now that if your resume is longer than one page that you’ve got the word “develop” in there more than four times. And no – if the word is in your actual title (e.g., Director of Business Development) it doesn’t count. Are you up for the challenge? Open your resume in MS Word. Hit CTRL + F. Type in “develop” then click Reading Highlight then “Highlight All” and watch the yellow highlighting flow. If it’s in there more than four times, please send $4.55 to my PayPal account – I drink quad shot venti caramel macchiatos (and if it’s in there fewer than four times, consider this free blog post as my payment for my end of the bet).
“But Mike, what words should I use instead of “develop” because I don’t know what else to say?
I’m glad you asked. Here are 101 alternatives (along with 4 words that will immediately get your resume tossed in the trash by me and other mean hiring managers):
1. Accelerated
2. Achieved
3. Acted
4. Added
5. Articulated
6. Assessed
7. Authored
8. Awarded
9. Bought
10. Built
11. Captured
12. Centralized
13. Changed
14. Clarified
15. Closed
16. Coached
17. Codified
18. Collaborated
19. Combined
20. Competed
21. Completed
22. Conceived
23. Consolidated
24. Converted
25. Convinced
26. Created
27. Decreased
28. Defined
29. Delivered
30. Designed
31. Developed (NO!)
31. Devised
32. Differentiated
33. Directed
34. Distributed
35. Documented
36. Drove
37. Eliminated
38. Enhanced
39. Entered
40. Established
41. Evaluated
42. Exceeded
43. Executed
44. Exited
45. Expanded
46. Fashioned
47. Fostered
48. Gathered
49. Generated
50. Graduated
51. Grew
52. Identified
53. Improved
54. Increased
55. Influenced
56. Initiated
57. Integrated
58. Launched
59. Led
60. Maintained
61. Managed
62. Mapped
63. Mentored
64. Modeled
65. Negotiated
66. Opened
67. Operated
68. Partnered
69. Performed
70. Planned
71. Predicted
72. Prepared
73. Presented
74. Promoted
75. Published
76. Rebuilt
77. Recruited
78. Redefined
79. Reduced
80. Removed
81. Renegotiated
82. Renewed
83. Reorganized
84. Replaced
85. Restored
86. Saved
87. Selected
88. Served
89. Serviced
90. Set
91. Signed
92. Simplified
93. Sold
94. Strengthened
95. Structured
96. Supervised
97. Taught
98. Trained
99. Upgraded
100. Won
101. Wrote
Bonus: here are three more words NEVER to use (in addition to “develop” because they are supermegabuzzwords):
1. Leveraged – unless you work on Wall Street at a derivatives trading desk or you’re a banker in a LBO shop or you’re a construction worker who uses 2×4’s to exert force to move other objects, don’t use this word.
2. Optimized – unless you’re a process engineer who changes multiple parameters in a system to maximize the system’s objective function, again, don’t use it.
3. Synergized – I just barfed in my mouth.
Double bonus: definitely don’t use this word:
1. Annihilated (unless you’re Darth Vader, Emperor Palpatine, or Galactus, in which case, proceed).
What are your favorite words to use in a resume? What are some of the dumbest or funniest ones you’ve seen? Let us know in the comments below.
11. You win.
Not often seen in resume’s but I would add “awesome” to the list. I agree with your concept–keep it simple and tell what you did. I’m not sure I agree that “achieve” is such a bad thing but like anything else shouldn’t be overused. thanks.
I feel bad for job applicants when I see the word “unique” on a resume, especially if “team player” or “expert” or “innovative thinker” or any number of other opaque words make an appearance on the 4-page resume of a recent college graduate.
To all naive and fresh-faced job applicants with minimal job experience, please listen up: just this once, ignore your parents and accept the fact that in the world of work, you are not unique. Look it up in the dictionary. “Unique” is a professional description you must earn. It should be said by others about you, not by you. In fact, look up all the descriptive phrases you have crammed into your too-long resume. The hiring managers you want to work for have. Remember–every word means something, so make sure you mean every word in your resume, and be prepared to back each one with an example.
If this means you end up with a concise and accurate 2-page resume, then you are 2 pages ahead of everyone else in that stack of resumes.
Don’t get me started on career objective statements…I have to check my resume for the word “develop” first…
6 times! Ahhhhhhh they are now gone or changed. It didn’t even make sense in one of my sentences. Thank you for the tips.
You’re welcome! Glad it was helpful and assisted you in developing a better resume… 😉
What advice would you give someone with an unimpressive work history and extensive educational background, but great potential? How can I be taken seriously in my job search?
I think you’re likely going to have to take a lower level position and prove yourself quickly. In today’s economy, folks aren’t willing to take risks with new hires. As much as you likely won’t like this advice, target your job search one level lower or at a smaller company than you currently are. I think if you can also quantify some of your educational experience and show how it relates to the job you’re seeking it will help. And I’m not talking about subject matter – I’m talking about things like running a project, leading a team of colleagues, etc. So don’t just look at your education as content expertise but look to your educational experience more for how you demonstrated leadership and impact. Good luck!