Though knowing which tense to use and where is important on a resumé, there's so much more to the language of a resumé than just that. 

This article examines how to use language to engage whichever human reads your resumé when their hand just might be hovering over the phone to call you for an interview. 

Let's examine two powerful language parts of speech that help paint a vibrant picture of you to the employer.  These are verbs and adjectives.  And they're worth their weight in gold in place of bloated buzzwords. 

Verbs

Alright, you've learnt this in primary school, or Grades 4 to 6 if you were North American educated during your preteen years - that verbs are "doing words" or "action words". 

You will use them mostly in the experience section of the resumé.  You can use them for each experience entry or education entry that you detail.  And better yet, you should lead most, if not all of your experience bullets with them. 

Remember, the employer is skimming numerous resumés for the right candidate.  Using action words will cause them to see you active in your positions, which will in turn cause them to see you active in theirs. 

These verbs or action words can either be singular words or phrases.  And you don't need to be at a University Degree level in English to whip out solid vocabulary to show your best self.  A handle on some powerful words that sound like they "click" for exactly what you did goes miles for both you and the employer. 

But why do these action verbs "click?"  Well... let's compare them to common phrases that make employers cringe.  And though they allude to the same thing, they show far more of the candidate's efforts.

1. Instead of saying "responsible for", you could say "led", "spearheaded", or "coordinated".
2. Instead of using "assisted with", you can opt for "supported", "engaged", "liaised with", "collaborated with", "cooperated with", or "coordinated", or if you still need to use it, use it in relation to a supervisor, like "assisted the manager in..." or "assisted the owner in a team of three to..."

Being selective about your verbs goes the extra mile too.  Here are verbs that can be replaced with more colourful action words.

1. Instead of using "increased", you could say "improved", "expanded", "generated" or "boosted". 
2. Instead of using "decreased", you could say "reduced", "minimized", "slashed", or "saved". 
3. Instead of "communicated with", you could say "liaised with", "corresponded with", "reported to", "advised" or "consulted with". 

These action words are also dependent on the authority level of the job title.  If you were an entry-level coordinator, you would not "advise" unless you were leading subordinates or you had to report your recommendations to supervisors or clients, in which case, you would detail this experience entry as such. 

You will also see less of "assisted with" for management roles unless they are working closely with other higher managers and owners, then it makes more sense to opt for the alternatives above. 

 

Adjectives

Back to your primary school/Grade 4 to 6 English class.  Adjectives are descriptive words.  

But what are they describing?  They're describing you!  Just as verbs describe your experience, adjectives can describe your skills. 

Adjectives are useful on a resumé in the first set of sections like the highlights of qualifications or profile and skills. 

Like action words, adjectives can be singular words or phrases. 

Adjectives help give the employer a measure of your qualification or skill.  

Your resumé should identify your hard skills and soft skills, and they should be expanded on to best reflect you. 

Here are some common adjectives used in the highlights of qualifications (typical for Canadian resumés) or the profile and skills section (typical for U.S. resumés) to show a measure or competency level of hard skills.  (Remember, hard skills are skills that have to do with your career title or the job title of the job you're applying for.)

• "Ability to..." (This means having the potential to do a hard skill.)
• "Demonstrated ability to..." (This means you have already applied that potential somewhere.)
• "Excellent proficiency in..." (This is the highest measure of a hard skill.  (There is "exceptional" but it can sound pretentious.))
• "Strong proficiency in..." (This is a strong measure of a hard skill.)
• "Proficient in..." (This is an average measure of a hard skill.)
• "Familiar with..." (This means theoretical knowledge of a hard skill.)
• "Working knowledge of..." or "Applied knowledge of..." (This means you have some practical exposure to go with theoretical knowledge, either in employment entries or education entries.)

And here are some soft skills often used in the highlights of qualifications (typical for Canadian resumés) or the profile and skills section (typical for U.S. resumés).  They are grouped by category. 

• Prioritization skills and time management skills. 
• Problem-solving skills, organizational skills, innovative, adaptable, resourceful. 
• Empathetic, keen listener, exercises patience.  
• Work ethic. 
• Quick learner. 
• Self-motivated, functions with minimal supervision. 
• Collaborative, ability to work individually as well as in teams. 
• Leadership skills. 
  
• Communication skills; oral/written.
• Interpersonal skills, and relationship-building skills. 
• Negotiation skills, and conflict-resolution skills. 

Here are some ways you can detail some of your soft skills by using adjectives.  They're optional qualifiers. 

• Strong prioritization skills... 
• Strong organizational skills...
• Strong work ethic... 
• Highly self-motivated...
• Excellent written and oral communication skills...
• Adept at conflict-resolution skills...

Notice, however, that anyone can slap those phrases on a resumé but not everyone has your accomplishments.  That's why, you guessed it, the best way to describe hard skills or soft skills is by showing more of you on paper.  Therefore, describe the skills that are key to the job you're applying for by expanding on the scope or depth of the skill, or by using an example.

The examples presented later in this article show how.  So let's move forward on how to use both verbs and adjectives to your advantage. 

How to use verbs and adjectives on a resumé

It sounds more complicated than it is. 

When you are detailing your experience, you can lead with verbs (action words).  And when you are detailing your qualifications or skills, you can lead with adjectives (descriptive words). 

It might not always be fitting to lead with them, but it is impactful when used more often than not. 

Let's examine, using two examples, how to use descriptive words to let the employer see your competency. 

Example one: Using descriptive words (adjectives) to expand on qualifications. 

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Candidate: Supervisor at Tim Hortons (Niagara ON)

Job Seeker: Amit Greene

Highlights of Qualifications

• Three plus years of experience in customer service (one year with supervisory experience in the food industry).
• High School Diploma and some college.
• Strong prioritization and time-management skills; ran operations individually and in small teams for dine-in, delivery and takeout on heavy traffic days.
• Quick learner; promoted to team leader three months after starting entry-level.
• Leadership skills; supervised and led teams while short-staffed during rush hour.
• Problem-solving skills; rearranged floor layout with manager to facilitate physical distancing during COVID-19 pandemic.

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Example two: Using descriptive words (adjectives) to expand on qualifications.

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Candidate: Assistant Surveyor at Ludwig Corp (New Glasgow NS)

Job Seeker: Gina Hawthorne

Highlights of Qualifications

• One year of experience in the industry; performed reconnaissance and detailed surveys of new ground and built up facilities.
• Registered as an intern with Land Surveyor Ontario and Associate Member of OACETT.
• Advanced Diploma in Civil Engineering & Technology.
• Strong time-management skills; worked part-time while enrolled full-time in school.
• Problem-solver and effective communicator; takes the initiative to collaborate with manager, client and contractor to fill in blank GIS points, saving time for developing designs that would have been used up by revising surveys. 
• Ability to lift and carry equipment; built homes with Habitat for Humanity.

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You can expand the scope and depth of the qualifications by using detailed accomplishments statements.  Better yet, you can hint at them and use corresponding accomplishment statements under your experience.  This will help you save space on the resumé as you only have two pages of real estate (three if you count the cover letter) to catch the employer's attention.

And speaking of experience, here are examples of using powerful action to help showcase your experience. 

Example three: Using action words (verbs) to expand on experience.

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Candidate: Dennis Pinault

Work Experience

BYU Research and Development Center, Researcher (Internship), Dec 2016 to Oct 2018

• Assisted the manager in a team of three researchers to design business plans from start to finish for multiple clients in their small business start-ups in not-for-profit and arts and culture foundations. 
• Designed and executed surveys in-person and remotely, researched competitors, and analyzed data to present trends and report recommendations. 
• Launched the business plan with the clients and provided documentation for them to apply for funding and partnerships, resulting in a 75% success rate (an increase of 10%) by the end of each quarter. 

Sounds better than this, even though it's the same person in the same job. 

• Assisted the team manager to collect data and compile reports for clients. 
• Performed surveys by traditional and modern methods to compile reports and present them to the client. 
• Provided the documents necessary for the client to achieve funding for their businesses. 

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Example four: Using action words (verbs) to expand on experience.

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Candidate: Jenny Landry

Work Experience

The Cheesecake Factory, Shift Supervisor, Aug 2020 to Feb 2022

• Supervised and trained staff from cooks and servers to team leaders and ancillary staff and resolved customer grievances, during daytime and evening shifts. 
• Revamped the menu with the manager for limited dine-in experiences and increased take-out and delivery orders while operating understaffed, enabling the franchise to be the only one out of three in the state to stay in operation in the first six months of the COVID-10 pandemic.

Sounds better than this.  Again, it is the same person in the same job.  

• Scheduled and trained staff in the daytime and evening shifts. 
• Devised strategies to help the business achieve its goals of providing quality service. 
  

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The difference between the two sets of bullets for these two persons is that the second set sounds like anyone with that job title could have done that job.  But the first set sounds like this only Dennis Pinault and Jenny Landry could have achieved those results.  And they even showed us how they did it.  

Notice that under each job, the first bullet is a battlefield bullet, aka overview bullet.  It gives the employer a glimpse of you in that job as if they were flying overhead.  This bullet also often leads with a verb, and uses industry keywords the employer would appreciate, e.g., assisted, shifts, clients, businesses, supervised, and trained. 

We will now examine how Jenny and Dennis' resumé will look on the first page, particularly what precedes the experience section. 

While many U.S. employers prefer a profile and bulleted skills as the first section of the resumé, many Canadian employers opt for the highlights of qualifications, and both approaches act as an answer to the questions asked in the requirements section of the posting. 

Here is where Dennis and Jenny can hint at their achievements while showing the employer they have the skills required. 

We will start first with what Canadian employers expect to see on a resumé before it goes into experience.

Example five: Using verbs and adjectives in the highlights of qualifications section of a resumé.

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Candidate: Dennis Pinault

Highlights of Qualifications

• Two years of experience as a researcher in business management for corporate and not-for-profit organizations; created strategic business plans that helped clients achieve their goals. 
• Demonstrated R&D skills, detail-oriented; designed and launched surveys as part of creating complete business plans for clients. 
• Strong customer relations; keen listener to understand where the customer is coming from. 

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Example six: Using verbs and adjectives in the highlights of qualifications section of a resumé.

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Candidate: Jenny Landry

Highlights of Qualifications

• Three plus years of experience in management roles in multiple industries (one plus years supervising in restaurants).  
• Strong proficiency in adapting to learning the organization's database interfaces and POS. 
• Innovative problem-solver; devised strategies that kept a franchise in business during the pandemic while operating understaffed. 

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U.S. employers may expect to see a resumé that takes shape using a profile and skills section before it goes into experience.  So here's how it would look. 

Example seven: Using verbs and adjectives in the profile and skills section of a resumé.

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Candidate: Dennis Pinault

Profile

Researcher in business management with two years of experience with corporate and not-for-profit organizations; created strategic business plans that helped clients achieve their goals. 

Skills

R&D skills, detail-oriented; designed and launched surveys as part of creating complete business plans for clients.

Strong customer relations; keen listener to understand where the customer is coming from.

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Example eight: Using verbs and adjectives in the profile and skills section of a resumé.

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Candidate: Jenny Landry

Profile

Management professional with three plus years in multiple industries, with one plus years supervising in restaurants.

Skills

Supervisory skills, quick learner of databases and POS.

Innovative problem-solver; devised strategies that kept a franchise in business during the pandemic while operating understaffed.

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Notice that you can use verbs as well as adjectives anywhere on a resumé as long as it reflects you well, as you can see, they're both used in the highlights of qualifications section or the profile and skills section.  That being said, using most of your adjectives in your highlights of qualifications section or the profile and skills section and using most of your verbs in the experience section (especially for accomplishment statements) makes for a resumé that flows better and sounds less disjointed. 

Speaking of accomplishment statements, some job seekers use a stand-alone achievements/accomplishment section on their resumé, but since they are detailing their experience with accomplishment statements already, the achievement would be within and that space would be better spent expanding on their qualifications.  It works here for chronological resumés, and it can work for functional resumés and combination resumés. 

And remember, any human can slap a list of skills from a posting unto a resumé, even word for word.  But the best candidates demonstrate how they use these skills by detailing their employment or education experience with accomplishment statements.  They will use action words and descriptions that ignite curiosity in the employer enough to call them for an interview.  So do yourself and your experience justice, and use language to best represent you. 

Summary

Here is a recap on how to use verbs and adjectives on your resumé to your advantage.

1. Verbs are action words.  Use them in your experience section.  Using action words will cause the employer to see you active in your positions and will prompt them to see you active in theirs.
2. Adjectives are descriptive words.  Use them in your highlights of qualifications (typical for Canadian resumés) or your profile and skills section (typical for U.S. resumés).  Adjectives give a measure or competency level of your skills or experience (for hard skills) or they describe the skill type (for soft skills).  

Notes

This article contains no text pictures to ensure that every word can be read aloud by a text-to-speech application. And was tested using Google Chrome’s “Read Aloud” add-on.

Bio

Tiffany Persaud is a freelance writer and resumé writer who has helped dozens of people find jobs they like during the pandemic and coming out of it.

Resources

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References

Benz, Conrad.: "190+ Strong Action Verbs to List on Your Resume." 

< https://resumegenius.com/blog/resume-help/action-verbs >  September 21, 2022.  Accessed on March 1, 2023. 

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints: “Find A Better Job”. 2016. Accessed on Nov 22, 2022.