Maximize your resume action words to wow an employer with these tips

Everyone is talking about how important action words are for your resume. “Start bullet points with action words,” “Use action verbs in your resume,” and “Action words make your resume more attractive"—you've seen it all. Are action words this powerful on a resume?

The answer is yes. Professional resume writers use action words to properly deliver your accomplishments and achievements to a reader. Action words don’t just make your resume pretty. They have another useful function. Using action words the right way on your resume can show a recruiter how skilled you are at expertly communicating your ideas verbally and orally.

But don’t just go sprinkling action words here and there on your resume hoping that an employer would be impressed. Read these tips to get an idea of how to use action words the right way on your resume.

Too many action words will be bad for your resume

Remember, the employer is looking for a good candidate, not a grammar lesson. You don’t need to bombard your readers with action words once every ten words. Use action words in your resume in such a way that it does not disrupt the natural flow of sentences. When in doubt, always go by the rule of one action word per sentence. Not sure which action words look great on a resume? Read our article on the top 10 most powerful action words for a distinctive resume here.

Start each bullet point with an action word

Those bullet points of your career summary need to pack a punch. When you are struggling to incorporate action words into your resume, the best thing you can do is to start writing your bullet points with action words. An action word at the beginning of a sentence grips the reader and keeps them in suspense. What do you do when you don’t know which action word to select? Simply write down 3 action words you think best describe your involvement with the achievement. Then select the one that seems to best suit your accomplishment.

Don’t use the same action words over and over again

Don’t let your resume fall short because of redundancies. Aim to never use the same action word twice in your resume. Remember why you started using action words in the first place. You wanted to highlight your unique involvement with a task. There are hundreds of action words out there for you to choose from, so don’t stick to the same ones you used three sentences ago.

Use powerful resume adjectives alongside your action words

Just like using action words will impress a hiring manager about your accomplishments, using adjectives in your resume too has a good function. Adjectives help you paint a clearer picture of your achievements. Not only that, but they also help you emphasize certain skills, qualities, and attributes that you want a hiring manager to notice about you. Adjectives make your resume more compelling and do a good job of selling your skills. Here’s a list of 100 resume adjectives to describe your unique skills.