How To Boost Resume Engagement Using Keywords and Action Verbs

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Your choice of words plays a pivotal role in boosting the ability of your resume to pass the automated scanning process and attract attention from the human reader.

As I discuss in greater detail in my blog post Is Your Resume Scannable? KEYWORDS are the industry and functional-specific buzzwords programmed into the ATS software. Resumes which have been updated to match the keywords or key phrases the employer is seeking are the ones that make it to the short list of viable candidates for further vetting by a hiring decision maker. Resumes which exclude the right buzzwords are usually filed in the recycle bin.

Here’s some examples of keywords or key phrases by function:

Accounting: Accounts Payable, Collections, Capital Budget, Cost Accounting, Financial Statements, General Accounting, IFRS, Sarbanes Oxley, Taxation and Treasury.

Human Resources: Assessment & Selection, Behavioural Interviewing, Collective singapore phone number resource Bargaining, Compensation, Employee Retention, HRIS Technology Solutions, Labour Relations, and Workforce Planning.

Sales: Account Management, Category Management, Consultative Sales, Contract Negotiations, Product Positioning, Prospecting, Sales Planning & Forecasting, and Territory Management.

Want more keywords? Just download my FREE e-Book Do You Know Your Keywords? where you’ll find a list of keywords and key phrases for over 20 functional job categories

Once your resume has passed the scan, it now needs to entice a reader and the last thing a hiring decision maker wants to read is a boring resume filled with “Responsible for…” statements. Use ACTION VERBS to take the blandness out of your resume and engage the reader in your career achievements. Examples of action verbs are: Abolished, Alleviated, Appointed, Bolstered, Conceived, Controlled, Demonstrated, Doubled, Expanded, Generated, Implemented, Managed, Pioneered, Recommended, Reorganized, Simplified, Strengthened, and Won. In fact, I’ve even used the word “Annihilated” in a resume. Bet that got your attention!