Seven Words That Put Power In Your Resume

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I was looking for some inspiration for my last blog of the day, and decided to catch up on my emails.  I came across a blog article about a study done by Yale University on the 10 most powerful words in the English language.   Resumes need to be powerful enough to attract attention, create some excitement and prompt a prospective employer to call for an interview.   Some of the 10 like You, Love or Discovery may not fit in a resume, but you could fit in the rest in the right context.  If you want to put some power in your resume, consider using these proven (#4) words in your resume rewrite.

 

1.      Results.  Use the word and give specific examples.  Education and experience are important qualifiers, but employers are interested in results.  Accomplishment statements describe a problem, action taken and result.  Each job listed should have at least one or two accomplishment statements, showing results.

2.      Health.  Have you found ways to improve the financial health of your company?  What about healthy profits?  Or instituted programs to improve the physical health of employees, clients or customers? 

3.      Guarantee.  Everyone feels comfortable with a money-back guarantee.  While you may not use the exact word, how can you show you guarantee results?  Why will you deliver a guaranteed return on investment?  Accomplishments that list specific projects are perfect interview talking points that show how you can deliver for a new employer.

4.      Proven.  I like to use this word in the summary statement at the very top of the resume, as in “proven professional.”  If you say you have experience in an area, your resume work history and accomplishment statements are the “proof” of your ability.  Past performance is a good indicator of future behavior.  If you’ve proven your worth in the past, it’s a reasonable guarantee you’ll do the same in the future.

5.      Safe.   Again, you may not use the actual word, but companies want employees who are responsible, trained in workplace safety and have experience with compliance and problem resolution.  OSHA safety training certification can be a plus for a manufacturing or industrial job

6.      Save.  Use this one liberally when describing how you were able to save the company time and money.  Instead of just saying you saved money, use actual dollar amounts or percentages to make an impact.  Were you able to save the company from negative media coverage, embarrassment or exposure to liability?  Some things can’t be measured in dollars or hours. 

7.      New.  Are you on the cutting edge in your industry?  Up on the newest ideas, concepts, processes, software or technology?  Have you introduced new, innovative ideas or products or processes that have saved (#6) money and delivered proven (#4) results (#1)?   Whether you’re a new grad or have 20 years of experience, being up on the latest in your field or industry is a powerful asset.

 

Check your resume over and see if you can incorporate at least some of these power words.  Have you come across other words that are just as powerful?  Please share them in the comments below. 


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  • simon l
    simon l •
    The article is really helpful. I'm going to use some words in my resume.Thanks
  • Marlaine D
    Marlaine D •
    I just read an article yesterday on how many of these power words are over-used, outdated and will land your resume in the garbage.  " Proven" was one example. Proven how and by whom ? "Results" was another. It's all so confusing. No one agrees on anything where resumes are concerned, and whole cottage industries have cropped up around how to write the perfect resume.
  • MARIA F
    MARIA F •
    Excellent recommendations and valid input to include in your resume.  As a "proven HR professional" myself, those key words or references help me to screen and filter candidates in any given recruitment process.
  • Denise C
    Denise C •
    the article would be helpful to someone who is already at the top of on the way up the ladder, but someone like myself who is just a simple laborer these words don't fit for what I do. Just a general worker looking for that full time job.
  • Antoinette M
    Antoinette M •
    I found this article to be extremely helpful, I am in the process of rewriting my resume in hopes of getting a new job.  In this day and time when there are not enough desirable nursing positions availalbe, notice I said desirable, tips may be the answer to creating a prize winning resume.  Thanks a bunch!!!!
  • Roger H
    Roger H •
    I have not up dated my resume and i have a attorney look over my resume. They let me know what needs to be changed and words i need to replace. I have taken a resume class in college and it's very helpful when you are looking for a some employment.
  • Dennis A
    Dennis A •
    Excellent - got them all in there, plus a few odd synonyms that keep me from repeating myself.  Internet searchs are mostly (completely?) keyword based...
  • Kim H
    Kim H •
    Excellent suggestions that I will use immediately!  Thank you!
  • sandy b
    sandy b •
    Very helpful and informativeGood to know
  • Neal O
    Neal O •
    good comments  ...  psycholinguistics is the study of the influence of language and the use of certain words ... to pysche someone up,  tell them off, encouage worthwhile behavior, march off to set a world record in the 100 meter breast stroke ... etc etc etc.  
  • Jay P
    Jay P •
    This article is great guidance for me. I prepared my resume with lots of work experience information’s and machines and equipment I used in my past jobs. But I not used these most important great words. Now I start to prepare my update resume with this advice and guidelines. Hopefully it’s work for me.  
  • Rebecca F
    Rebecca F •
    Great advice!  I feel it is important to show on your resume how you can help a company's needs.   A bullet point lists like Your Needs and How I Can Help where you have the "problem" on one side and the "solution" on the other helps.   However, when you post resumes online that is a problem because every company is different.How do you personalize a resume online when you can only for practical reasons post a generic resume?   I prefer to actually do a individual resume that is directed to a specific company and the position that they are hiring for.
  • mary a
    mary a •
    interesting suggestions but a lot of this does not apply when you are :1.  over 602.  not a technical wiz3.  worked as a temp the majority of the last 10 years4.  do not have the finances to take a lot of computer classes5.  tired of corporate bs.sorry.  just had to vent.thanks
  • Enid W
    Enid W •
    Very helpful.  But I learned that employers don't like overly fancy resumes with designs or too many bullets. I will however add these specific words to my resume to make it even more powerful.
  • Jane d
    Jane d •
    excellent article--one that can inspire any job seeker to reinvent and reinvigor his or her resume
  • Karen M
    Karen M •
    Helpful, but not helpful.  As a middle-aged RD, but with only 13 years experience, I find that some of the social media and technology is more bother than it is worth.  Why do employers judge by THESE characteristics?  Being able to navigate the "cloud" doesn't do anything for me, and I am leary of employers who judge based on social media.  Have been looking for work for 18 months, getting nowhere and have revamped my resume 4 times.  Very disappointing!
  • JOE P
    JOE P •
    that is good,indeed these 7 words can inspire employers to call you for interview.
  • Pat S
    Pat S •
    These ideas are good, except the use of "proven" as in track record, professional etc.  Don't use it.    Proof will be found when you check references.   Also not mentioned is the use of active verbs.
  • rosemary c
    rosemary c •
    Informative but some of the ideas I would use in an actual interview.
  • Sandra P
    Sandra P •
    very interesting article. I will need to add some of these great words on my Resume, Thanks
  • Revico Z
    Revico Z •
    Now I know how to make my resume become stronger than before ,thanks for the information
  • Angela B
    Angela B •
    I like the proven points on this article about how to land a Job, using positive ideas and key words to catch the employer attention. Applying your achievements and education is a plus also tell the company about how you want opportunities and growth to carry with you for a life time. This article is very helpful,the first few words in a resume should be all about your objective that's what this article explains.Some of my keys words are to be appropriate.
  • George F
    George F •
    After a long career in electronics and computer technology, I am now PROFESSIONALLY UNEMPLOYED.I have dedicated the last six months to improve and polish my resume and my professional profile, to be able to impact the potential employers and/or headhunters.In search for the best possible job matching my 35+ years of professional career, I have submitted a cover letter (or intro e-mail), my resume, and often a word summary of my professional profile, as needed.I have found that the core content of those documents is basically the same, but their structure and presentation are substantially different, and they serve a different purpose.In most cases, an overall distinct design and presentation that matches the employer's or head hunter's expected/required or preferred professional profile and experience, is very important, in order to maximize the impact of the resume or application and the effectiveness of the job search.I completely agree with you that KEY WORDS are extremely important, because that is what employers or headhunters are looking for in order to simplify and in some cases automate their candidates' resumes.I do appreciate your article regarding the importance to include English power words, because in the resume or professional profile context, they enrich and produce mental sparks in the reader's mind, making the review more exciting and interesting, beside being attention catchers.I have also found that applying for a job on-line has become more professional and technically advanced. Both, potential employers and headhunters make use of a website like in order to step-by-step complete the application/registration process, and often requires the submission of a PDF/word resume, an intro letter and some other supporting documentation. Sometimes all this process, from beginning to end, takes a couple of hours, if you want to make it just right. I do check and re-check spelling and content, until I am completely sure and satisfied.I found an interesting concept, new to me, on the Internet: "WORD CLOUD." It is actually a graph or design that clusters the KEY WORDS that represent the job seeker's experience and background, but in just a dozen words, which must be included in the resume and in the professional background. It works just great..!I am getting lots of responses via e-mail from job sites, headhunters and potential employers. In some cases it is almost overwhelming to receive 20 or more job openings' related e-mails every day (some of them are lists). But I am grateful..!After dedicating every day between 6 to 10 hours to use all this job search related information, I sincerely feel I am achieving a good level of proficiency and expertise on this.Good employment-hunt to all of us, job-seekers..!
  • Jeannette C
    Jeannette C •
    Ignore the naysayers, this is great.  When you're mainly counting on an online job search this is a great way to get noticed/read!  My resume was already in good shape but I think I will change it anyway to incorporate some, if not all, of this info.
  • Zhu X
    Zhu X •
    That is quite good.

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