Resume Keywords: Optimize Your Resume and Get Interview Call

Research says the average time a recruiter spends on looking at your resume is only 5–7 seconds! Not only is a perfect resume format and structure your formula for success, but it is also in the way you write your resume. A recruiter might be looking at a dozen resumes at once. What’s your trick to be seen and noticed? How can your resume effectively capture his attention? Hello, power words.

Power words involve the inclusion of certain phrases or words to enhance the visibility of your document among the dozen others that are waiting to be scrutinized by the recruiter. They are words denoting an action that you can use to stress on your skills to help you get past the first round of scanning. These words are relatable, effective and quickly convey the context of its usage to the employer, who in turn understands your skills, contributions and your value as a potential candidate.

Advantages of Power Words

1. Improves Readability- It so happens that when applying to a technical role, you enlist all your experiences using technical jargon that’s difficult to understand for any person who’s not of the field to look and understand the content. A lot of HR employees in a company recruit for technical positions and instead of looking out for technical jargon, they look for power words.

For eg: Instead of saying, ‘Conversion of all CDR files to .psd for digital purposes’, you could say, ‘Direct delivery of required files for smooth output’

2. Address Monotony- In sentences where you have to repeat responsibilities, using the same verb could prove to be monotonous. A variety of other combinations of words could be used by you to create a better impact.

For eg: In a typical listing of a sales profile role-

• Responsible for leading a team of seven sales reps
• Responsible for achieving weekly goals
• Responsible for daily communication with other team leads to discuss areas of improvement
  
  You could rather say-
• Manage and mentor a team of seven sales reps
• Consistently attain weekly goals
• Initiate meetings to communicate team progress and discuss improvement areas with other team leaders daily
  
  Understand which of your skills align with the job role you’re seeking and accordingly use effective power words to emphasize them. Next up in this series is a type of keyword for resume writing!

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