Powerful adjectives can turn a simple resume into a compelling career story that grabs the attention of any HR manager. How?
Well, adjectives determine the tone of your resume and help breathe life into otherwise dull descriptions. Which means they come in particularly handy when writing a resume.
Whether you're crafting your first resume or you're an experienced professional updating your CV, these adjectives can completely transform your story, highlighting your passion, commitment, and exceptional skills.
We'll show you a complete list of adjectives for a resume, plus how you can use adjectives on your resume.
(And if you're asking how we've come up with these words, it's easy. We went through our database of real resume examples by people who got hired at the world's top companies.)
Without further ado, here's the list of 200 powerful resume adjectives:
200 most powerful adjectives to use on a resume
Now that you've seen the complete list of resume adjectives, you may wonder how to actually add them to your resume.
How to use adjectives on a resume
Incorporating adjectives into a resume is nothing complicated. Essentially, you can sprinkle them all throughout the CV. Though remember, it's not about cramming them into every sentence.
Rather, you should strategically place them in these sections that are particularly suited for it:
Resume summary. This is the only part of your resume where you can write a coherent piece of text that gives an in-depth view of who you are as a professional. By using powerful adjectives can turn your resume summary from generic to compelling, encouraging the hiring manager to read on. Here's an example:
Work experience. When highlighting your responsibilities and achievements, adjectives can bring more color to your bullet points. For instance, consider the following bullet points for a role in marketing:
Skills. Here, adjectives serve as amplifiers to your abilities. They enable you to go beyond merely stating "good communication skills" to something like:
Remember, too few adjectives may make your resume seem dull and unexciting, while too many can make it appear overblown or insincere.
And while adjectives are a great tool to make your resume more compelling, adding powerful action verbs will make the CV even more irresistible.
Finally, consider getting rid of meaningless buzz phrases which only make your resume and cover letter seem generic.
- Career Writer
Klara graduated from the University of St Andrews in Scotland. After having written resumes for many of her fellow students, she began writing full-time for Kickresume. Klara is our go-to person for all things related to student or 'no experience resumes'. At the same time, she has written some of the most popular resume advice articles on this blog. Her pieces were featured in multiple CNBC articles. When she's not writing, you'll probably find her chasing dogs or people-watching while sipping on a cup of coffee.
