Is your resume kinda meh?

And how would you know…? Well, the surest sign is you’re not getting any interviews. True, there are many reasons why you might not get called for an interview. But an underwhelming resume is definitely one of them. I see plenty of resumes that list what someone did. But those resumes don’t get you interviews. 𝗜𝗺𝗽𝗮𝗰𝘁 𝗴𝗲𝘁𝘀 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗿𝘃𝗶𝗲𝘄𝘀.

Right off the top of my head, backed up by no data whatsoever, here are 12 words that you might have on your resume that lead into an explanation of what you did:

 1. Executed

 2. Managed

 3. Created

 4. Designed

 5. Ran

 6. Operated

 7. Administered

 8. Ordered

 9. Arranged

 10. Planned

 11. Orchestrated

 12. Developed

Have a quick peek at your resume. Any of those look familiar…? 𝗡𝗼𝘄 𝗜’𝗺 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝘀𝗮𝘆𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝘀𝗵𝗼𝘂𝗹𝗱𝗻’𝘁 𝗵𝗮𝘃𝗲 𝗮𝗻𝘆 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗼𝘀𝗲 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗱𝘀. 𝗜𝘁’𝘀 𝗷𝘂𝘀𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗶𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝘆’𝗿𝗲 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝗰𝗼𝘂𝗽𝗹𝗲𝗱 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗶𝗺𝗽𝗮𝗰𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗻 𝗺𝗼𝘀𝘁 𝗹𝗶𝗸𝗲𝗹𝘆 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗿𝗲𝘀𝘂𝗺𝗲 𝗶𝘀𝗻’𝘁 𝗴𝗼𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗼 𝗲𝘅𝗰𝗶𝘁𝗲 𝘁𝗼𝗼 𝗺𝗮𝗻𝘆 𝗽𝗲𝗼𝗽𝗹𝗲. And to get interviews, we want your resume to quicken the pulse a little, and maybe dilate a pair of pupils.

So what words show impact? Here’s a dozen to get you started:

 1. Grew

 2. Achieved

 3. Generated

 4. Accelerated

 5. Improved

 6. Streamlined

 7. Led

 8. Pioneered

 9. Captured

 10. Reduced

 11. Overhauled

 12. Spearheaded

Got any of those on your two-pages..? Hope so. 𝗠𝘆 𝗶𝗱𝗲𝗮𝗹 𝗿𝗲𝘀𝘂𝗺𝗲 𝗯𝘂𝗹𝗹𝗲𝘁 𝗶𝘀 𝗶𝗺𝗽𝗮𝗰𝘁 𝗳𝗶𝗿𝘀𝘁 𝗳𝗼𝗹𝗹𝗼𝘄𝗲𝗱 𝗯𝘆 𝗵𝗼𝘄 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗮𝗰𝗵𝗶𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗱 𝘀𝗮𝗶𝗱 𝗶𝗺𝗽𝗮𝗰𝘁. 𝗜𝗳 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗰𝗮𝗻 𝗴𝗲𝘁 𝗻𝘂𝗺𝗯𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲 (𝗶𝗲. 𝗾𝘂𝗮𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗳𝘆 𝗶𝘁), 𝘀𝗼 𝗺𝘂𝗰𝗵 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗯𝗲𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗿:

 • Helped grow customer base by 40% with content campaigns, featuring eBooks, storytelling webinars, and email marketing

 • Improved customer retention by establishing competitive intelligence program

 • Achieved successful product launch with pilots at 10% of served obtainable market

Those are all plucked from my own resume. But I know you can do better!