Is Your Resume Filled with Passive Words and Phrases?
Posted by
Jessica Holbrook
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It's no secret that hiring managers favor candidates who appear to be aggressive, not just in their job search, but in the workplace as well. This means, as you write your resume, the last thing you want to do is add words and phrases that come across as passive.
So how can you recognize a passive tone in your resume? And how can you avoid filling your resume with these words and phrases?
How Might Your Resume's Tone Be Passive?
Many job seekers submit resumes without any idea that their tone could come across as passive. What might be considered as a passive tone? One where you express what someone has told you to do versus showing that you have the initiative to start projects on your own.
For instance, you may be accustomed to describing your work history by noting that your responsibilities included answering phones, organizing files, and keeping track of executive appointments.
But it would better showcase your true accomplishments if you reworded your description to read that you: routed internal and external phone calls and messages throughout the 2,000-member organization, developed and categorized a filing system to organize all documents for the legal department, and managed departmental and client meetings for top company executives.
Other Words and Phrases to Strengthen Your Resume's Tone
There are many words and phrases to keep in mind that could strengthen the tone of your resume. Some include: managed, optimized, leveraged, utilized, delivered, accelerated, launched, modified, designed, and evaluated.
Also, it's good to incorporate industry-specific keywords that show your wealth of knowledge. For instance, if you are in working in the pharmaceutical industry, you might throw in the word 'pharma' here and there. If you are in marketing, consider including 'trade shows' or even 'tchotchkes' if suitable.
The purpose of writing a resume is to sell yourself as the right candidate for a position, or at the very least, as someone who should be invited in for an interview. It's not easy to do this if you come across as a passive candidate who doesn't initiate projects. So take time to change your tone to prove you are the go-getter companies want in their next employee.
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I found this data very empowering and informative.
Ricardo Nelson
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Informative! Keep up the good work. Articles dealing with examples are helpful. Do not worry about being overly informative, we can definitely use all the help you can provide. Thanks
Pamela Hardy
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For sales and management training positions, aggressive is good. For support positions, aggressive might be threatening. Employers prefer those in secondary positions to be unquestioning and immediately compliant after being told what to do, not aggressive. The resume-strengthening words provided in the article I would call assertive or confident, which are good traits for any applicant. Love that word "tchotchkes"(and I bought lots of them in my marketing promotion jobs), but I don't think that would fly outside of New York! Here in Cleveland, very few would have any idea what the word meant, especially the computers doing the initial screening by optical scanning.
So very true. It has been several decades since I have had the necessity to enter the job market, myself, always having been the employer. I have had to contend with several of the passive resumes which were described. Somehow, seasoned and competent job-seekers tend to consider their expertise and experience as automatic gate-openers, which is not always true. I'm thankful for the advice given and hope to capitalize on them in the near future. Chris
Kingstone Magaya
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Thanks so much for the advice. l will implement some of the ideas on my CV to sell myself better.
Jesse Baltazar
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That is well structured and an eye catcher. Very informative.
Many people list important skills or knowledge they have learned about a job. But it's not going to impress a potential employer. The potential employer wants to know if you have actually used these skills. How and where you learned is immaterial.
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