When you send your CV or cover letter to a company, chances are that you are one of many. Unless your application jumps out and shouts HIRE ME, you could find your application simply slips through the net. Using certain key words can really communicate with the hiring manager and make them think ‘Hey, I want this person on my team!’ Here are twenty top keywords to use in your job-related application material (and even your LinkedIn profile) to make them want you and nobody else.
20 Useful Key Verbs for Your Linkedin Profile and CV
Related: 25 Words That Can Hurt Your CV
1) Adapt/Adapted – give an example of how you have adapted in the past to demonstrate your ability to move with change and modify the way you work to reflect the changes.
2) Deliver/delivered – proving you don’t mess about and that you deliver time and again makes you a valuable part of anyone’s team.
3) Completed – completing something shows you committed to that, whether it is completing a course, a project, or landing a multinational deal. If it is complete, it shows that you were able to follow through.
4) Encouraged – encouraging something, such as a team or a decisions board considering a project, is a valuable asset. Encouraging others to work harder, to do the right thing, or to approve something can be difficult, especially when it involves change.
5) Supervised – suggests you may have management potential lurking deep inside.
6) Accomplished – accomplishments are something to be proud of, so if you feel like you have really worked hard and gotten the desired result, this is the perfect word to express how you feel, which will in turn affect how the hiring manager sees you.
7) Demonstrated – this is what they want to see, inevitably: that you can demonstrate your ability.
8) Established – starting new things and getting them established is a valuable skill in all jobs, and if you have established anything, whether it was a positive reputation or new way of doing something that made the task easier, your future employer will love this word.
Related: Best CV Font, Size and Format for a Successful Job Application [INFOGRAPHIC]
9) Negotiated – a good negotiator often gets what they want. It also demonstrates that you felt passionate enough to negotiate to get something, rather than sitting back and accepting ‘no’.
10) Increased – positively increasing or improving business is what most companies are striving for. Small businesses or niche businesses will appreciate this word more than others, so don’t forget to mention it in your cover letter.
11) Transformed – transform says you more than just made changes, but you completely shook up and massively improved what it was that you were working on. Use it on your CV achievements section if you have one, to draw the recruiters in.
12) Inspired – a positive, happy, motivated team is a strong one, and if you can genuinely inspire a team to work harder or better, you will be in demand. You can also use this word if you were the reason that ‘inspired’ something to be done for the best.
13) Led – going back to management and leadership. Being part of a team is good, but being a leader is better. Can you take control of a situation where others shy away or fail to take responsibility?
14) Liaised – building good strong relationships with clients and external links are vital to any businesses success and if you have positive experience of liaising with companies in a way to get good results, you will be a popular candidate.
15) Devised – have you ever sat and come up with a rather smart idea that fixed a bug within your team or company? ‘Devising’ is a word associated with problem solving which you can use effectively.
16) Modernised – keeping up with technology and advances is important to all forms of business. Truth be told, the way business is done now is very different compared to former days. If you have (or can) modernised something in the workplace, get it out there. This is a good word to use at interview or in a cover letter.
Related: What Happens to your CV Once Submitted for a Job Application
17) Organised – even having a hand in planning the Christmas party looks great when it comes to organisational skills. A good word to use when discussing your personal attributes on your CV.
18) Launched – creating something is one thing, but launching a product, service, method or plan can involve a lot of time, effort and creativity to get the idea across in the best possible way, and so that everyone can understand it.
19) Drove – someone who is the driving force behind success will be desirable particularly in a team which need a little bit of a kick in the rear. Use this word for management applications to fully emphasise your skill in pushing people and services the extra mile.
20) Identified – did you notice something that had room for improvement and flag it? The ability to spot things that need attention will be popular to many roles. A strong word which works well in cover letters in which you discuss your achievements at a previous job.
If you can use these words well in your application and related paperwork, you will go far. Focus on the positive and add some of these fabulous strong keywords into your CV or future cover letters now if you want to jump out from the crowd!
Related: The Dos and Don’ts of Writing a Cover Letter
Image by: Joel Penner
