How to Make Your Resume More Active

During the hunt for a new employee, hiring managers and employers spend hours reviewing resume after resume, many of which sound like they were copied directly from an online template. To help your professional resume stand out from the crowd, adjust the language and voice to make it sound more active and dynamic.

One of the most common problems in professional resumes is the use of boilerplate, overly formal language. Employers are looking to hire an individual person, not an automaton – and your professional resume should reflect that. Forbes magazine recommends that you use a human voice instead of a robotic voice. The easiest way to do so is by using the word "I" and by telling short stories. If your resume includes a list-style professional summary, replace it with a short paragraph that lays out your experience in a first-person voice. The same goes for your work history; add a short sentence for each one that provides context. In doing so, you automatically give the reviewer an idea of who you are, both as a person and as a professional. As an added benefit, your professional resume stands out from the applicants who used a standard third-person voice.

Many resume-writing guides advise applicants to use a formal voice, usually with the goal of creating a professional image. The resulting document tends to take on a passive feeling, as though it was written by a computer rather than by a person. Give your professional resume an active voice by using active verbs. Each bullet point in your work history should begin with a verb. Instead of writing "filing system development," consider writing that you developed and implemented a more efficient filing system. Go beyond standard verb choices. Instead of "managed," say "orchestrated." Instead of "designed," say "pioneered" or "engineered."

When it comes to writing a professional resume, many applicants make the mistake of focusing only on their responsibilities in each position. While this helps the reviewer understand what you did in a job, it can get boring quickly. Add your accomplishments to lend your resume a more active voice. Letting a potential employer know that you created a new reporting system is effective, indicate how it benefited the company. It is more effective to say that you engineered a new reporting system that reduced errors by 50 percent, for example By quantifying your accomplishments, you give the employer a more complete and well-rounded picture of who you are.

When it is written in an active manner, your professional resume can be a truly powerful way to sell yourself as a candidate. By integrating stories, eye-catching verbs and solid examples of your on-the-job performance, you can take your resume to the next level.

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