“Subjective terms and clichés are seen as negative because they don’t convey real information. “Hiring managers prefer strong action words that define specific experience, skills and accomplishments,” said Rosemary Haefner, vice president of human resources at CareerBuilder. Why you should use active verbs in your resume: Instead of highlighting that your work was recognized in the first sentence, the second sentence shows that you were recognized for your work, which makes a much stronger statement and puts the value on you instead of the work you produced. “Recognized for efficiency and work ethic…” See how the second option is stronger and packs a bigger punch? Instead of using qualifying words such as “responsible for,” make the verb active and use it as the first word in your sentence. “Answered calls and directed lines to the appropriate individual…” (active voice) “Responsible for answering phones and directing calls…” (passive voice) The difference between active and passive voice can be seen in these two examples: What is the difference between active and passive voice? To make your document stronger and more efficient, use active verbs in your resume. It is typically recommended that writers use active voice in academic writing, as it allows the writer to provide direct and concise information.Ditch the Passive Voice: Use Active Verbs in Your Resume Decem/ Business / 2 CommentsĪre you making this huge mistake on your resume? If you’re using phrases like “responsible for…” you’re using passive voice on your resume. Passive Voice: The pizza was (conjugated form of to be)eaten (past participle verb) by the entire team.Īctive Voice: The entire team ate (new conjugated verb) the pizza. The subject should then be placed before the new verb. To change this type of passive voice to an active sentence, remove the verb to be and change the verb form to agree with the subject. Passive Voice: The apples were sold all day.Īctive Voice: The farmer (subject) sold the apples all day.Ĭonjugation and Past Participle: Sentences written in passive voice include a conjugated form of to be followed by the past participle form of the main verb. If the subject or “doer” of the action is not identified, rewrite the sentence with it positioned before the main verb. Missing Subject: The grammatical subject of the sentence is often omitted in passive voice. Passive Voice: A letter (object) was written by him (subject) to his family.Īctive Voice: He (subject) wrote a letter (object) to his family. Switching the position of the object and subject will change the sentence to active voice. Position of subject and object: The position of the subject and the object in a passive sentence are often switched, with the object placed before the verb and the subject placed after. To change a sentence from passive to active, first determine what makes the sentence passive, and then apply one of the following rules: How to change passive voice to active voice Passive Voice: The entire cake was eaten (past participle) by himself. The verb form can determine if a sentence is active or passive.Īctive Voice: He ate (past tense verb) the entire cake by himself. Passive Voice: The fire was extinguished in less than an hour. The subject does not need to be directly identified when using passive voice. Passive Voice: The fence (object) was jumped over by the dog (subject). Interchanging the object and subject determines if a sentence is active or passive.Īctive Voice: The dog (subject) jumped over the fence (object). Passive Voice: object + to be + past participle verb + subject (optional) The placement of the subject, verb, and object determines if a sentence is active or passive. General rules for active and passive voice include the following: The museum is visited each year by hundreds of tourists. The confused customer was helped at the store. The letters were delivered by her yesterday.Īt least two new employees will be hired by the company. Hundreds of tourists visit the museum each year.īelow are examples of sentences written with a passive voice: The salesman helped the confused customer at the store. The company will hire at least two new employees. The following are examples of active voice sentences: Below are two lists of example sentences written in both the active and passive voice.
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