Cover letters and résumés are like Tinder profiles: If they’re not communicating effectively, you can kiss your interview goodbye. The words that stitch together your application submissions are more than just details in the fabric. Your future college and employer (or dating app match) have one thing in common: They’re not impressed by clichés.
Poor vocabulary will have everyone rolling their eyes. Don’t let opportunities slip away. Expand your vocabulary to describe your attributes as well as possible. Replace those ordinary words with the extraordinary.
Abilities
| Accomplished | Accustomed | Achieved | Adequate | Adroit |
| Apt | Aptitude | Cultivated | Experienced | Expert |
| Dexterity | Mastery | Practical | Professional | Proficient |
| Seasoned | Skillful | Talent | Trained | Well-versed |
Character
| Alert | Amenable | Amicable | Committed | Creative |
| Efficient | Fortitude | Imaginative | Ingenuity | Innovative |
| Methodical | Modest | Optimistic | Organized | Perserverent |
| Punctual | Resourceful | Savvy | Self-reliant | Sociable |
| Stamina | Strength | Tactful | Team player | Vitality |
Experience
| Achieved | Accomplished | Advanced | Advocated | Arranged |
| Attained | Broadened | Carried out | Carried through | Concluded |
| Consummated | Delivered | Enacted | Encouraged | Engineered |
| Fabricated | Fulfilled | Improved | Increased | Instituted |
| Participated | Perfected | Performed | Procured | Produced |
Responsibilities
| Amenability | Assembled | Assisted | Administered | Authority |
| Consolidated | Constructed | Created | Designed | Directed |
| Employed | Engaged | Established | Executed | Expanded |
| Expedited | Implemented | Launched | Managed | Manufactured |
| Mentored | Monitored | Motivated | Observed | Obtained |
| Operated | Ordered | Organized | Originated | Oversaw |
| Pioneered | Planned | Published | Strengthened | Stimulated |
| Supervised | Surveyed | Systemized | Updated | Upgraded |
Intelligence
| Acquaint | Articulate | Awareness | Competence | Comprehension |
| Conscious | Educate | Efficient | Experience | Extrapolate |
| Familiar | Grasp | Infer | Innovative | Knowledgeable |
| Logical | Perspicacity | Practiced | Professional | Proficient |
| Realized | Recognized | Thorough | Understand | Well-developed |
Problem-Solving
| Analyzed | Answered | Applied | Communicated | Created |
| Discussed | Dissected | Diverted | Evaluated | Guided |
| Identified | Improved | Investigated | Judged | Justified |
| Lead | Mediated | Monitored | Navigated | Negotiated |
| Organized | Persuaded | Proposed | Protected | Proved |
| Reasoned | Recommended | Reconciled | Rectified | Repaired |
| Resolved | Responded | Restored | Retrieved | Revised |
| Rewrote | Simplified | Solved | Stabilized | Systemized |
