Synonyms for "Excellent" To Use on Your Resume

Updated July 7, 2023

An illustration of an infographic resume and a traditional resume in a side-by-side comparison.

When you're creating a resume, you might find yourself overusing common words such as "excellent." Learning synonyms for this word can help you better highlight your qualifications and stand out to a hiring manager.

In this article, we discuss synonyms for the word "excellent" and we provide examples of how to use these words on your resume.

Why use synonyms for "excellent" on your resume?

Even though "excellent" is an impressive word you can use to describe yourself and your achievements, a candidate may overuse it on their resume. Instead, you can use synonyms to describe yourself and your accomplishments in a way that communicates your skills, qualifications and abilities in more noteworthy ways.

Related: How To Use Words To Describe Yourself (With Examples)

Synonyms for "excellent" to use on your resume

Explore this list of synonyms to use on your resume:

  • Skilled

  • Versatile

  • High-quality

  • Notable

  • Remarkable

  • Exceptional

  • Impressive

  • Outstanding

Related: 125 Positive Words and Adjectives To Describe Yourself

How to choose which synonyms to use

Follow these steps to choose which synonyms for "excellent" to use on your resume:

1. Refer to your accomplishments

Refer to your specific achievements in both past positions and your current role if you're working while you're applying for a new job. Think about what accomplishments you've made that you could describe as excellent. For example, you might have helped an employer gain more clients or increase a business's visibility on search engines. Whether you refer to your own actions, your attributes or the feedback you received from clients or team members, consider what you may describe as excellent or another similar adjective on your resume.

Related: How To Include Professional Achievements on Your Resume

2. Use action words

While you can describe yourself and your abilities, you can also use action words within your descriptive sections. This way, you can prove your abilities and show how you may be able to produce similar results if a hiring manager offers you an open position. For example, if you state that you're an excellent communicator, you can support this claim by stating you've helped consolidate multiple communication platforms and implemented systems for feedback delivery.

Related: 137 Action Verbs and Power Words To Use on Your Resume

3. Review the job description for each position

Before you start writing the different sections of your resume and incorporating synonyms, review the job description for each open position. This information can help you discover how recruiters or hiring managers may view the ideal candidate. You can incorporate similar language in your resume and customize each resume you submit accordingly.

Related: What Is a Company Description? (Plus Key Elements and Tips)

When to use synonyms for "excellent" on your resume

"Excellent" and its corresponding synonyms are adjectives that can help you describe yourself as a high-quality candidate in various ways. For example, you can use a synonym of "excellent" to describe yourself as a candidate and surround this synonym with other qualities that describe why you're excellent. You can also use a synonym to explain the quality of work you've completed in past roles.

4 examples of "excellent" synonyms

Review four examples of how you can use synonyms of "excellent" on your resume:

Example 1: Skilled

This candidate used "skilled" on their resume:

  • A skilled customer service representative who speaks English, Spanish and French and has achieved a 95% customer satisfaction rate at my last two jobs

Related: 10 Best Skills To Put On Your Resume (With Examples and FAQ)

Example 2: Exceptional

This candidate used "exceptional" on their resume:

  • Looking to use my proven track record of delivering exceptional results to clients in the content production field to increase the profitability of this marketing agency

Related: How To Write an Effective Resume Summary (With Examples)

Example 3: Impressive

This candidate used "impressive" on their resume:

  • Built an impressive portfolio of more than 20 projects that showed my ability to create innovative design concepts

Related: How To Highlight Work Experience on Your Resume

Example 4: Extraordinary

This candidate used "extraordinary" on their resume:

  • Extraordinary classroom leadership and management skills

Related: How To Write a Skills-Based Resume: Template and Examples


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