The Rizzume: How to Show Rizz in Your Resume

Rizz is the word of the year for 2023, but how do you use Rizz in your career? Here's how to rizz up your resume.

By Caileen Kehayas Holden
February 15, 2024

Photo by Jeffrey Czum

How can you ensure that your resume has rizz? I want to introduce the rizzume.

At the end of every year, Oxford Dictionary announces their word of the year. In 2023, that word was rizz.

But, what is rizz, and how can you use it to advance your career?

As an aunt to three teenage boys (no cap!), I have an admittedly very loose grasp on what teenagers use for slang. As the internet creates a channel for slang to reach everyone, you might find some elder Millennials (like me!) figuring out how to work rizz into their content strategy.

What is Rizz? The Definition of Rizz
Examples of Rizzy Qualities in a Person
The Rizzume: How to Show Rizz in Your Resume

Let me introduce the Rizz-ume, a resume that showcases your rizz. It might also be the key to transforming writing a resume from a boring chore to...something kind of fun?

What is Rizz? The Definition of Rizz

Now that Rizz is part of our nomenclature, what does it mean?

According to Oxford, here is the official definition:

Rizz (noun): Pertaining to someone’s ability to attract another person through style, charm, or attractiveness, this term is from the middle part of the word ‘charisma,’ which is an unusual word formation pattern.

Rizz can also be used as a verb, specifically in the phrase “rizz up.” To “rizz up” means to attract, seduce, or chat someone up.

Here are a few ways rizz is used in a sentence:

"She’s got serious rizz, and her presentation is so rizzed up."
"I can’t explain it, but he just has rizz that attracts everybody to him."

I’m always looking for new words to describe how to make things bigger, better, and sparklier. To that end, I’ll often use the unofficial word “zhuzh” to explain how to give something that extra je ne sais quoi (a quality that cannot be described or named easily.)

At first, I rolled my eyes at this word of the year, but rizz hits different, so to speak. Rizz, in its essence as a word, has rizz.

Casper Grathwohl, president of Oxford Languages, attributes rizz's impact partly to the joy it brings as those double zs roll between your front teeth, “One of the reasons it’s moving from being a niche social media phrase into the mainstream is, it’s just fun to say. When it comes off your tongue, there’s a little bit of joy that comes with it.”

This is what got my brain buzzing. Wouldn't everything about a job search be more enjoyable with a little rizz laced in? What if we could make updating our resumes or writing our cover letters fun by showing off our rizz?

Why not?

Examples of Rizzy Qualities in a Person

What constitutes rizz? How can you identify who has rizz and who might be lacking in the rizz department? Finally, how can you work on your own rizz?

Here are some examples of rizz (or charisma) that help someone to stand out, especially in the workplace.

Confidence: Demonstrating self-assurance and belief in oneself.
Charismatic Communication: Effective verbal and non-verbal communication that captivates and engages others.
Enthusiasm: Expressing infectious passion and excitement.
Positive Attitude: Maintaining optimism even in challenging situations.
Authenticity: Being genuine and true to oneself without pretense.
Active Listening: Showing genuine interest in others by actively listening and responding thoughtfully.
Empathy: Understanding and sharing the feelings of others, creating a sense of connection.
Charismatic Body Language: Using open and positive body language, such as maintaining eye contact and smiling.
Adaptability: Demonstrating flexibility and the ability to adapt to different situations.
Inspiring Vision: Communicating a compelling vision or goal that inspires others to follow.
Storytelling: Using storytelling to convey ideas and make concepts relatable.
Humor: Employing appropriate humor to lighten the mood and create a positive atmosphere.
Confidence in Others: Instilling confidence in others by acknowledging their strengths and potential.
Charismatic Leadership: Leading by example and motivating others through inspiration rather than coercion.
Optimistic Outlook: Focusing on opportunities and positive outcomes rather than dwelling on challenges.
Persuasion Skills: Having the ability to influence and persuade others effectively.

Now that you have a clearer picture of rizz and how it can look in the workplace, let's rizz up your resume.

The Rizzume: How to Show Rizz in Your Resume

Nobody likes writing or rewriting a resume, and fewer people enjoy writing a cover letter from scratch. That boredom and frustration comes across to hiring managers and recruiters.

Statistics have shown that recruiters spend 6-8 seconds reviewing a resume, and 80 percent of resumes will not make it past a first viewing.

But what if your resume was so jam-packed with rizz that the hiring manager actually perked up when reading it? What if you replaced the traditional resume buzzwords with rizzed-up language that actually sounds like you?

We’re exploring a few ways to infuse Rizz into every section of your resume. Let’s go.

1. Rizz Up Your Resume Headline

Your resume headline is a brief summary at the beginning that highlights your unique strengths and passions. Think of your resume headline as your first wave hello to a recruiter or a future employer. What kind of first impression do you want to make? What do you most want your potential future boss to know about your work and about you?

To create a resume headline dripping in rizz, remember these points.

Keep it short and simple.
Make it SMART, if possible.
Echo the tone and voice from the job description.
Choose your best highlights to feature.

Resume Headlines With Rizz

"Administrative Dynamo: Mastering Efficiency and Excellence in Every Task"
"Innovative Technologist: Bridging the Gap Between Vision and Implementation"
"Administrative Virtuoso: Orchestrating Order in the Heart of Chaos"
"Tech Trailblazer: Pioneering Tomorrow’s Solutions, Today"
"Administrative Alchemist: Turning Challenges into Gold-Standard Operations"
"Coding Connoisseur: Crafting Elegant Solutions in the Digital Realm"
"Administrative Prodigy: Expertly Navigating the Administrative Landscape with Finesse"
"Tech Maverick: Crafting the Future through Bold Ideas and Pragmatic Execution"
"Administrative Architect: Designing Efficiency Blueprints for Organizational Triumph"

2. Rizz Up Your Job Experience

Part of the reason that writing your resume is so boring is that it entails a bunch of copying, pasting, and repeating boring information.

We use common resume buzzwords to show how we "implemented" this or how we "specialize" in that. A hiring manager sifting through hundreds of resumes is liable to fall asleep re-reading the same resume over and over.

So, how can we rizz up our job experience? It's all about "punching up" the copy in our resumes.

Instead of This:

Social Media Marketer, Children's Publishing Inc., 2008-2011

Dynamic and results-driven Social Media Marketing Specialist with a proven track record in leveraging social media platforms to drive brand awareness, engage audiences, and boost online presence for leading tech organizations.

Adept at creating and implementing strategic social media campaigns tailored to the tech industry landscape.

Excels in analyzing data, identifying trends, and staying ahead of the curve in the rapidly evolving digital space.

Rizz it Up:

Use story, sense of humor, and real experience to paint a more colorful picture of your experience. Here's an example:

Social Media Marketer, Children's Publishing Inc., 2008-2011
I'm not your average marketing muggle—I'm a dynamic and results-driven specialist with a flair for turning hashtags into hocus-pocus. Whether it's charming the Twitterati or casting spells on Instagram, I've got a proven track record in making tech organizations the talk of the digital town.

I'm also a wizard behind the strategic curtain. From LinkedIn enchantments to Facebook wizardry, I tailor my spells to fit the ever-changing tech landscape. Need brand awareness? Engaging audiences? A boost in online presence? Fear not, for the Social Media Sorcerer is at your service!

I'm not afraid to dive into the murky waters of data analysis. While others cower at the thought of charts and graphs, I fearlessly navigate the analytics abyss, identifying trends and staying ahead of the curve. In the rapidly evolving digital space, I'm the Gandalf of the Internet, guiding my fellowship of tech brands to success.

*While this example works for a creative and imaginative role (like a social media marketer for a children's publishing company), it may not work in every industry or organization. However, creativity can be the key to getting your resume and cover letter the attention they deserve. Don't be afraid to do something different.

2. Show Rizz by Elaborating Your Personal Impact

In other words, don't let your resume be a vehicle for humility. Resumes exist to put your biggest and most impressive brags on paper. Don't pass up this opportunity.

While taking credit for teamwork is never cool, you can add a key achievement bullet point to showcase your specific involvement or achievement to an overall project.

Instead of:

Worked alongside the marketing team to achieve 120% organic follower growth, year over year, using new, untapped channels.

Rizz it Up:

Worked alongside the marketing team to achieve 120% organic follower growth.
Key Achievement: This campaign was largely based on my data analysis report, which showed a huge, engaged market on untapped channels like TikTok and Snapchat.

3. Rizz Up Your Accomplishments

Have fun with your accomplishments and achievements section. For those applying to marketing, writing, or creative jobs, it's a no-brainer to infuse engaging language to bring your resume to life. However, there are other industries where this might work, too. When applying for jobs, pay attention to the tone used.

If the job description has witty, creative copy, your resume can (and should!) reflect that. Here are a few ways to get creative while detailing your accomplishments. Get to know an organization's brand voice by familiarizing yourself with their website, their social channels, and even their creative team. Anywhere you can echo this language to show you're aligned with the brand voice, do it.

Bland: "Increased sales revenue."
Rizzy: "Catapulted sales revenue by 40% through innovative marketing strategies, turning cold leads into hot prospects."

Bland: "Managed social media accounts."
Rizzy: "Orchestrated a social media symphony, growing followers by 50% and increasing engagement by 60%."

Bland: "Led a team to complete a project on time."
Rizzy: "Championed a dynamic team through the trenches of project deadlines, delivering ahead of schedule and under budget."

Bland: "Implemented a new system."
Rizzy: "Revolutionized operations by implementing a cutting-edge system, reducing processing time by 30% and enhancing overall efficiency."

4. Show Rizz With Keywords

Here's where we have to pause and consider something that could potentially get in the way of your resume's rizz odyssey, the applicant tracking system. Many companies use an applicant tracking system to give resumes a first scan.

To ensure that your rizzume gets through (are you getting sick of these puns yet?), ensure that it contains keywords that the ATS might be looking to find. That way, your resume will pass through with flying colors and make its way to a human recruiter or hiring manager.

For example, if you're applying for a digital strategist position, you'll want to make sure to mention keywords like "content creation," "SEO," and "email campaigns."

Refer to the job post to ensure you're including the right keywords. Ensure that your resume echoes the keywords listed in the job description.

Pro Tip: Match the keywords exactly—whenever possible. If the job post mentions "social strategy," but your resume currently lists "social media strategy," tweak it to match exactly. Assume the ATS. will scan for keywords exactly as they are listed in the job post.

5. Rizz Up Your Resume With Formatting + Design

When talking about people with rizz, there's usually a visual component to it. Just ask the "ultimate rizzmaster Tom Holland." How can you make sure that your resume has visual rizz?

Below are some of the rizzy qualities that humans display, and how you can apply them to your resume formatting and design.

Friendly: Make sure your resume is reader-friendly, with easy-to-read bullets, resume-friendly fonts, and a clean design.
Attentive: Make sure your resume showcases the most important keywords and responsibilities listed in the job post. If the job description mentions a skill several times, rework your resume to highlight that skill specifically. This shows you're paying attention.
Smiling: Well, I'm not going to tell you to resort to emojis, but do you ;) I don't know who decided that resumes need to be boring, humanoid forms with no personality, but a Rizzume is meant to serve as a more personable representation of you, the human worker.
Relatable: One of the huge components of rizz is being able to form and keep meaningful connections. To do this in a resume, cut out the superfluous text and jargon in favor of the meaningful accomplishments and skills you possess. Connect them to results in a precise way.

6. Rizz Up Your Resume By Editing It

It's all fun and games until a spelling error makes its way into your resume. There's nothing rizzy about grammar errors on a resume. After finishing any piece of writing, it's best to step away from it for at least 20 minutes.

Come back with fresh eyes and proofread. Use this round of editing to remove extraneous language, add more expressive language (like action verbs!), and scan for possible spelling errors. There's nothing rizzy about a resume boasting that you were a "Regional Manger" at your last company. Bummer.

Pro Tip: If you have a great friend or trusted colleague willing to give your resume a look, get a second pair of eyes on it for the proofreading round.

7. Rizz Up Your Resume By Showcasing Motivation + Future Thinking

To me, the people with the most rizz are those who show infectious enthusiasm and excitement. It's always such a breath of fresh air to encounter lightness in another human. When I encounter someone with rizz, I want to be more like them.

Resumes have a reputation for being very serious and professional. To that end, I think they have become boring, rote, and unimaginative. Use your rizzume to communicate your passion for your work, your motivation, and your vision for the future. This motivation and future thinking can be interspersed throughout your resume.

8. Rizz Up Your Resume With Unexpected Details

Personally speaking, I would always love to see a creative resume or cover letter when hiring for a job. A few years ago, we asked a group of recruiters about the best resume they had ever seen.

One recruiter mentioned a resume that had one "fun fact" listed toward the bottom. I think it was a fact about jellyfish or something else completely random. While the fun fact had nothing to do with the open job, it brought joy to the recruiter.

Rizz Resume Additions

A favorite book or movie
interactive elements and links (in a digital resume)
A fun fact about yourself
A "testimonial" from an old boss or even your parent
Personal projects outside of work that you're particularly proud of
Quirky or unusual achievements ("I won the regional spelling bee for five consecutive years between 5th and 9th grade.")

Sometimes, it's that simple. Your rizz might be the unexpected detail that makes a hiring manager smile—right before moving your rizzume to the "yes" pile.

In Conclusion

While this article is a slight departure from our normal resume advice, I firmly believe there is more room for creativity and self-expression in both the resume and the cover letter.

I have written cover letters and resumes following tried-and-true "serious" advice. However, I have also thrown caution to the wind to create cover letters and resumes that sounded more like me—with sincerity, humor, and humanity. The creative approach always outperformed the formulaic.

While I work in a creative field, I believe there is space to showcase your rizz in almost any application process.

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Caileen Kehayas Holden

Caileen is an experienced content creator with a demonstrated history of working to achieve healthy and organic growth. Enthusiastically skilled in SEO, content strategy, and creating evergreen, valuable, and actionable content Caileen has been working for over two decades in content strategy and writing for career-oriented startups. Caileen is passionate about writing content to help folks determine the best career for their ever-changing lives—especially mid-career professionals who find their career needs changing due to parenthood, values, and ambitions.

Caileen's advice has been featured by Thrive Global, FlexJobs, Microsoft, WeWork, The Ladders, FastCompany, and more.