200+ Resume Action verbs to Make Your Resume stand out (with Examples)

What are Action Verbs?

An action verb portrays a behaviour. Only with the help of action verbs, did you present your skills, achievements, and experience uniquely on your resume and indeed. These are precise and highlight your contributions, providing your CV with a confident tone.

Using powerful and distinctive action verbs resume will make you more presumable to the potential employer and take you one step further down the employment process.

Here is an example:

Lacks strength and clarity: “Held weekly status meetings to share client updates.”

These action verbs on a resume may mean the difference between an interview and not based on how you use them compared with a less selective candidate. Be it known that every word on your resume, when chosen with remarkable respect, says a great deal about you as an individual. Let's look at why these things are important in writing accomplishment statements.

Three Advantages of Action Verbs on Resumes for Job Seekers

There are various benefits of using design action verbs in your applications but the three main benefits of action verbs for a job hunt are:

• Action Verbs will accentuate the highlights of your previous performance and thus represent what you can do for the new employer in similar terms.
• Action Verbs resume will help you avoid passive or hackneyed language when writing your resume.
• They illustrate that you have duly reviewed the job description leaving a good impression on recruiters.

It is not just beneficial for your CV to consider which action verbs are best for your job hunt.

Resume Action Verbs in 10 Work Situations

Even if the English language is very rich it is noted that 95% of resumes have 20 to 25 common action verbs. I will not list them here; you know the usual suspects. No one will be impressed by them.

With 20 words per category and an example, we offer 15 action and achievement categories common in resumes that job seekers write about. We hope they prove useful.

Here are the 10-category links for convenience:

• “Teamwork” action words
• “Communication” action verbs
• “Project management” verbs for resume
• “Customer service” action words
• “Problem-solving” power words
• “Improved” synonyms
• “Researched” action verbs
• “Organization” resume words
• “Creativity” action verbs
• “Worked on” power words

Teamwork

And yet, people generally have a good opinion of themselves, believing they possess good people skills. But a team's strength lies in the work done as a team. Which one of your team efforts gives you the most pride? But don't oversell your job, either.

Use teamwork-based action verbs below to showcase your strengths.

• Arranged
• Contributed
• Embraced
• Encouraged
• Energized
• Established
• Explored
• Forged
• Fostered
• Intervened
• Joined
• Moderated
• Organized
• Participated
• Partnered
• Planned
• Reorganized
• Taught
• United
• Volunteered

Example

"Achieved $500k in bottom line synergies by moderating a merger between two areas."

Communication

There are different ways of communicating with one another. Some are appropriate whereas some may not be. Again, choose action verbs for resume that best represent your industry and occupation to enhance your communication skills in your resume.

Certainly, it is not easy to present the message in such a way that it would produce the desired outcome.

• Advertised
• Articulated
• Briefed
• Clarified
• Conveyed
• Corresponded
• Debated
• Defined
• Documented
• Elicited
• Explained
• Expressed
• Interpreted
• Lectured
• Lobbied
• Mediated
• Outlined
• Persuaded
• Reinforced
• Transmitted

Example

"I gave my team a briefing on the specifics of the $1.2 million business continuity plan."

Project Management

In a CV or cover letter, it is extremely important to specify what type of work was carried out in respect to the project that depicts management skills.

To portray your project management skills, choose any one of the following descriptive action verbs:

• Automated
• Brainstormed
• Charted
• Consolidated
• Contracted
• Controlled
• Deployed
• Discovered
• Engineered
• Envisioned
• Evaluated
• Executed
• Forecasted
• Governed
• Integrated
• Overhauled
• Patched
• Performed
• Plotted
• Projected

Example

"Within two months, the software rollout to twelve departments was completed."

Customer Service

It is the customers that I serve. Really? What else did you have to offer? You can inform how you make your clients feel and if they leave happy based on how you word your customer service.

You can emphasize your customer service background on your resume by utilizing the following 20 action verbs:

• Advised
• Advocated
• Assisted
• Attracted
• Concluded
• Consulted
• Cooperated
• Counselled
• Delivered
• Handled
• Hosted
• Incorporated
• Informed
• Interacted
• Negotiated
• Resolved
• Settled
• Supported
• Updated
• Verified

Example

"Resolved a weekly record of 150 customer complaints for the company."

Problem Solving

A single action verb is enough to state an issue; six words are unnecessary. Just give a glimpse of the problem's complexity; the details can be revealed later in the interview.

It is important to align action verbs for problem-solving with the job description.

• Addressed
• Allocated
• Arbitrated
• Catalogued
• Centralized
• Collected
• Compared
• Debugged
• Deciphered
• Derived
• Detected
• Estimated
• Experimented
• Fulfilled
• Identified
• Interceded
• Logged
• Rectified
• Synthesized
• Troubleshoot

Example

"A list of unresolved issues that had lain dormant for over a year was corrected."

Improved

There are a hundred different ways to solve a problem, and each one describes something slightly different. Why did you believe your contribution was important, and what did you alter?

What was the real effect of your difference? Use the following list of specific and energetic action verbs for resumes to assist the hiring manager in understanding your strengths:

• Acquired
• Adapted
• Advanced
• Amplified
• Augmented
• Championed
• Constructed
• Critiqued
• Differentiated
• Enhanced
• Exceeded
• Expanded
• Focused
• Ignited
• Launched
• Optimized
• Rebuilt
• Reconciled
• Restructured
• Transformed

Example

"I stoked a fire under the management team to generate an additional $950,000 in revenue."

Researched

For those of us who are meticulous, we must all conduct information research at some point. The action verb for resume you used to explain this in your research-based resume will demonstrate your attention to detail.

• Analyzed
• Captured
• Checked
• Classified
• Compiled
• Conducted
• Considered
• Diagnosed
• Discerned
• Examined
• Inspected
• Quantified
• Reviewed
• Screened
• Scrutinized
• Steered
• Surveyed
• Traced
• Uncovered
• Undertook

Example

“Through market research and the introduction of a new product, market share was doubled.”

Organization

A couple of carefully selected action verbs might make you sound like a Zen master of productivity, but organization is not my middle name for someone like me.

It is easy to say an action is "organized," but make sure the evidence is there to back it up.

• Administered
• Aligned
• Authorized
• Customized
• Effected
• Ensured
• Filed
• Fixed
• Formulated
• Gathered
• Implemented
• Itemized
• Maintained
• Mapped
• Modified
• Networked
• Oriented
• Regulated
• Remodelled
• Upgraded

Example

"A new software solution that reduced build time by 34% was implemented."

Creativity

Your creativity can be demonstrated only by your achievements.

The phrase "I am a creative person" on any employment application is quite possibly the most sickening.

At any time. Make every effort to compose a different term using one of the action words from this table that involves creativity:

• Architected
• Authored
• Composed
• Conceived
• Conceptualized
• Crafted
• Created
• Designed
• Drafted
• Fabricated
• Fashioned
• Illustrated
• Imagined
• Inspired
• Invented
• Piloted
• Probed
• Sparked
• Storyboarded
• Visualized

Example

"The contract was drafted to guarantee a 45% gain in compliance."

Worked on Action Verbs for Resumes

We all understand that we work to earn money, but what did you do for work? What did you do? Is it in line with the responsibilities you will be asked to carry out in your new job?

• Acted
• Adjusted
• Assembled
• Assessed
• Audited
• Calculated
• Collaborated
• Coordinated
• Curated
• Devised
• Initiated
• Investigated
• Made
• Mobilized
• Monitored
• Operated
• Perfected
• Processed
• Pursued
• Refined

Example

“Initiated a recruitment drive that hired fifteen people within three months.”

Key Takeaways

The whole view of an achievement can shift with one sentence.

1. Select suitable action verbs to accompany your achievements.
2. Don't overuse by mixing high-level strong action verbs for resume with common ones.
3. Apply for maximum effect at the start of a bullet point
4. Don't forget to use them throughout the interview.

Recommended Reading

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