100+ Action Verbs for Resume - Guide

• Make your resume stand out

Writing your experience in a content format might be easy and sound simple, but using action words for a resume will make it more engaging and noticeable. Because the recruiter does not just want to see your content but also wants to see how you make your content more interesting to read. Including strong resume words here boosts your credibility.

• Don't overshare, but showcase

If you pick any resume, you will always see a few words repeating many times like "leading," "productive," etc. Seeing these words again and again might give the recruiter an average impression of the candidate, but using an action word list in your resume gives a more sharp and readable tone. This is where powerful resume words can make a real difference.

• ATS-friendly resume

ATS is an automatic software application that can scan and select or reject the resume according to updates. Using action verbs for CV will help make your resume more convenient to the ATS application. Including the best words to use on a resume can boost your chances of getting noticed.

• High engagement and readability rate

Using better action verbs for resume will make your resume concise and more engaging and easy for recruiters to grasp the value point in seconds. Well-placed resume terms improve both readability and retention.

Overused keywords or action verbs like “helping,” “leading,” “being productive,” etc., make your resume sound uninspiring and passive. It makes your resume sound like you're trying to blend in and not stand out. It could lead to rejection in ATS. Here are commonly overused action words for resume that you should avoid in the future:

• Managing

• Working

• Responsible

• Productive

• Helping

• Leading

• Improving

• Creating

• Building

Action verb for achieving:

• Accomplished

• Attained

• Outperformed

• Surpassed

• Enhanced

• Elevated

• Revamped

• Strengthened

• Honoured

• Awarded

• Earned

Action verb for research:

• Analysed

• Evaluated

• Assessed

• Examined

• Reviewed

• Investigated

• Interpreted

• Measured

• Designed

• Surveyed

• Explored

• Documented

• Summarised

Action verb for securing:

• Negotiated

• Closed

• Finalized

• Brokered

• Landed

• Established

• Generated

• Obtained

• Won

• Implemented

• Reinforced

• Maintained

• Strengthened

Action verb for managing:

• Directed

• Supervised

• Organised

• Administrated

• Executed

• Planned

• Monitored

• Operated

• Controlled

• Scheduled

• Handled

• Developed

Action verb for productivity:

• Enhanced

• Improved

• Reduced

• Increased

• Centralized

• Reorganised

• Simplified

• Optimized

• Streamlined

• Automated

There are a lot of options provided for one specific resume term, so one might get confused which one to pick. As you have seen for one particular keyword like "productive," there are many action verbs for resume. But which one to pick depends on the content flow you're writing in. So here are a few steps you can follow to pick the best word to use on a resume:

• Understand the job description

Analyze the job description, understand what they are looking for, what is their need, and according to that, pick your action verb for resume. For example, if the job description uses the keyword “leading” or “cooperative” more, then pick your action words for resume accordingly.

• Show your leadership, not just involvement

If you are mentioning any project or any experience in your resume where you have been involved or helped the team, don’t use the same words for it. Instead, use different powerful resume words like executed, implemented, built, etc.

• Match action and skill

When picking an action verb for CV, make sure you know what you're going to write in the content first. For example, if you want to write “I have led the team,” instead you could write “I directed my team for a specific project.” So it is very important to know your content first so you can format your sentence according to the action word for resume and skill you are going to write.

• Instead of telling what your job was by starting “I was working in this field,” you can begin your bullet points by using strong resume words. It gives your pointers a more initiative perspective than just letting them know what your job was. For example: “Increased company’s market value by X%.”

  
  

• Choose your action word for resume that matches the work you are about to explain in your resume. For example, if you're going to write about leadership, choose action verbs related to leadership like directed, championed, etc.

• You can also use quantifiable data over qualitative data. If possible, anywhere in your resume, switch words to numbers. It will give a different perspective than just theoretical portions. For example: “Increased sales by X%.”

• Always write your resume in bullet points. Start your bullet points with action verbs for resume to give it a more inspiring look.

• Choose your verbs according to the skill you're mentioning in your resume to give your content a better flow.

• Use quantifiable data to give your resume a mature and noticeable tone.