Resume Action Words List By Category

Check Out Action Verbs For Resume Or Resume Action Words List By Category

Action Verbs For Resume

Action verbs for resume are verbs which are used to describe your strength, accomplishment and abilities in a resume. These verbs convey senses of purpose and emotion beyond the literal meaning of the word. When action verbs are used in the right manner, they will convey a message in a direction which will lead to your resume to be placed under consideration. Understanding a variety of appropriate action verbs makes the resume writer better in conveying their purpose in the right manner. There are two different types of action verbs or action words for resume.

These action words include: regular verbs and irregular verbs. It is very essential that job seekers have the right knowledge and understanding of how to use action words/ action verbs for resume in the right manner. They should understand that employers want to clearly see the applicant’s accomplishments. Resume action verbs are thus important when one is describing his /her skills and past accomplishment.

Resume Action Words List By Category

Various resume action words have specific use, when describing a particular skill. The following list includes some of the resume action verb and some of the right time to use them.

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Leading a project

When charged with the responsibility of leading a project / initiative the following action verb are more appropriate than led:

chaired controlled coordinated executed Head operated orchestrated organized oversaw planned producer programmed

The following action words are more appropriate for people who brought a deed project to life.

When you brought life into a project

administered built chartered created designed developed devised founded engineered established formalized formatted implemented incorporated initiated Instituted
introduced launched pioneered Spearheaded

Most hiring managers are looking for someone who has helped a team to operate more efficiently and cost effectively at the same time. To indicate how much you saved and accomplished, the following verbs are more appropriate.

Saved your company money or time

conserved consolidated decreased deducted diagnosed lessened Reconciled Reduced yielded

If your work has particularly boasted your former company’s number in some way, you are supposed to impress the hiring manager. In this case consider using the following terms:

Increased efficiency,revenue,sales or even customer satisfaction

accelerated achieved advanced amplified boosted capitalized delivered Enhanced
Expanded Expedited gained generated improved lifted maximized Outpaced stimulated sustained

If you did something that changed your department or company functioning for the better e.g. changing the companies invoicing system out of Stone Age and into inter-web, you should describe your achievements using the following resume action verbs


Changed or improved something to be better

centralized clarified converged customized influenced merged integrated modified
overhauled redesigned refined refocused Rehabilitated remodeled reorganized Reorganized
replaced restructure revamped revitalized merged influenced modified refocused
simplified standardized streamlined strengthened updated upgraded transformed

If you were in a team managerial position, terms like led will not fit appropriately. You should try to show how an inspirational leader you are. Use the following resume action words

Managed a team

Aligned cultivated directed enabled facilitated fostered guided Hired
inspired mentored mobilized motivated recruited regulated shaped Supervised
taught trained united unified

When you are responsible for spear heading great partnerships, sponsors and sourcing funds, the following are some of the appropriate resume action verbs

Brought in resources, funding and partners

Acquired forged navigated negotiated partnered Secured

If you were responsible for manning the phones and answering various customers question, this means you were advising customers and also meeting their needs, the following are some of the appropriate terms to use

Supported customer

advised arbitrated coached consulted educated fielded informed resolved advocated

If your job included conducting research, analysis and fact finding, you should use the following words to clearly bring out what you were doing for your former company

Conducted research for the organization

analyzed assembled audited calculated discovered evaluated examined explored
foretasted identified interpreted investigated mapped measure quantified Qualified
survey tested tracked tested

If writing,lobbying, speaking or any other form of communication was your role, you can explain how you achieved this by use of the following resume action words

Wrote or communicated

authorized briefed campaigned Co-authored composed conveyed convinced Corresponded
counseled critique defined documented edited illustrated lobbied persuaded

You regulated or oversaw a certain project

If you were mandated with the responsibility of enforcing or managing department requests, then the following verbs will best describe what you achieved:

blocked delegated dispatched enforced ensured inspected itemized
monitored screened scrutinized verified

If you hit certain goals, won a coveted award or achieved something major for your department or company, you should include it in your resume. Some of the words to use to clearly show your achievement including:

Achieved something

attained completed demonstrated earned exceeded outperformed reached Showcased
succeeded surpassed targeted

There are some action verbs which are specific to certain careers. These verbs when used correctly will clearly bring out your ability in the named career. The following are some of these verbs:

Administration and management

consolidated integrated instructed redirected launched represented lectured routed
influenced enforced monitored motivated taught oversaw trained validated

Communication and creativity

acted costumed demonstrated designed planned wrote trained summarized
performed projected initiated fashioned proofread published recruited

adjusted economized reported researched forecast funded retailed marketed
invested tripled systematized distributed up-sized reconciled reduced vended

Helping and care giving

advanced encouraged reassured reclaimed fostered furthered referred helped represented
instilled ministered contributed demonstrated obliged optimized treated tutored provided

Office support

adhered distributed managed administered documented operated drafted ordered
applied enacted organized planned processed recorded resolved scheduled

Research and analysis

assessed audited evaluated planned processed reviewed screened grouped
identified systematized identified surveyed unearthed found explored Chartered

Sales and persuasion

judged purchased launched led reduced maintained reduced educated
expedited moderated reviewed familiarized restored saved sold Set goals

Teaching

briefed built coached coordinated delegated delivered demonstrated guided
harmonized Translated trained summarized responded expanded chaired clarified

Basically the number of action word or action verbs is unlimited, though this is the case, the use of certain words is limited to specific cases and situation. To effectively communicate in your resume, it is very essential you use only the right action words to convey your message.

Other Resources:

# You can also download this pdf shared by career.opcd.wfu.edu.

# Here is another good action words list by careercenter.umich.edu.

1 COMMENT

  1. Great! Action words are the hardest thing to put in my resume, so I use Jobscan to make sure all the most important action words are there, and that ATS can recognize them on my resume. Really helpful tool.

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