- Action words that show creativity & innovation
- Action words that show leadership & management
- Action words that describe your accomplishments
- Action words that show research & analytical skills
- Action words that show teamwork & communication skills
- Action words that show organizational skills
- Action words that show sales & customer service skills
- Action words that show technical skills
- Where to include action verbs on your resume
Struggling to get interviews?
One of the biggest resume-writing mistakes is using boring, passive phrases like “responsible for,” and “tasked with.” Energize your resume’s work experience section and highlight your achievements by using action verbs instead.
- Start your bullet points with action verbs instead of phrases like “responsible for” to show what you achieved, not just what you did
- Use industry-specific action verbs that match the role: leadership words for management positions, technical verbs for IT roles, creative verbs for design work
- Replace vague buzzwords like “team player” or “hard worker” with concrete terms that show your actual skills and accomplishments
- Quantify your results with action verbs by pairing strong verbs with numbers (e.g., “Streamlined processes, reducing costs by 30%”)
Action words that show creativity & innovation
If you regularly develop new ideas, improve existing processes, or create original solutions, use these action verbs to highlight your creativity and innovative thinking on your resume:
- Designed
- Illustrated
- Wrote
- Built
- Reimagined
- Improvised
- Formulated
- Constructed
- Invented
- Planned
- Modeled
- Brainstormed
- Conceptualized
- Innovated
- Pioneered
- Developed
- Engineered
- Visualized
- Crafted
- Devised
- Experimented
- Composed
- Transformed
- Envisioned
- Conceived
- Customized
- Integrated
- Reimagined the company’s visual identity to conceptualize a refreshed brand image in preparation for a website redesign, resulting in increased overall market appeal and a 15% boost in online sales
- Transformed the company’s social media strategy by creating engaging, original content that doubled follower count on You Tube within six months
Action words that show leadership & management
Whether you supervise a team or manage a project, leadership skills are essential for many jobs.
Use the following verbs on your resume to help show employers that you’re prepared to lead people and manage projects at work:
- Appointed
- Lead
- Directed
- Delegated
- Coordinated
- Oversaw
- Supervised
- Coached
- Advised
- Encouraged
- Guided
- Individualized
- Mentored
- Managed
- Trained
- Developed
- Spearheaded
- Inspired
- Empowered
- Established
- Cultivated
- Implemented
- Initiated
- Streamlined
- Strategized
- Implemented a new employee training program that improved team skills, increased retention by 35%, and boosted overall job satisfaction
- Mentored and developed high-potential employees, leading to 5 individuals receiving promotions to leadership roles in a 2-year period
Action words that describe your accomplishments
Use these action verbs to emphasize your contributions and show employers the value you’ve brought to previous roles:
- Orchestrated
- Mobilized
- Steered
- Accelerated
- Optimized
- Revamped
- Executed
- Elevated
- Strengthened
- Expanded
- Launched
- Created
- Generated
- Troubleshot
- Diagnosed
- Salvaged
- Prevented
- Remedied
- Restructured
- Forecasted
- Automated
- Calibrated
- Bolstered
- Expedited
- Consolidated
- Orchestrated company-wide digital transformation initiative that reduced operational costs by $2.3M annually
- Spearheaded a company-wide sustainability initiative that reduced paper waste by 75% and saved $50K annually
Action words that show research & analytical skills
Employers value candidates who can turn information into actionable insights. The action verbs below emphasize your research and analytical skills:
- Estimated
- Formulated
- Summarized
- Researched
- Extracted
- Synthesized
- Analyzed
- Inspected
- Interpreted
- Measured
- Reviewed
- Surveyed
- Investigated
- Evaluated
- Calculated
- Identified
- Compiled
- Dissected
- Assessed
- Collected
- Explored
- Compared
- Delineated
- Quantified
- Discovered
- Categorized
- Assessed employee performance data to identify skill gaps and implement targeted training programs that improved overall productivity by 12%
- Collected and synthesized industry data to produce a detailed report that informed marketing strategy and contributed to a 15% growth in market share
Action words that show teamwork & communication skills
Show employers examples of your teamwork and communication skills by using the following action verbs on your resume:
- Facilitated
- Contributed
- Cultivated
- Discussed
- Unified
- Aided
- Supported
- Contextualized
- Cooperated
- Collaborated
- Fostered
- Provided
- Encouraged
- Contacted
- Briefed
- Resolved
- Assisted
- Participated
- Mediated
- Presented
- Coordinated
- Conveyed
- Reported
- Explained
- Supported colleagues during a high-pressure period by contributing to group projects ensuring deadlines were met without compromising quality
- Collaborated with multiple departments to communicate requirements, clarify roles, and deliver process improvements that increased productivity by 10%
Action words that show organizational skills
Organizational skills help teams stay efficient and keep projects running smoothly. Use these action verbs to show how you’ve managed resources, improved processes, and maintained order in the workplace:
- Reduced
- Measured
- Revised
- Reconciled
- Combined
- Adapted
- Allocated
- Overhauled
- Documented
- Prioritized
- Enhanced
- Amplified
- Boosted
- Maximized
- Labeled
- Streamlined
- Organized
- Standardized
- Integrated
- Listed
- Resolved
- Divided
- Compiled
- Classified
- Reorganized
- Merged
- Improved
- Reorganized inventory system, leading to a 10% reduction in discrepancies and $10,000 saved in annual storage costs
- Streamlined internal processes with a new project management system that resolved operational bottlenecks and improved project completion times
Action words that show sales & customer service skills
Use the action verbs listed below to show employers you have excellent sales and customer service skills:
- Engaged
- Retained
- Persuaded
- Responded
- Promoted
- Negotiated
- Cultivated
- Connected
- Networked
- Recommended
- Outperformed
- Upsold
- Resolved
- Communicated
- Followed up
- Assisted
- Surpassed
- Raised
- Achieved
- Explained
- Boosted
- Memorized
- Closed
- Ensured
- Built
- Liaised
- Provided
- Acquired
- Resolved customer inquiries and complaints with a 95% satisfaction rate, ensuring positive brand image and long-term client relationships
- Listened to client concerns and recommended personalized skin care packages based on their needs and preferences, contributing to a 20% increase in repeat business
Action words that show technical skills
The right action verbs demonstrate not just what tools you know, but how you use them to solve problems, innovate, and deliver value.
- Audited
- Authorized
- Scripted
- Refactored
- Tested
- Programmed
- Processed
- Validated
- Administered
- Configured
- Deployed
- Installed
- Maintained
- Migrated
- Upgraded
- Debugged
- Tracked
- Protected
- Regulated
- Safeguarded
- Secured
- Verified
- Triaged
- Prototyped
- Rebuilt key components to eliminate bottlenecks, cutting load time by 60% and simplifying maintenance
- Streamlined legacy code to improve performance, reducing load time by 60% while strengthening maintainability
Where to include action verbs on your resume
Using action verbs to describe your experience improves your resume in the following places:
In your work experience bullet points
Your resume’s work experience section is the best place to use action verbs. This section should show what you achieved in previous roles, not just what you were responsible for, which is what action verbs do best.
Take a look at these examples to get a better idea of how to use action verbs effectively:
Don’t
“Used a customer-retention program to make sure clients returned to use our services”
While this example does mention an accomplishment (customer retention), it’s not very impactful. Here’s how to improve this example using action verbs:
Do
“Implemented a customer-retention program to ensure clients returned to use our services and boost annual revenue”
This revised bullet point is much more effective because it uses stronger words to emphasize:
- The active role this applicant played in introducing a customer retention program
- The impact of their achievement on the company
Try using our AI bullet point generator to get ideas for your bullet points:
Struggling to write your resume? Make clear, achievement-oriented bullet points for your resume in seconds with our free AI bullet point generator.
Use these work-experience bullet points to make a resume that lands you interviews.
In your resume summary
A resume summary covers your most important experience, achievements, and skills to serve as an introduction and give hiring managers a quick overview of your qualifications.
However, using vague or passive language like “responsible for” or “experienced with” can make your resume summary fall flat.
To make your summary more effective, incorporate a few action verbs when discussing your achievements. This will clarify how your contributions have made a difference in past roles and can potentially make a difference in your next role.
Here’s an example:
“Retail sales associate with 5+ years of experience communicating with and retaining clients. Achieved an average of 140% of sales goals for 3 consecutive months and provided recommendations that generated $8K in additional revenue. Bilingual in English and Spanish.”
Build a better resume in minutes
About the Author
5
Years of Experience
214
Articles Written
6
Articles Reviewed
Lauren Mastroni is a Digital Content Writer at Resume Genius, where she creates data-driven career content and actionable job search advice. With a background in academic research, she brings a research-focused approach to topics like resume writing, interviewing, and career development. Lauren is dedicated to helping job seekers at all stages navigate the hiring process and present themselves more effectively to employers.
