150+ Action Verbs to Spice up Your Résumé

Fun fact, there is no ATS black hole. It sounds great for marketing purposes but if your resume isn’t getting past the application phase it’s because you either don’t have the experience the company is looking for or you’re not appropriately conveying your secret sauce.

Rather than boring your reader to sleep with words like ❌ Responsible for, Assisted with, and Seasoned leader ❌, I’m going to teach you how to captivate your reader to make every second count.

Quick Grammar Lesson

If you want to write more concisely, covey impact, and sound confident then you need to leverage Active Voice versus Passive Voice.

• Passive voice means that a subject is a recipient of a verb’s action.
• Active voice means that a sentence has a subject that acts upon its verb.

To put it simply, it’s the difference between “I did this,” which is active voice, and, “This was done by me,” which is passive voice.

How to use action verbs in your resume?

You want to strategically use action verbs throughout your resume.

1. Make a list of keywords and phrases used in job descriptions you’re applying to.
2. List your professional accomplishments related to those skills.
3. And then replace overused and passive language with active language.

Examples

Passive: Responsible for increasing sales.  

Active: Catapulted revenues by +2000% within first year by….

Passive: Manager of 40+ direct reports.

Active: Transformed departmental culture for 40+ direct reports reducing turnover from 75% to 2%.

150+ Action Verbs to spice up your resume

Leadership action verbs

1. Helmed
2. Championed
3. Spearheaded
4. Cultivated
5. Aligned
6. Founded
7. Launched

Action verbs to replace Managed

1. Mentored
2. Motivated
3. Inspired
4. Unified
5. Guided
6.  Synchronized
7.  Chaired

Action verbs to replace Increased

1. Accelerated
2. Maximized
3. Generated
4.  Catapulted
5. Capitalized
6. Skyrocketed
7. Amplified

Action verbs to replace Changed

1. Transformed
2. Overhauled
3. Streamlined
4. Customized
5. Integrated
6. Refocused

Supervisor action verbs

1. Developed
2. Orchestrated
3. Coordinated
4. Initiated

Action Verbs to replace Assisted

1. Consulted
2. Educated
3. Encouraged
4. Supported
5. Advocated
6. Advised

Teamwork action verbs

1. Participated
2. Cooperated
3. Collaborated
4. Transmitted
5. Facilitated
6. Fostered
7. Inspired
8. Enabled
9. Encouraged

Action verbs to replace Achieved

1. Outperformed
2. Surpassed
3. Realized

Problem-solving action verbs

1. Debugged
2. Finalized
3. Fulfilled
4.  Procured
5. Extended
6. Eased
7. Rectified
8. Reduced
9. Reconciled
10. Repaired
11. Extracted
12. Generated
13. Solved
14. Solicited

Action verbs to replace Created

1. Pioneered
2. Spearheaded
3. Implemented
4. Forged

Action verbs to replace Developed

1. Fostered
2. Amplified
3. Cultivated

Creative action verbs

1. Designed
2. Fabricated
3. Constructed
4. Brainstormed
5. Illustrated
6. Visualized
7. Devised
8. Drafted
9. Conceptualized
10. Launched
11. Adapted
12. Modeled
13.  Applied
14. Shaped
15. Built
16. Displayed
17. Originated
18. Revitalized
19. Modified
20. Fashioned
21. Choreographed
22. Matured
23. Advanced

Action verbs to replace Examined

1. Forecasted
2. Investigated
3. Qualified
4. Identified
5. Calculated
6. Analyzed

Analysis, Planning, and Research action verbs

1. Evaluated
2. Explored
3. Tracked
4. Reviewed
5. Conceptualized
6. Critiqued
7. Computed
8. Confirmed
9. Diagnosed
10. Deciphered
11. Determined
12. Devised
13. Prioritized
14. Scrutinized

Action verbs for when you saved money

1. Strengthened
2. Revived
3. Consolidated
4. Decreased
5. Lessened
6. Conserved
7. Reconciled
8. Deducted
9. Yielded
10. Reduced              
11. diagnosed

Action verbs for improvement

1. Converted
2. Customized
3. Influenced
4. Refocused
5. Refined
6. Overhauled
7. Merged
8. Rehabilitated
9.  Replaced
10. Restructured
11. Remodeled
12. Simplified
13. Upgraded
14. Transformed
15. Strengthened
16. Boosted
17. Amplified
18. Redesigned
19. Revamped

Powerful action verbs when you supported customers

1. Advocated
2. Consulted
3. Advised
4. Coached
5. Informed
6.  Resolved
7. Fielded
8. Educated

Action verbs for communication skills

1. Campaigned
2. Marketed
3.  Persuaded
4. Briefed
5. Composed
6. Conveyed
7. Corresponded
8. Reviewed
9. Edited
10. Convinced
11. Authored
12. Defined
13. Lobbied
14.  Illustrated
15.  Promoted
16. Documented
17.  Critiqued

Key takeaways

Replace passive language and overly used phrases with active language to exude an executive presence.

If this feels too daunting, hire a professional resume writer 🤸💪

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👩💻 MEET THE AUTHOR:

Teegan Bartos is a Career Coach specializing in #JobSearchStrategy, #SalaryNegotiation, #ResumeWriting, and #LinkedInOptimization. For daily job search tips follow Teegan here.