200 action verbs that will make your resume more dynamic

Take a look at your resume. When you read it, do you notice a lot of vague or passive words and phrases like “responsible for,” “tasked with,” or “worked on” describing your accomplishments? When you read your job experience bullet points is it immediately apparent what you did, or do you need to follow the bullet point until you get more context? Do you see the same verbs over and over throughout your resume?

The average resume-reader only takes a few seconds to do an initial scan of your resume. That means you need to grab them right away to wow them with your qualifications. One of the easiest ways to punch up a resume is to revamp your verbs: make them louder and more action-oriented to show exactly what you did add flair to your resume. Each bullet point you present should start with an action verb, which gives a more vibrant picture of what you did and achieved—the show, not the tell.

Your resume verbs should illustrate not only your experience but also your skills. Remember, just saying you have communication skills or management skills, is not going to be enough. Your experience bullets are the best place to actively demonstrate what you’ve done and what you know.

Leadership Verbs

If you want to show that you’ve been a team leader, instead of using words like “led” or “managed” try for more specific verbs like:

• Administered
• Analyzed
• Appointed
• Approved
• Assigned
• Authorized
• Chaired
• Coached
• Contracted
• Controlled
• Coordinated
• Cultivated
• Decided
• Delegated
• Developed
• Directed
• Emphasized
• Enforced
• Enhanced
• Established
• Executed
• Fostered
• Guided
• Handled
• Headed
• Hired
• Hosted
• Incorporated
• Increased
• Initiated
• Inspired
• Instituted
• Mentored
• Merged
• Mobilized
• Motivated
• Organized
• Originated
• Oversaw
• Planned
• Presided
• Produced
• Reorganized
• Replaced
• Reviewed
• Spearheaded
• Strengthened
• Supervised
• Taught
• Trained

Innovation Verbs

If you’re trying to show how you made something better or more efficient, or created something, try one of these:

• Administered
• Built
• Charted
• Created
• Customized
• Designed
• Developed
• Devised
• Founded
• Engineered
• Established
• Formalized
• Formed
• Formulated
• Implemented
• Improved
• Incorporated
• Influenced
• Integrated
• Initiated
• Instituted
• Introduced
• Launched
• Modified
• Overhauled
• Piloted
• Pioneered
• Redesigned
• Refocused
• Revamped
• Revitalized
• Simplified
• Streamlined
• Transformed
• Upgraded

Financial/Efficiency Verbs

Being able to save time and money is an incredibly valuable skill set for virtually any job. If you’re trying to demonstrate how you’ve produced results, try:

• Amplified
• Boosted
• Capitalized
• Conserved
• Consolidated
• Decreased
• Deducted
• Exceeded
• Eliminated
• Evaluated
• Gained
• Lessened
• Maximized
• Minimized
• Outpaced
• Reconciled
• Reduced
• Streamlined
• Yielded

Client Skills Verbs

If you’re trying to illustrate your partner management achievements, try:

• Acquired
• Forged
• Joined
• Landed
• Liaised
• Managed
• Navigated
• Negotiated
• Partnered
• Secured

Communication Verbs

Your whole resume should be a testament to your communication skills, but using a few choice verbs to demonstrate how efficiently you communicated is extremely effective. Try:

• Addressed
• Advertised
• Arbitrated
• Arranged
• Articulated
• Authored
• Authored
• Briefed
• Campaigned
• Clarified
• Co-authored
• Collaborated
• Communicated
• Composed
• Condensed
• Conferred
• Consulted
• Contacted
• Conveyed
• Convinced
• Corresponded
• Corresponded
• Counseled
• Critiqued
• Debated
• Defined
• Defined
• Described
• Developed
• Directed
• Discussed
• Documented
• Drafted
• Edited
• Edited
• Elicited
• Enlisted
• Explained
• Expressed
• Formulated
• Illustrated
• Incorporated
• Influenced
• Interacted
• Interpreted
• Interviewed
• Lectured
• Listened
• Lobbied
• Marketed
• Mediated
• Moderated
• Observed
• Outlined
• Persuaded
• Persuaded
• Presented
• Promoted
• Promoted
• Proposed
• Publicized
• Publicized
• Reconciled
• Recruited
• Referred
• Reinforced
• Reported
• Resolved
• Responded
• Reviewed
• Solicited
• Specified
• Spoke
• Suggested
• Summarized
• Synthesized
• Translated
• Wrote

Achievement Verbs

One of the most important functions of your resume is to show what you’ve achieved. If you want to make your accomplishments pop, try humble-bragging with one of these:

• Completed
• Expanded
• Exceeded
• Resolved
• Succeeded
• Surpassed
• Transformed
• Won

Using active, dynamic verbs will help you grab the attention of your reader, who has probably already seen 47 resumes today with the word “responsible” in them. Not every word in your resume has to be an extreme or lively verb, but upping your verb game overall will help you show how awesome you are.