Action verbs

Owned by Amanda Vos
Last updated: Nov 20, 2024 by Linda Liu
7 min read

 

What are action verbs …and why should I use them in my résumé?

Action verbs are words that express an action. The first word of each experience bullet point on your résumé should typically be a strong action verb. Strong action verbs can:

  • Highlight your relevant skills, experience and accomplishments.

  • Clarify the nature of your capabilities and contributions.

  • Help you stand out as a candidate and paint a vivid picture of your skills and accomplishments.

Tips for choosing strong action verbs:

  • Take time to reflect on what you did or accomplished

  • Choose precise action verbs that showcase your skills or achievements, and tailor them to the job requirements whenever possible

  • Integrate industry or role-specific action verbs where possible to showcase your industry knowledge (e.g., consider incorporating some action verbs contained in the job ad)

  • Ensure the verb you choose accurately reflects your skills and experiences; avoid exaggerating

  • Use past tense for previous roles and past or present tense for current roles

 

Action verbs by category

Feel free to refer to the action verb list below as a starting point as you prepare your bullet points.

They’re divided into categories of action verbs associated with broad skill areas to support you in selecting the most precise match for each experience you want to convey. However, most roles require you to use various skills, so feel free to draw from any of the categories!

Expand the following content for more information.

  • Allocated

  • Approved

  • Arranged

  • Catalogued

  • Charted

  • Classified

  • Coded

  • Collated

  • Collected

  • Complied

  • Dispatched

  • Distributed

  • Documented

  • Executed

  • Filed

  • Generated

  • Implemented

  • Inspected

  • Maintained

  • Monitored

  • Operated

  • Organized

  • Planned

  • Prepared

  • Prioritized

  • Processed

  • Proofread

  • Purchased

  • Recorded

  • Resolved

  • Retrieved

  • Reviewed

  • Routed

  • Scheduled

  • Screened

  • Set up

  • Specified

  • Spearheaded

  • Standardized

  • Systematized

  • Tabulated

  • Transformed

  • Updated

  • Validated

  • Verified

  • Acted

  • Addressed

  • Advertised

  • Aided

  • Answered

  • Arbitrated

  • Advised

  • Advocated

  • Appraised

  • Arranged

  • Articulated

  • Authored

  • Brainstormed

  • Briefed

  • Called

  • Clarified

  • Co-authored

  • Collaborated

  • Communicated

  • Campaigned

  • Circulated

  • Composed

  • Condensed

  • Conferred

  • Connect

  • Consulted

  • Contacted

  • Contracted

  • Contributed

  • Convinced

  • Conveyed

  • Cooperated

  • Coordinated

  • Corresponded

  • Counselled

  • Critiqued

  • Debated

  • Defined

  • Demonstrated

  • Described

  • Developed

  • Directed

  • Discussed

  • Displayed

  • Distributed

  • Documented

  • Drafted

  • Elicited

  • Edited

  • Elicited

  • Emphasized

  • Enlisted

  • Enlivened

  • Explained

  • Expressed

  • Extracted

  • Familiarized

  • Fielded

  • Formulated

  • Greeted

  • Highlighted

  • Illustrated

  • Improvised

  • Incorporated

  • Influenced

  • Informed

  • Inspired

  • Instructed

  • Interacted

  • Interested

  • Interpreted

  • Interviewed

  • Involved

  • Issued

  • Joined

  • Lectured

  • Listened

  • Lobbied

  • Marketed

  • Mediated

  • Merged

  • Moderated

  • Motivated

  • Negotiated

  • Observed

  • Oriented

  • Outlined

  • Participated

  • Performed

  • Persuaded

  • Presented

  • Printed

  • Promoted

  • Proposed

  • Publicized

  • Published

  • Queried 

  • Questioned

  • Quoted

  • Read

  • Recommended

  • Reconciled

  • Recruited

  • Redirected

  • Referred

  • Reinforced

  • Relayed

  • Rendered

  • Represented

  • Reported

  • Resolved

  • Responded

  • Revamped

  • Reviewed

  • Revised

  • Rewrote

  • Settled

  • Shaped

  • Showed

  • Sold

  • Solicited

  • Specified

  • Spoke

  • Submitted

  • Suggested

  • Summarized

  • Synthesized

  • Talked

  • Trained

  • Transcribed

  • Translated

  • Travelled

  • Unified

  • Updated

  • Verbalized

  • Wrote

  • Abstracted

  • Acted

  • Adapted

  • Arranged

  • Composed

  • Conceptualized

  • Cooked

  • Created

  • Customized

  • Demonstrated

  • Designed

  • Developed

  • Devised

  • Directed

  • Drew

  • Entertained

  • Established

  • Fashioned

  • Founded

  • Generated

  • Illustrated

  • Imagined

  • Improvised

  • Initiated

  • Innovated

  • Instituted

  • Integrated

  • Introduced

  • Invented

  • Made

  • Modeled

  • Originated

  • Painted

  • Performed

  • Planned

  • Predicted

  • Problem solved

  • Produced

  • Revitalized

  • Shaped

  • Sketched

  • Solved

  • Synthesized

  • Visualized

  • Administered

  • Allocated

  • Analyzed

  • Appraised

  • Audited

  • Balanced

  • Budgeted

  • Calculated

  • Checked

  • Computed

  • Developed

  • Estimated

  • Evaluated

  • Figured

  • Financed

  • Forecasted

  • Inspected

  • Investigated

  • Maintained

  • Managed

  • Marketed

  • Memorized

  • Ordered

  • Organized

  • Planned

  • Prepared

  • Projected

  • Reconciled

  • Reduced

  • Researched

  • Selected

  • Tracked

  • Verified

  • Advised

  • Advocated

  • Aided

  • Alleviated

  • Arbitrated

  • Assessed

  • Assisted

  • Assured

  • Attended

  • Cared

  • Carried out

  • Clarified

  • Coached

  • Conceptualized

  • Cooperated

  • Coordinated

  • Counselled

  • Created

  • Delivered

  • Demonstrated

  • Detected

  • Diagnosed

  • Eased

  • Educated

  • Empathized

  • Encouraged

  • Endorsed

  • Engineered

  • Enhanced

  • Expedited

  • Facilitated

  • Familiarized

  • Foresaw

  • Furnished

  • Guided

  • Helped

  • Intervened

  • Investigated

  • Mentored

  • Mobilized

  • Modelled

  • Motivated

  • Provided

  • Referred

  • Rehabilitated

  • Related

  • Relieved

  • Represented

  • Rescued

  • Resolved

  • Saved

  • Served

  • Suggested

  • Supported

  • Transitioned

  • Volunteered

 

Use accomplishment action verbs to highlight a wide range of accomplishments, impacts and results in any role or sector. Review the sample verbs below and select those that apply to you.

Expand the following content for more information.

 

You have the option to select adverbs to accompany your verbs. Adverbs describe a verb and therefore how you did something (e.g., efficiently organized, meticulously planned etc.).

When used strategically, an adverb can clarify an action verb to help accurately capture the nature of your experience or the way in which you uniquely (and successfully) undertook an activity. You may also decide to include adverbs contained in the job description to demonstrate your alignment with the organization.

Adverbs can be integrated into your résumé to strengthen your bullet points by:

  • Conveying how efficiently or reliably you completed an activity (e.g. rapidly scanned, consistently received positive feedback from clients)

  • Demonstrating how you leveraged a positive personality trait to achieve something (e.g. assertively managed, cooperatively drafted, conscientiously planned)

  • Describing an approach to how you performed an activity (e.g. thoroughly vetted, independently conceptualized)

  • Emphasizing the impact or result of your contribution (e.g., successfully launched, effectively mentored, significantly increased)

Review these sample adverbs and select those that apply to you.

Expand the following content for more information.

 

  1. Return to: Cover letters and Résumés

Columbia University (n.d.) 200+ Action Verbs to Spice Up Your Resume. Columbia University.  https://www.careereducation.columbia.edu/resources/200-action-verbs-spice-your-resume   

Doan, D (2024, July 23) Maximize Your Impact: 205 Action Verbs to Use on Your Resume. HubSpot. https://blog.hubspot.com/marketing/action-verbs-for-resume  

Fennell, A. (n.d.) 57 strong adverbs to add to your resume in 2024. StandOutCV. https://standout-cv.com/usa/resume-adverbs  

Georgetown University (n.d.) Actions Verbs. Georgetown University. https://careercenter.georgetown.edu/major-career-guides/resumes-cover-letters/action-verbs/   

Massachusetts Institute of Technology (n.d.) Resume action verbs. Massachusetts Institute of Technology. https://capd.mit.edu/resources/resume-action-verbs/  

McGill University (n.d.) Action Verbs. McGill University. https://www.mcgill.ca/caps/files/caps/guide_actionverbs_category.pdf 

No author (2023, May 2) How to Use Resume Action Verbs the Right Way in 2023? Hiration. https://www.hiration.com/blog/action-verbs/  

No author (n.d.) Most Effective Action Verbs to Use on Your Resume. Resume Worded. https://resumeworded.com/action-verbs  

No author (2023, December 18) 240+ Resume Action Verbs with Examples. Resumeway. https://www.resumeway.com/blog/resume-action-verbs/  

Protsenko, K. (n.d.) Types of Adverbs in English. Promova Grammar. https://promova.com/english-grammar/different-types-of-adverbs-in-english#adverbs_of_degree  

The Muse editors (2024, February 29) 185+ Action Verbs to Make Your Resume Stand Out in 2024. The Muse. https://www.themuse.com/advice/185-powerful-verbs-that-will-make-your-resume-awesome  

University of Iowa (n.d.) Resume Writing Power Verbs. University of Iowa. https://careers.uiowa.edu/resume-writing-power-verbs 

University of Iowa (n.d.) Power Verbs. University of Iowa. https://careers.uiowa.edu/sites/careers.uiowa.edu/files/2022-01/powerverbs%20%281%29.pdf 

Wellesley Career Education (n.d.) Action Verbs for Resumes. Wellesley Career Education. https://www.wellesley.edu/careereducation/sites/careereducation/files/Action_Verbs.pdf 

York University (n.d.) Action verbs. York University. https://careers.yorku.ca/files/2017/05/Action-Verbs.pdf?x80908