Action Verbs for Resumes and Cover Letters

How to use action verbs in benefit statements

Use action verbs in this format:

Action verbTell what you didState the result (cost savings, increased sales, etc.).

State the result at the end to impress. The last thing read is often remembered.

Examples:
  • Reduced expenses by comparative shopping and saved the company $100k over six months
  • Applied lean startup principles from product idea to release and grew sales to one million in just one year

Action Verbs by Topic

Clerical or Detail Action Verbs

activated, altered, assembled, approved, arranged, catalogued, classified, collected, compiled, described, dispatched, edited, estimated, executed, gathered, generated, implemented, inspected, listed, maintained, monitored, observed, operated, organized, overhauled, prepared, processed, proofread, published, purchased, recorded, reduced, retrieved, screened, specified, streamlined, systematized

Communication Action Verbs

addressed, arbitrated, arranged, authored, communicated, corresponded, counseled, developed, defined, directed, drafted, edited, enlisted, formulated, influenced, interpreted, lectured, mediated, moderated, motivated, negotiated, persuaded, promoted, publicized, reconciled, reunited, renegotiated, reported, researched, summarized, spoke, translated, wrote

Creative Action Verbs

acted, applied, composed, conceived, conceptualized, created, designed, developed, directed, established, evaluated, fashioned, formed, formulated, founded, illustrated, instituted, integrated, introduced, invented, loaded, molded, originated, perceived, performed, planned, presented, produced, refined, rewrote, updated

Financial Action Verbs

audited, balanced, budgeted, calculated, compared, adjusted, administered, allocated, analyzed, appraised, computed, developed, estimated, forecast, forecasted, managed, marketed, planned, projected, reevaluated, reconciled, researched, sold

Helping Action Verbs

advised, aided, assessed, assisted, brought, clarified, coached, coordinated, counseled, dealt, demonstrated, diagnosed, educated, encouraged, enlisted, expedited, facilitated, familiarized, guided, helped, inspired, maintained, modified, performed, referred, rehabilitated, represented, supported, upheld

Management Action Verbs

achieved, administered, analyzed, assigned, attained, chaired, conceived, contracted, consolidated, coordinated, decided, delegated, developed, directed, encouraged, evaluated, executed, handled, implemented, improved, incorporated, increased, inspired, launched, led, managed, motivated, organized, outlined, oversaw, planned, prioritized, produced, recommended, reevaluated, rejected, reported, reviewed, scheduled, strengthened, supervised, united

Research Action Verbs

clarified, collected, conceived, critiqued, detected, diagnosed, disproved, evaluated, examined, extracted, identified, inspected, interpreted, interviewed, investigated, organized, researched, reported, reviewed, searched, studied, summarized, surveyed, systematized, wrote

Resume Action Verbs

anticipated, arbitrated, ascertained, charted, checked, classified, collected, completed, conducted, conserved, consolidated, constructed, controlled, coordinated, counseled, created, decided, defined, delivered, detailed, detected, determined, devised, diagnosed, directed, discovered, dispensed, displayed, disproved, dissected, distributed, diverted, dramatized, drew, drove, eliminated, empathized, enforced, established, estimated, evaluated, examined, expanded, experimented, explained, expressed, extracted, filed, financed, fixed, followed, formulated, founded, gathered, gave, generated, guided, handled, headed, helped, hypothesized, identified, illustrated, imagined, implemented, improved, improvised, increased, influenced, informed, initiated, innovated, inspected, installed, instituted, instructed, integrated, interpreted, interviewed, invented, inventoried, investigated, judged, kept, led, learned, lectured, lifted, listened, logged, maintained, made, managed, manipulated, mediated, memorized, modeled, monitored, motivated, navigated, negotiated, observed, obtained, offered, operated, ordered, organized, originated, painted, perceived, performed, persuaded, photographed, piloted, planned, played, predicted, prepared, prescribed, presented, printed, processed, produced, programmed, questioned, raised, read, realized, reasoned, received, recommended, reconciled, painted, perceived, performed, persuaded, photographed, piloted, planned, played, predicted, prepared, prescribed, presented, printed, processed, produced, programmed, projected, promoted, proof-read, protected, provided, publicized, purchased, recorded, recruited, reduced, referred, rehabilitated, related, rendered, repaired, reported, represented, researched, resolved, responded, restored, retrieved, reviewed, risked, scheduled, selected, sensed, separated, served, sewed, shaped, shared, showed, sketched, solved, sorted, summarized, supervised, supplied, symbolized, synergized, synthesized, systematized, talked, taught, tended, tested, trained, transcribed, translated, traveled, treated, troubleshot, tutored, typed, unified, united, upgraded, used, utilized, verbalized, warned, washed, weighed, wired, worked

Teaching Action Verbs

adapted, advised, clarified, coached, communicated, coordinated, defined, developed, enabled, encouraged, evaluated, explained, facilitated, guided, informed, initiated, instructed, lectured, persuaded, presented, set goals, stimulated, taught, trained, updated

Technical Action Verbs

analyzed, assembled, built, calculated, computed, designed, devised, engineered, fabricated, inspected, maintained, operated, overhauled, programmed, remodeled, repaired, solved, trained, upgraded

All Action Verbs

achieved
acted
activated
adapted
addressed
adjusted
administered
advised
aided
allocated
altered
analyzed
applied
appraised
approved
arbitrated
arranged
assembled
assessed
assigned
assisted
attained
audited
authored
balanced
brought
budgeted
built
calculated
catalogued
chaired
clarified
classified
coached
collected
communicated
compared
compiled
composed
computed
conceived
conceptualized
consolidated
contracted
coordinated
corresponded
counseled
created
critiqued
dealt
decided
defined
delegated
demonstrated
described
designed
detected
developed
devised
diagnosed
directed
dispatched
disproved
drafted
edited
educated
enabled
encouraged
engineered
enlisted
established
estimated
evaluated
examined
executed
expedited
explained
extracted
fabricated
facilitated
familiarized
fashioned
forecast
forecasted
formed
formulated
founded
gathered
generated
guided
handled
helped
identified
illustrated
implemented
improved
incorporated
increased
influenced
informed
initiated
inspected
inspired
instituted
instructed
integrated
interpreted
interviewed
introduced
invented
investigated
launched
lectured
led
listed
loaded
maintained
managed
marketed
mediated
moderated
modified
molded
monitored
motivated
negotiated
observed
operated
organized
originated
outlined
overhauled
oversaw
perceived
performed
persuaded
planned
prepared
presented
prioritized
processed
produced
programmed
projected
promoted
proofread
publicized
published
purchased
recommended
reconciled
recorded
reduced
reevaluated
referred
refined
rehabilitated
rejected
remodeled
renegotiated
repaired
reported
represented
researched
retrieved
reunited
reviewed
rewrote
scheduled
screened
searched
set goals
sold
solved
specified
spoke
stimulated
streamlined
strengthened
studied
summarized
supervised
supported
surveyed
systematized
taught
trained
translated
united
updated
upgraded
upheld
wrote