Using Actions Verbs on Resumes

Introduction

When writing a resume, it’s important to use action verbs. These are verbs that help you describe your job by putting the focus on what you have done, not what you have been. For example, instead of writing, “I was in charge of 15 employees” or “I managed a team of 12 people,” try something like “Coached, developed, and led 15 employees” or “Drove the performance of a 12-member team.” These sentences differ because they each put your skills and experience front and center.

List of common action verbs

There are many common action verbs and some may be more appropriate to your chosen profession. A thesaurus is a great tool to help find synonyms to ramp up your resume. 

Here are a few examples:

  • Adapted

  • Advised

  • Clarified

  • Coached

  • Communicated

  • Conducted

  • Coordinated

  • Critiqued

  • Developed

  • Enabled

  • Encouraged

  • Evaluated

  • Explained

  • Facilitated

  • Focused

  • Guided

  • Individualized

  • Informed

  • Installed

  • Instructed

  • Motivated

  • Persuaded

  • Simulated

  • Stimulated

  • Taught

  • Tested

  • Trained

  • Transmitted

  • Tutored

Using actions verbs on resumes will help your resume stand out.

Action verbs are powerful and they can help you get the job you want. If you use action verbs on your resume, it will stand out from the crowd and be easy to read. Employers are busy people and they like to see what skills candidates have without having to guess or dig through a long laundry list of vague descriptions.

Verbs give employers an idea of what type of work you have done in the past and describe how well those tasks were completed. Action verbs show employers that you are able to perform specific tasks well, which is exactly what they need for each position on their team!

Conclusion

The use of action words on resumes can be very helpful in giving a reader an idea of what you have done and how you do things. It makes it easier to see what type of work you are interested in doing, as well as how well suited your experience is to the job description. While there may not be a huge advantage to using action verbs over plain English on your resume, it does give off a more professional tone that may help those reading through hundreds or even thousands of applications per day.