24 Action Words To Use On Your Resume

The resume is a place where you can express your personal brand, and it’s also a way to show off your skills. You want your resume to tell the story of how you got to where you are now and what makes you uniquely qualified for this job.

Keep your resume action oriented and interesting to read. If possible, include a stat of how much or what percentage you improved something.

In this post, we’ll cover 24 action words that will help convey exactly what kind of worker you are in just one sentence.

Improved

Your resume is a place to be bold and descriptive. Use these action words to show how you improved, increased, and created value for your company:

• Improved efficiency by 20%
• Improved quality by 10%
• Increased sales of a specific product by 50%
• Improved customer satisfaction by 5%
• Improved employee morale by 10%

Trained

If you’ve been trained in any particular area, include that information on your resume.

It’s a good idea to be specific about the type of training (e.g., “trained in” vs. “studied”) and where the training took place (e.g., at a company-sponsored seminar vs. through an online course).

You should also include how long the training lasted—three months? six months?—and why you opted to pursue such education.

For example: I was trained for four months at ABC Company as part of their new employee orientation, where I learned how to use Intuit QuickBooks software for client invoicing and basic accounting practices.”

Collaborated

This skill could be considered a key one for any job. It’s important to work with other people, to get input from them, and to make sure you’re all working toward the same goal. Your resume should reflect your ability to collaborate with others in a positive way.

Designed

Designing is a process of creating something that has never been created before. It’s an innovative act, but it requires a great deal of creativity and imagination. The designer must understand the needs of their audience, as well as what technology is capable of at any given time. Their goal is to create something that’s unique and different from anything else that already exists.

If you can demonstrate that you have experience designing things with your resume, then it will make your application stand out from those who don’t have those skills listed on their resumes!

Researched

Research and analyze data to identify opportunities for improvement.

• Collected and analyzed information to identify trends in performance.
• Categorized data into appropriate buckets to ensure accuracy of reporting.
• Met with stakeholders to discuss findings, make recommendations and provide insight on next steps.

Introduced

• Introduced. This is one of the most powerful words you can use on your resume. It demonstrates that you are able to bring new things into a company, whether it’s new technology or procedures, ideas or people.
• In order to demonstrate how effective this word is at describing what you do, try replacing “introduced” with any other verb or adjective—for example: improved, developed, led and others. See if it still reads well!

Organized

The word itself is a noun, but it’s also an adjective. When you’re organized, you have the ability to put things in order and get things done. You can arrange and categorize things so that they make sense. But what does this mean for your resume?

Well, when you use words such as “organized” on your resume, employers will see that you are able to plan tasks effectively according to deadlines and work responsibilities. They will also be able to tell that you understand how important it is to stay on top of things and complete them on time—no matter how busy or stressed-out you might feel at any given moment!

Increased

If you can demonstrate that something increased—by 10 percent, from $100 to $110, or from 20 to 30—you’ve gone a long way towards demonstrating your ability to take action.

The first example is straightforward: if you increased sales by 10%, there’s no need for further explanation. The second example requires some context: did you increase traffic? Or increase revenue? Or both? The third example shows how an increase in quantity can be equally powerful as one of quality; increasing the number of widgets made doesn’t always result in more money or revenue (though it almost always does).

Reduced

Reduced cost, reduced time, reduced risk and reduced waste are all very good things to have in your resume. The word “reduce” is a great verb to use in an interview and on your resume because it shows that you’re able to solve problems by getting rid of something.

Negotiated

Negotiation is an important action word for your resume because it shows that you can work with people and understand what they need. You can use this skill in many different ways, like when you negotiate a salary or benefits package with a hiring manager. You may also need to negotiate with vendors or other employees at your company. For example, if a vendor is not providing the quality of work you need, then you might negotiate with them to get what they promised.

Provided

To give or provide a service or thing to someone; to make available.

Provided as in “provided that we have enough resources.”

In this example, you provided the team with guidance on how to save money. In another example, you might have provided customer service representatives with training materials to help them answer phone calls.

Established

Established is a great word to use on your resume because it shows that you are a leader and have influence. However, do be careful with this one as it can come across as pompous if not used correctly. So make sure that you have the right balance of established versus humble when describing yourself here.

Accelerated

Accelerated: You’ve tackled more than your fair share of projects, and have completed them quickly, efficiently and with great results.

Speed: Your work on the team has been invaluable in helping your employer complete goals and objectives on time or ahead of schedule.

Accelerated: You’ve taken courses and training programs to learn new skills that will help you excel at this job.

Accomplished

This word is perfect for your resume, as it shows that you have the ability to get things done. It also indicates that you can follow through on your promises and are not afraid of challenges.

Achieved

Achieved: You have achieved something. Whether it’s overcoming a challenge, being successful in your endeavors or able to do something that others have not been able to do, you can use this word when describing what you have accomplished.

Acquired

• Acquired knowledge. While you may have gained experience, it’s important to show how your experience has helped you learn and grow as a person. Say, “Acquired knowledge of [insert skill here] through [insert activity here].” For example, if you say acquired knowledge of cooking through working in a restaurant kitchen, recruiters will know that this skill is relevant not just to the position but also something they can use in future projects.
• Acquired skills. A skill can be anything from using WordPress or Excel to managing multiple projects at once or writing well—the list goes on! Try saying something like: “Acquired skills in [insert skill here] through [insert activity here].” This shows employers that not only do you have these specific abilities but also that they’ll be useful when put into practice on the job at hand.
• Acquired experience. As we mentioned above, an advantage of using action verbs is that they describe exactly what you’ve done rather than using vague terms like “experienced” or “professional.” Try saying something like: “Have had hands-on experience with [insert task].

Adapted

You can use this word to describe how you’ve adapted to new circumstances, technology and processes in the past. For example: “I quickly adapted to our new sales process while working at [company].”

It can also be used to highlight your ability to work with a team or succeed in a new role or project: “I quickly adapted myself to the needs of my new team, allowing me to become a valued member.”

Advanced

Advanced is a positive word. It’s not just better than average, but more skilled than most people. If you’re using the advanced action word to describe your work and experience, it means that you’ve taken another step up in your career and are now at a level where others can only dream of reaching.

Advanced also implies that you’re still growing and learning, because no one gets to be advanced without putting in some serious effort along the way. When used on resumes and cover letters, this word lets hiring managers know that you’re willing to go above and beyond what’s expected during the interview process (and after they hire you!).

Analyzed

Analyze is one of those action words that sounds like what you’re doing, but it’s actually pretty ambiguous. It could mean anything from “looked at some charts” to “wrote an algorithm to crunch a bunch of numbers and tell me something useful about them.” If you want to sound like an analyst at a company like Google or Facebook, use analyze and then give an example of your analysis: “Analyze consumer habits across several countries to develop marketing strategies for our online store.”

Arranged

In the case of your resume, the word “organized” doesn’t just mean keeping a clean desk, it also means having a well-formatted document. Here are some tips for making your resume stand out:

• Use bullets and lists to highlight your skills and accomplishments. You can even use them to show how you’ve improved over time, especially if you’re applying for a job that requires previous experience in another field.
• Format each section of your resume differently (like using bold text or italics). This helps make sure that key points stand out from the rest of the information on the page without distracting from other points in their own way.

Assisted

• What is the job role you are applying for?
• What company are you applying to?
• What industry are you applying to?
• What position are you applying for, and what is your salary range?

Attained

One of the most important resume words to use is attained. This word can be used in conjunction with any of your accomplishments on your resume, as it explains what you were able to achieve and how this achievement has made an impact in your career.

The best way to use this word is by explaining how you attained a certain goal. For example, if you were working at a company where there was no promotion opportunity and instead decided to move on and work somewhere else, say something like: “I chose to leave my previous employer because they did not offer me a promotion opportunity.”

Finish off this sentence by detailing what actions led up to this decision: “I took action by researching companies that had open positions for someone with my qualifications, highlighting their benefits packages as well as their culture.”

Built-up

This is a verb that you can use to describe your experience in a team setting, as well as other leadership roles. It’s a good word to use when describing work environments or projects that you were involved with where there was more than one person responsible for getting the job done. For example: “Built the marketing department by implementing new systems and processes.”

Charted

Charted is a verb. It’s the past tense of chart, meaning to make a chart or graph of something. Charting also means planning or organizing something in detail.

So, if you’re a sales manager with 10 years of experience who has “charted” your territory so well that it has become profitable and efficient, that’s great! You’ve done some good work here.

These words can help you write a more compelling and persuasive resume. Use them as you see fit, and remember that they’re only tools to get your message across. 

If you would like more help with your resume, check out our Resume Writing Package, Resume Bundles, or contact us today for a customized quote.