Sample Resume Action Verbs

When I used to train managers and their staff members on writing performance reviews,  I explained that the wording that they needed to use had to be measurable. A person should never be rated on soft, intangible things such as "attitude" (good or  bad), or "to understand" or "to know". Rather than focusing on words that had no substance, a manager needed to look at activities and results. Questions such as "how many", "how much", "resulting in what", "why", "how", "who", "when"and "where" will help drill down to real activities and results.

Fast forward to the present and I use these same questions when helping someone craft their resume. Why? Because a resume should not read like a job description; it needs measurable results. In addition to asking questions, it is also important to use action verbs to better describe the results. Here is a listing of the very same action verbs that I used in performance management training. They can also be used when trying to find the perfect action verbs for your resume. There are many others verbs but these are a good place to start.

Resume Action Verbs

A-B
accelerated, acclimated, accompanied, accomplished, achieved, acquired, acted, activated, actuated, adapted, added, addressed, adhered, adjusted, administered, admitted, adopted, advanced, advertised, advised, advocated, aided, aired, affected, allocated, altered, amended, amplified, analyzed, answered, anticipated, appointed, appraised, approached, approved, arbitrated, arranged, ascertained, asked, assembled, assigned, assumed, assessed, assisted, attained, attracted, audited, authored, authorized, automated, awarded, avail, balanced, bargained, borrowed, bought, broadened, budgeted, built

C
calculated, canvassed, capitalized, captured, carried, out, cast, cataloged, centralized, challenged, chaired, changed, channeled, charted, checked, chose, circulated, classified, cleared, closed, co-authored, cold, called, collaborated, collected, combined, commissioned, committed, communicated, compared, compiled, complied, completed, composed, computed, conceived, conceptualized, concluded, condensed, conducted, conferred, consolidated, constructed, consulted, contracted, contrasted, contributed, contrived, controlled, converted, convinced, coordinated, corrected, corresponded, counseled, counted, created, critiqued, cultivated

D
debugged, decentralized, decreased, deferred, defined, delegated, delivered, demonstrated, depreciated, described, designated, designed, determined, developed, devised, devoted, diagrammed, directed, disclosed, discounted, discovered, dispatched, displayed, dissembled, distinguished, distributed, diversified, divested, documented, doubled, drafted

E
earned, eased, edited, effected, elected, eliminated, employed, enabled, encouraged, endorsed, enforced, engaged, engineered, enhanced, enlarged, enriched, entered, entertained, established, estimated, evaluated, examined, exceeded, exchanged, executed, exempted, exercised, expanded, expedited, explained, exposed, extended, extracted, extrapolated

F-H
facilitated, familiarized, fashioned, fielded, figured, financed, fit, focused, forecasted, formalized, formed, formulated, fortified, found, founded, framed, functioned, furnished, gained, gathered, gauged, gave, generated, governed, graded, granted, greeted, grouped, guided, handled, headed, hired, hosted

I
identified, illustrated, illuminated, implemented, improved, improvised, inaugurated, indoctrinated, increased, incurred, induced, influenced, informed, initiated, innovated, inquired, inspected, inspired, installed, instigated, instilled, instituted, instructed, insured, interpreted, interviewed, introduced, invented, inventoried, invested, investigated, invited, involved, isolated, issued

J-M
joined, judged, launched, lectured, led, lightened, liquidated, litigated, lobbied, localized, located, maintained, managed, mapped, marketed, maximized, measured, mediated, merchandised, merged, met, minimized, modeled, moderated, modernized, modified, monitored, motivated, moved

N-O
named, narrated, negotiated, nurtured, observed, obtained, offered, offset, opened, operated, orchestrated, ordered, organized, oriented, originated, overhauled, oversaw

P
paid, participated, passed, patterned, penalized, perceived, performed, permitted, persuaded, phased, out, pinpointed, pioneered, placed, planned, polled, prepared, presented, preserved, presided, prevented, priced, printed, prioritized, probed, processed, procured, produced, profiled, programmed, projected, promoted, prompted, proposed, proved, provided, publicized, published, purchased, pursued

Q-R
quantified, quoted, raised, ranked, rated, reacted, read, received, recommended, reconciled, recorded, recovered, recruited, rectified, redesigned, reduced, referred, refined, regained, regulated, rehabilitated, reinforced, reinstated, rejected, related, remedied, remodeled, renegotiated, reorganized, replaced, repaired, reported, represented, requested, researched, resolved, responded, restored, restructured, resulted, retained, retrieved, revamped, revealed, reversed, reviewed, revised, revitalized, rewarded, routed

S
safeguarded, salvaged, saved, scheduled, screened, secured, segmented, selected, sent, separated, served, serviced, settled, shaped, shortened, showed, shrank, signed, simplified, sold, solved, spearheaded, specified, speculated, spoke, spread, stabilized, staffed, staged, standardized, steered, stimulated, strategized, streamlined, strengthened, stressed, structured, studied, submitted, substantiated, substituted, suggested, summarized, superseded, supervised, supplied, supported, surpassed, surveyed, synchronized, synthesized

T-W
tabulated, tailored, targeted, taught, terminated, tested, testified, tightened, traced, traded, trained, transacted, transferred, transformed, translated, transported, traveled, treated, tripled, uncovered, undertook, unified, united, updated, upgraded, used, utilized, validated, valued, verified, viewed, weighed, welcomed, widened, witnessed, won, worked, wrote

Niche Job Search Boards

Lately I've been asked for information on job search sites; folks are asking me where to find work. While I am not a recruiter and don't have the resources that are available to recruiters, I do know how to research. My initial response to someone looking for work is to use your networking contacts (either personal or social). If that doesn't work or it is not realistic for whatever reason, I suggest that someone next go to company websites and look in the career sections.

These days though, there are many specialty or niche websites that are helpful to job seekers. Some of them cater to industries, others to entry level job seekers or recent graduates, still others are for executives. Whatever level you may be and in whatever field, you may find a job search site that is helpful for your needs.


Here are a couple to get you started:
Niche: https://www.smartrecruiters.com/blog/best-50-niche-job-boards/
Niche:  http://biginterview.com/blog/2014/10/best-job-search-sites.html
Niche: http://vetjobs.com/niche-job-board-sites/

Hope that helps!