The best resumes highlight the achievements, accomplishments, and experiences that you have had over your career. 

These resumes are fine-tuned and optimized to ensure that the candidate presents themselves in the most professional, experienced, and positive light.

We’re going to go through 550 positive action verbs to use on your resume which will help you to make a lasting impression.

On average, recruiters, hiring managers, and headhunters spend just 6-seconds looking through your resume.  That is why it is so important to make an immediate impact and ensure you make a great first impression. 

Important Notes on Action Verbs on Your Resume

When it comes to creating and writing your resume, you will want to avoid writing from a first-party perspective. 

That means avoid using words like, “I led” or “I managed” or “I accomplished”. 

Rather, try to stick to words that are written from a third-party perspective.

So, instead of saying “I led”, you should utilize the phrase, “developed and managed a team of…”.

Writing in a third-party perspective will help you to establish the overall accomplishment and ensure that your individual contributions are fully recognized.

Below, you’ll find a full list of 550 positive action verbs to use on your resume. 

By using these action verbs, you’ll be able to fully, accurately, and thoroughly describe the projects you completed experiences you’ve had, and accomplishments you made.

550 Positive Action Verbs to Use on Your Resume

Action Verbs Starting With A

Accelerated

Accomplished

Accounted for

Accumulated

Achieved

Acquired

Acted

Activated

Active in

Adapted

Addressed

Adjusted

Administered

Advanced

Advertised

Advised

Advocated

Affected

Aided

Alerted

Allocated

Amplified

Analyzed

Answered

Anticipated

Applied

Appointed

Appraised

Approved

Arbitrated

Arranged

Arraigned

Arrested

Articulated

Ascertained

Aspired

Assembled

Assessed

Assigned

Assisted

Assumed responsibility

Assured

Attained

Attracted

Audited

Authored

Automated

Awarded

Action Verbs Starting With B

Balanced

Billed

Blazed

Boosted

Bought

Briefed

Broadened

Budgeted

Built

Action Verbs Starting With C

Calculated

Campaigned

Captured

Carried out

Cataloged

Caused

Centralized

Chaired

Championed

Changed

Channeled

Charted

Checked

Clarified

Classified

Closed

Coached

Co-directed

Collaborated

Collected

Co-managed

Combined

Commanded

Commended

Commented

Communicated

Compared

Compiled

Completed

Composed

Computed

Conceived

Conceptualized

Condensed

Conducted

Conferred

Conserved

Considered

Consolidated

Constructed

Consulted

Contacted

Contained

Contracted

Contributed

Controlled

Converted

Convicted

Coordinated

Corrected

Correlated

Corresponded

Corroborated

Costed

Counseled

Counted

Created

Critiqued

Crowned

Cultivated

Cured

Customized

Cut

Action Verbs Starting With D

Dealt with

Decided

Decreased

Defined

Delegated

Delivered

Demonstrated

Described

Designated

Designed

Detected

Determined

Developed

Devised

Diagnosed

Directed

Discovered

Dispatched

Dispensed

Displayed

Dissected

Distinguished

Distributed

Documented

Doubled

Drafted

Drove

550 Positive Action Verbs to Use on Resume

Action Verbs Starting With E

Earned

Economized

Edited

Educated

Effected

Eliminated

Emphasized

Employed

Empowered

Enabled

Enacted

Encouraged

Ended

Endorsed

Energized

Enforced

Engaged

Engineered

Enhanced

Enlarged

Enlisted

Ensured

Entertained

Established

Estimated

Evaluated

Examined

Exceeded

Executed

Expanded

Expedited

Experienced

Experimented

Explained

Explored

Expressed

Extended

Extracted

Action Verbs Starting With F

Fabricated

Facilitated

Familiarized

Fashioned

Filed

Filled

Finalized

Financed

Fine-tuned

Fixed

Focused

Forecast

Forecasted

Formed

Formulated

Fostered

Found

Founded

Fulfilled

Functioned as

Furnished

Action Verbs Starting With G

Gained

Gathered

Generated

Graded

Graduated

Granted

Grew

Guided

Action Verbs Starting With H

Halved

Handled

Harmonized

Harnessed

Headed

Helped

Hired

Homogenized

Hypothesized

550 Positive Action Verbs to Use on Resume

Action Verbs Starting With I

Identified

Illustrated

Imagined

Implemented

Impressed

Improved

Improvised

Incorporated

Increased

Indexed

Indoctrinated

Influenced

Informed

Initiated

Innovated

Inspected

Inspired

Installed

Instigated

Instituted

Instructed

Insured

Integrated

Interpreted

Interviewed

Introduced

Invented

Inventoried

Invested

Investigated

Involved

Issued

Action Verbs Starting With J-M

Joined

Judged

Juggled

Justified

Kept

Launched

Lead

Learned

Leased

Lectured

Led

Liaised

Licensed

Listed

Located

Logged

Machined

Made

Magnified

Maintained

Managed

Marketed

Mastered

Matched

Maximized

Measured

Mediated

Mentored

Merged

Met

Met with

Minimized

Mobilized

Moderated

Modernized

Modified

Monitored

Motivated

Moved

Action Verbs Starting With N-R

Named

Navigated

Negated

Negotiated

Netted

Observed

Obtained

Opened

Operated

Optimized

Orchestrated

Ordered

Organized

Originated

Outlined

Overhauled

Oversaw

Participated

Perceived

Performed

Persuaded

Photographed

Piloted

Pinpointed

Pioneered

Placed

Played

Planned

Predicted

Prepared

Presented

Presided

Prevented

Printed

Prioritized

Processed

Procured

Produced

Programmed

Prohibited

Projected

Promoted

Proofread

Proposed

Protected

Proved

Provided

Publicized

Published

Purchased

Pursued

Qualified

Queried

Questioned

Raised

Ran

Ranked

Rated

Reached

Realigned

Realized

Reasoned

Received

Recognized

Recommended

Reconciled

Recorded

Recruited

Redesigned

Reduced

Referred

Registered

Regulated

Rehabilitated

Reinforced

Related

Remodeled

Rendered

Reorganized

Repaired

Replaced

Replied

Reported

Represented

Reputed

Researched

Resolved

Responded

Restored

Restructured

Retrieved

Revamped

Reversed

Reviewed

Revised

Revitalized

Routed

Action Verbs Starting With S-W

Saved

Scheduled

Screened

Searched

Secured

Selected

Separated

Served

Serviced

Set or set up

Shaped

Shared

Showed

Simplified

Simulated

Sketched

Slashed

Sold

Solidified

Solved

Sorted

Sought

Sparked

Spearheaded

Specialized

Specified

Spoke

Sponsored

Staffed

Standardized

Started

Steered

Stimulated

Stored

Streamlined

Strengthened

Stressed

Stretched

Structured

Studied

Submitted

Substituted

Succeeded

Suggested

Summarized

Superseded

Supervised

Supplemented

Supplied

Supported

Surpassed

Surveyed

Synchronized

Synergized

Systematized

Tabulated

Tackled

Targeted

Taught

Terminated

Tested

Tightened

Took or took over

Totaled

Toured

Traced

Tracked

Traded

Trained

Transcribed

Transferred

Transformed

Translated

Transmitted

Transported

Traveled

Treated

Triggered

Trimmed

Tripled

Triumphed

Troubleshot

Turned

Tutored

Typed

Umpired

Uncovered

Understood

Understudied

Undertook

Underwent

Underwrote

Unearthed

Unified

United

Unraveled

Updated

Upgraded

Urged

Used

Utilized

Validated

Valued

Verbalized

Verified

Visited

Vitalized

Volunteered

Waged

Weighed

Widened

Won

Worked

Wrote


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