Resumé Action Words: 100+ Strong Verbs

Short answer: Start every resumé bullet with a strong action verb that says what you did, like led, built, trained, reduced or organized. Then add how much or how many, and what changed. Avoid weak openers like "responsible for" and "helped with". Use past tense for old jobs and present tense for the job you have now.

Job Bank, the Government of Canada’s job site, says to use “persuasive verbs such as handled, managed, led” (Job Bank). Alberta’s alis career site lists “uses action words” as a sign of a good resumé (alis).

An action word tells the reader what you actually did. “Responsible for scheduling” is a job description. “Scheduled 25 staff across 3 shifts” is something you did.

Weak openers to replace

Instead of	Try
Responsible for	Managed, ran, led, handled
Helped with	Supported, assisted, contributed to
Worked on	Built, created, developed, delivered
Was in charge of	Supervised, directed, oversaw
Did	Completed, carried out, performed
Dealt with customers	Served, advised, resolved

Action words by skill

Leading people Led, supervised, managed, directed, coached, mentored, trained, onboarded, delegated, motivated, scheduled, hired

Customer service Served, assisted, advised, resolved, answered, greeted, welcomed, supported, handled, de-escalated, retained, followed up

Organizing and admin Organized, coordinated, planned, scheduled, arranged, filed, tracked, maintained, processed, prepared, booked, recorded

Improving things Improved, reduced, increased, streamlined, simplified, fixed, upgraded, cut, saved, sped up, reorganized, standardized

Creating and building Built, created, designed, developed, launched, introduced, wrote, produced, set up, installed, drafted, established

Numbers and money Budgeted, calculated, reconciled, balanced, forecast, audited, invoiced, counted, priced, measured, analyzed, reported

Communicating Presented, explained, wrote, edited, translated, negotiated, persuaded, informed, promoted, pitched, interviewed, listened

Sales and growth Sold, grew, expanded, won, secured, closed, generated, attracted, upsold, converted, renewed, exceeded

Technical work Programmed, configured, tested, debugged, automated, repaired, maintained, operated, installed, monitored, migrated, documented

Caring and support Cared for, assisted, monitored, comforted, assessed, recorded, encouraged, advocated, accompanied, educated, protected, observed

The University of Winnipeg’s career services keeps a longer printable list if you want more options (University of Winnipeg).

Before and after

All examples are fictional samples. Use your own real numbers.

Before: Responsible for the store’s social media.
After: Grew the store’s Instagram from 800 to 2,400 followers in six months.
Before: Helped with new employees.
After: Trained 6 new cashiers on the POS system and opening procedures.
Before: Worked on the monthly reports.
After: Prepared monthly sales reports for 3 managers, and cut the time it took from 2 days to 4 hours.

The pattern is simple: action word + what and how much + the result. Our bullet points guide has many more examples.

A few rules

Past tense for past jobs, present tense for your current job.
Don’t start with “I.” Job Bank says not to use “I,” “my” or “me.”
Mix them up. If every bullet starts with “Managed,” the reader stops noticing.
Match the posting. If the job asks for someone who “coordinates schedules,” use “coordinated.”

Sources

All accessed 2026-10-29.

Job Bank (Government of Canada). How to write a good resume. https://www.jobbank.gc.ca/findajob/resources/write-good-resume
Government of Alberta, alis. Resumé checklists. https://alis.alberta.ca/look-for-work/resumes-and-references/resume-checklists/
University of Winnipeg, Career Services. Action words for resume and cover letter writing (PDF). https://www.uwinnipeg.ca/career-services/docs/other/resume-action-verbs.pdf

Weak openers to replace

Action words by skill

Before and after

A few rules

Related guides

Sources