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201 resume action verbs. Grouped by what you did.

Replace “responsible for” with a verb that says what changed. 14 skill areas. Click any verb to copy it and see an example bullet.

Leadership

15 verbs

For people you led, guided or brought together.

ExampleLed a team of 6 support agents through a move to a new ticketing system

Results

14 verbs

For numbers that moved.

ExampleIncreased newsletter open rates from 18% to 27% in six months

Building

14 verbs

For things you started or made from scratch.

ExampleLaunched a mobile ordering app used by 12 store locations

Improving

14 verbs

For things you made better, faster or cheaper.

ExampleStreamlined expense approvals from five steps to two

Analysis

15 verbs

For research, data and finding the real problem.

ExampleAnalyzed 18 months of churn data to find the top three reasons customers left

Communication

14 verbs

For writing, speaking and getting people to agree.

ExamplePresented quarterly results to the leadership team

Technical

15 verbs

For code, systems and the tools behind the work.

ExampleEngineered a caching layer that cut API response times by 60%

Creativity

14 verbs

For design, content and ideas you shaped.

ExampleDesigned a new logo and brand guide for a local nonprofit

Customer service

14 verbs

For people you helped, kept happy or won back.

ExampleResolved about 60 customer calls and emails a day

Sales

14 verbs

For revenue you brought in or kept.

ExampleSold $1.1M in software subscriptions in one year

Finance

14 verbs

For budgets, books and money you managed.

ExampleBudgeted $2M in annual marketing spend across five channels

Healthcare

15 verbs

For patient care, safety and clinical work.

ExampleTreated patients in a 20-bed urgent care clinic

Operations

15 verbs

For organizing, planning and keeping things running.

ExampleOrganized a three-day conference for 400 attendees

Teaching & training

14 verbs

For people you taught or brought up to speed.

ExampleTrained 20 new hires on the point-of-sale system

Example bullets are illustrative. Use your own facts and numbers.

/ Swap these

Weak openers, and what to say instead.

Weak resume openers and stronger replacements
Instead ofTry
“Responsible for”Managed, ran, owned
“Helped with”Supported, contributed to, partnered on
“Worked on”Built, developed, delivered
“Was in charge of”Led, directed, oversaw
“Duties included”Start with the verb for each duty
“Utilized”Used

/ How to use them

Verb first, then the facts. Three steps per bullet.

  1. Pick the verb that fits

    Choose the one that says what you really did — led is not the same as supported.

  2. Add what and how much

    The task, its scope, and a number only if it's true.

  3. End with what changed

    The result, if there was one. If not, the scope is enough.

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/ Questions

Action verbs, answered.

Something else? support@launch-cv.com

What are action verbs on a resume?

Past-tense verbs such as led, built or reduced that open a bullet and say what you did. They replace weak openers like “responsible for” and make each line about an action and its result.

Should every bullet start with a different verb?

Try not to repeat the same verb within one job. Across the whole resume a few repeats are fine, as long as each verb fits what you actually did.

Past or present tense?

Past tense for previous jobs and finished work. Present tense for ongoing duties in your current job — for example “Manage a team of 6” — and past tense for things you've completed there.

Are the example bullets real?

They're illustrative — written to show the shape of a strong bullet, not taken from anyone's resume. Use your own numbers and results, and only ones you can back up in an interview.

Turn the verbs into bullets.

The free bullet point generator writes three options from what you did. The editor, templates and PDF export are free with an account.

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