Resume Action Verbs
& Power Words

A resume action verb is the word that carries a bullet point. It tells a recruiter what you actually did — led, built, negotiated, delivered — instead of what you were near. Most resumes rely on the same handful of verbs: managed, helped, worked on, responsible for. Those words are not wrong; they are just quiet. They describe a seat at the table rather than a hand on the wheel.

This site is a working reference of stronger alternatives. Every verb has its own page with a plain-English meaning, the weak phrase it replaces, when it lands, an ATS note, and sample bullet points you can adapt. The verbs are grouped by the skill they show — leadership, achievement, communication, analytical work, creative work, optimization, and teamwork — so you can pull the right word for the right section of your resume.

How to use the list: open the group that matches the work you are describing, pick two or three verbs that honestly fit what you did, and write one bullet per verb with a number attached. A stronger verb helps; a specific result proves it. For a printable one-page cheat sheet, use your browser print function on this page — the list collapses to a clean reference you can keep beside your drafts.

A note on tense: use past tense for roles you have left and present tense for duties you still hold. ATS systems accept both; consistency matters more than which you choose. When you are deciding between two similar verbs, the FAQ on each page compares the pair directly — for example, the difference between "led" and "managed", or between "spearheaded" and "initiated".