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Resume Tips 5 min read · Updated July 2026

Action Verbs That Actually Say Something

The opening word of a bullet does a disproportionate amount of work. Responsible for managing the budget describes a job description. Managed a $640K budget, coming in 8% under three years running describes a person.

The openers to delete

  • Responsible for — describes the assignment, not the outcome.
  • Duties included — a job description in disguise.
  • Assisted with, helped with — minimises your own contribution.
  • Worked on — says nothing at all.
  • Tasked with — passive, and implies you may not have finished.

By what you actually did

Built something: designed, developed, built, launched, implemented, established, created.

Improved something: cut, reduced, raised, accelerated, streamlined, optimised, rebuilt.

Led people: led, managed, mentored, trained, coordinated, supervised, coached.

Analysed something: analysed, identified, diagnosed, evaluated, forecast, modelled.

Persuaded someone: negotiated, presented, secured, influenced, closed, won.

One verb per bullet

Start with the verb, in past tense for previous roles and present for your current one. Do not stack three verbs — led, managed, and oversaw is one action described three times.

The verb is not the point

A strong verb attached to nothing measurable is still a weak bullet. Spearheaded a strategic initiative is a thesaurus exercise. The verb should introduce a result, not replace one.

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