60 CV Action Verbs to Impress Recruiters

One big problem with CVs is that it can be difficult to put your experience and suitability down on paper in a way that does them justice. Then there’s the issue of your competition. Sometimes you’ll be going up against people who are simply more experienced and better suited to the role than you.

It’s here that you can get an edge by better describing what are essentially the same skills and experience. You can do this by finding some strong action words for your CV. The right active verbs jump out at recruiters and show you in the best possible light. This guide will show you example of action words for a CV in context and top 60 CV words to immediately impress recruiters. You'll learn how to apply CV action words and in which CV sections, and see CV action verbs you should avoid at any cost.

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Seeking more guidance on CV writing? Check these articles:

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• Extracurricular Activities to Mention in Your CV
• How to Describe Your Degree on a CV
• How to Make a Proper CV for Work Opportunities
• Including References on a CV: Tips & Guidelines
• Presentation Skills & How Can You Improve Them
• What is a CV? Definition, Examples & More
• What Personal Details Should You Add to Your CV?

Example of action words for a CV in context

1. What are action words for a CV?

Action words for CVs are nothing more than carefully chosen verbs that describe what you’ve done for previous employers. It’s by describing what you’ve done for your current and/or previous employers that you can give the company to which you’re applying a good idea of what you have to offer it.

So what defines good action words for a CV?

Good action verbs for CVs all have a couple of things in common. They’re specific, for example, ‘explained’ instead of the more general ‘communicated’. They’re also used in phrases written in the active voice, for example ‘(I) analysed’ rather than the passive ‘an analysis was performed’.

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2. Examples of action words for a CV for almost every occasion

There’s no shortage of strong action words for your CV available online, but the best sources are always going to be your mind and a good thesaurus. When looking through a list of action words for your CV, whether the ones below or in a thesaurus, keep a clear image in your mind of the actions you’re describing.

Actions you actually took. When an action word jumps out at you, it’ll be because it adequately captures what you did. Your reaction will be ‘that’s it, that’s what I did’ rather than ‘wow, that sounds good’. Impressive-sounding action words are important, but they have to be accurate first and foremost.

The lists of action words for your CV below are meant to give you quick fixes for common situations as well as springboards for coming up with your own action words. These are some of the more universal action words, there’ll be many more that are specific—if not unique—to your particular line of work.

Communication is one of those things that’s almost always relevant. Some action words for your CV are: 

• advocated
• authored
• clarified
• composed
• consulted
• conveyed
• convinced
• corresponded
• defined
• explained
• fielded (questions
• illustrated
• influenced
• informed
• mediated
• moderated
• negotiated

Leadership isn’t just for managers. You can display leadership qualities no matter what your job title is. Use action verbs like:

• cultivated
• delegated
• directed
• enabled
• executed
• facilitated
• fostered
• guided
• headed
• hosted
• inspired
• mentored
• mobilised
• orchestrated
• oversaw
• spearheaded
• and trained

Creation is a big part of many roles, even if you’re not responsible for building or designing anything. You might, for example, draft a new policy or procedure. Other action words include:

• composed
• conceived
• conceptualised
• constructed
• crafted
• designed
• devised
• established
• formulated
• outlined
• produced

Teamwork in one form or another is a part of almost every job. Consider action words for your CV like:

• administered
• co-authored
• collaborated
• contributed
• cooperated
• co-produced
• delegated
• encouraged
• joined
• organised
• participated
• partnered
• supported
• teamed (up with)
• united
• volunteered

3. How to include action verbs in a CV

You can include active verbs in all of the CV sections when writing your CV. Let’s start with the top of the CV and go through all essential CV components.

1. Mention active verbs in your personal statement

Your personal statement is where your CV will make its first impression on recruiters. You might think it's a great idea to cram it full of the most dynamic action words you can think of. The problem is that there’s a limit to how long a personal statement can be before the chances of it being read drop to zero.

Your personal statement (sometimes called a CV profile or a CV summary) has to introduce you as a worker, mention your experience, demonstrate your enthusiasm, and show that your goals line up with the company’s. All this in just 50–150 words. This leaves room for one, maybe two achievements. And it’s there that your action words will be needed.

However, you choose to structure your achievements (like using CAR (Challenge-Action-Result) statements, for example), strong action words should be placed front and centre. This means your personal statement will only contain 2–3 action words. These action words, though, will be the driving force behind your personal statement.

Action words for a CV personal statement example

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2. Add some action verbs in your job descriptions

When it comes to your work history, each job description (bullet point) should start with a concrete and impressive action word. Some methods for writing achievement statements will suggest beginning with something other than the action you took, like the situation, problem or challenge to which you were responding.

Your job descriptions will be more effective (and you'll make a better CV overall) if you begin each bullet point with an action word (especially if you have limited work experience). This turn each job description into a list of dynamic verbs that paint a picture of you as a driven, hard-working employee who takes the initiative and is a blur of activity. Check out the examples of achievements for a CV below and see for yourself.

Action verbs in job descriptions example

3. Incorporate action verbs in your skills section

The most important thing when listing your skills in your CV is that you back up each skill with a sentence that shows how you’ve demonstrated that skill at work. ‘Demonstrated’ implies actions taking place, and descriptions of actions being performed require verbs or, in other words, action words.

The action words in your skills list needn’t be front and centre like they are in your job descriptions, although this is the simplest and most high-impact way to do it. Whether each supporting sentence begins with an action word or not, be sure to build it around an action word and quantify what you can.

Active verbs in your skills section example

4. Insert action verbs in a cover letter as well

A CV by itself does not a job application make. A job application is made up of two main documents: a CV and an accompanying cover letter. You should always write a cover letter to go with your CV unless you’ve been told not to. Luckily, what you’ve learnt about action words will come in handy there, too. 

Your application letter will need to follow a standard cover letter layout (specifically a UK business letter format). This will fix the way you approach writing your header and salutation and how you sign off your cover letter. The body is where you’ll really make your case, including a strong cover letter opening and bold call to action.

When it comes to the length of your cover letter, you should end up roughly 250–400 words in total. This will allow you to nicely, even if potentially sparsely, fill a single, A4 page.

4. What action words for a CV should you avoid?

Avoid empty buzzwords and so-called ‘corporate speak’—jargon verbs like ‘actualised’ and ‘synergised’ don’t actually mean anything sensible and recruiters are tired of seeing them. This means that you don’t say anything meaningful by using such words and recruiters will gloss over your CV.

Steer clear of action words that mean something other than what you hope they might mean. Verbs like ‘disrupted’ and ‘leaned in’ have specific meanings and they rarely apply in everyday situations. Words like ‘impacted’ aren’t even words (‘impact’ is a noun, not a verb) and ‘empowered’ is just absurd.

Think twice before using action words in a CV that might have negative connotations. ‘Critiqued’, for example, might be totally fine to use, but then again, ‘evaluated’ or ‘assessed’ might be perceived as being more neutral. Words like ‘groomed’ have taken on negative connotations and can be risky.

Don’t sell yourself short when choosing active words for your CV. Did you blaze a trail with an initiative that was met with resistance from all sides? A word like ‘initiated’ doesn’t really capture what you had to do to get your idea off the ground and push it through to completion. Go with ‘spearheaded’ instead.

5. Keep these pointers in mind once you have some good action words in your CV

Having the right key action words for your CV is an extremely important part of making sure your application rises to the top of any pile in which it ends up. There’s a big picture to all this of which you need to take care even as you zero-in on those action words. The overall quality and look of your CV matters too.

Proofreading your CV for spelling and grammar will go a long way towards looking out for its overall quality. Use your word-processing software and any other apps or web apps you need to help you. Get someone else to read over your CV (and cover letter)—they’ll find things you missed, we all have blind spots.

Take care of the overall readability of your CV by leaving your contact details near the top of your CV where they’ll be easy to find. Use subheadings and as much white space as you can muster to clearly break your CV down into section. Choose an appropriate CV font and leave your margins and line spacing as default.

Save or export your perfect CV in PDF unless you’ve explicitly been asked for a different format. Stick to a single A4 page for every decade of experience you have, but don’t go over two pages even if you have over two decades of experiences. One final piece of advice: follow up if you haven’t heard back after a week.

I hope this article has helped you see the potential of well-chosen and well-placed action words in your CV. Please drop us a line below if you there’s anything you’d like more information on. Any other questions, comments or experiences are welcome as well – we’ll be sure to get back to you.

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Our editorial team has reviewed this article for compliance with Livecareer’s editorial guidelines. It’s to ensure that our expert advice and recommendations are consistent across all our career guides and align with current CV and cover letter writing standards and trends. We’re trusted by over 10 million job seekers, supporting them on their way to finding their dream job. Each article is preceded by research and scrutiny to ensure our content responds to current market trends and demand.