Action Verb

A strong verb that starts a resume bullet and describes what you did.

An action verb is a powerful, specific verb used at the start of a resume bullet point to describe a concrete achievement. Strong action verbs imply ownership and capability (e.g., "Launched," "Negotiated," "Optimized"), while weak alternatives like "Helped with" or "Responsible for" sound passive and generic.

The verb is the most important word in any bullet point because it tells the reader what you actually did. Using 185+ distinct action verbs across your resume keeps the writing fresh and specific. Good verbs often come in categories: leadership (Led, Directed), building (Built, Engineered), improvement (Optimized, Streamlined), and growth (Grew, Scaled).