50 Power Verbs That Transform Weak Resume Bullets Into Interviews

Your resume has 6 seconds to impress. In that time, a recruiter scans your bullet points looking for evidence that you did something meaningful.

Weak verbs like “responsible for,” “helped with,” or “worked on” don’t cut it. They describe duties, not achievements.

Power verbs transform your bullets from job descriptions into accomplishment statements. They signal leadership, impact, and results.

Here are 50 of the best—organized by the story you want to tell.

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When You Want to Show Leadership

Use these when you led people, projects, or initiatives.

Verb	Example
Spearheaded	Spearheaded the launch of a new product line, generating $2M in first-year revenue.
Championed	Championed a company-wide diversity initiative, increasing underrepresented hires by 30%.
Directed	Directed a cross-functional team of 12 engineers and designers.
Orchestrated	Orchestrated the merger integration, unifying 3 separate tech stacks into 1.
Pioneered	Pioneered the adoption of AI-driven customer support, reducing ticket volume by 40%.
Mobilized	Mobilized a volunteer task force to address critical infrastructure gaps.
Steered	Steered the department through a major org restructure with zero attrition.
Galvanized	Galvanized the sales team around a new quota system, increasing attainment by 25%.

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When You Want to Show Achievement

Use these when you accomplished something measurable.

Verb	Example
Achieved	Achieved 150% of annual sales quota for 3 consecutive years.
Exceeded	Exceeded customer satisfaction targets by 18 points.
Delivered	Delivered a $5M cost reduction through process automation.
Generated	Generated 10,000 qualified leads through a new content strategy.
Captured	Captured 15% market share in a new geographic region within 12 months.
Secured	Secured $3M in Series A funding from top-tier VCs.
Attained	Attained SOC 2 Type II certification 3 months ahead of schedule.
Surpassed	Surpassed quarterly revenue goals by $1.2M.

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When You Want to Show Creation

Use these when you built something new.

Verb	Example
Designed	Designed a customer onboarding flow that reduced churn by 25%.
Developed	Developed a machine learning model that improved fraud detection by 40%.
Built	Built a data pipeline processing 10M events per day.
Created	Created a brand style guide adopted across 5 product teams.
Launched	Launched a mobile app that reached 100K downloads in 90 days.
Established	Established the company’s first customer success function.
Formulated	Formulated a pricing strategy that increased average deal size by 20%.
Invented	Invented a patented algorithm for real-time bidding optimization.

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When You Want to Show Improvement

Use these when you made something better.

Verb	Example
Improved	Improved page load speed by 60%, boosting conversion rates by 15%.
Optimized	Optimized ad spend allocation, reducing CAC by 35%.
Enhanced	Enhanced the checkout experience, reducing cart abandonment by 20%.
Streamlined	Streamlined the invoice approval process, cutting cycle time from 14 days to 3.
Revamped	Revamped the employee onboarding program, improving 90-day retention by 40%.
Accelerated	Accelerated release cycles from quarterly to bi-weekly.
Modernized	Modernized a legacy codebase, reducing technical debt by 50%.
Refined	Refined the lead scoring model, increasing MQL-to-SQL conversion by 25%.

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When You Want to Show Analysis

Use these when you uncovered insights or made data-driven decisions.

Verb	Example
Analyzed	Analyzed customer churn patterns, identifying 3 key intervention points.
Identified	Identified $500K in annual cost savings through vendor consolidation.
Evaluated	Evaluated 15 SaaS platforms, recommending the solution that saved 200 eng hours/year.
Assessed	Assessed market opportunity, informing the decision to enter APAC.
Diagnosed	Diagnosed root cause of production outages, reducing MTTR by 70%.
Investigated	Investigated a 30% drop in NPS, tracing it to a UX regression.
Forecasted	Forecasted demand with 95% accuracy, enabling just-in-time inventory.
Quantified	Quantified the ROI of the new training program at 300% over 2 years.

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When You Want to Show Collaboration

Use these when you worked with others effectively.

Verb	Example
Partnered	Partnered with Product and Engineering to ship 3 features ahead of schedule.
Collaborated	Collaborated with external agencies to execute a $1M brand campaign.
Coordinated	Coordinated cross-timezone standups for a globally distributed team.
Facilitated	Facilitated weekly design critiques, improving team output quality.
Aligned	Aligned Sales and Marketing on a unified lead qualification framework.
Unified	Unified 4 siloed teams under a single product vision.

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When You Want to Show Communication

Use these when you informed, persuaded, or taught.

Verb	Example
Presented	Presented quarterly business reviews to the executive team.
Authored	Authored technical documentation read by 5,000+ developers monthly.
Advocated	Advocated for accessibility improvements, resulting in WCAG 2.1 compliance.
Trained	Trained 50+ new hires on company systems and processes.
Negotiated	Negotiated a 20% discount on a $2M enterprise contract.
Persuaded	Persuaded leadership to invest in a new market, now our fastest-growing segment.

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Verbs to Avoid

These are vague, passive, or overused:

Avoid	Why
Responsible for	Describes duties, not achievements.
Helped with	Diminishes your contribution.
Worked on	Too vague. What did you do?
Assisted	Implies you were a side player.
Participated in	Unclear what you contributed.
Was involved in	Passive and weak.
Handled	Generic. What did you handle, and what happened?

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How to Use Power Verbs

Step 1: Start Every Bullet with a Verb

Not “Was responsible for managing…” but “Managed…” Not “Helped improve the process…” but “Improved…”

Step 2: Follow with the What

What did you do? Be specific.

“Designed a customer feedback system…” “Negotiated vendor contracts…”

Step 3: End with the Impact

Quantify whenever possible. Numbers prove results.

“…reducing churn by 15%.” “…saving $200K annually.”

Formula:

[Power Verb] + [What You Did] + [Quantified Result]

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Quick Reference: Power Verbs by Category

Category	Verbs
Leadership	Spearheaded, Directed, Championed, Pioneered, Orchestrated
Achievement	Achieved, Exceeded, Delivered, Generated, Secured
Creation	Designed, Built, Launched, Established, Invented
Improvement	Optimized, Streamlined, Revamped, Accelerated, Modernized
Analysis	Analyzed, Identified, Evaluated, Diagnosed, Forecasted
Collaboration	Partnered, Coordinated, Facilitated, Aligned, Unified
Communication	Presented, Authored, Trained, Negotiated, Persuaded

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Summary

The right verb transforms your resume from a list of duties into a story of impact. Replace weak, passive language with strong, active verbs—and always quantify your results.

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