Transferable Skills & Action Words
Transferable skills are an important component of your resume. Through different areas of involvement (academic projects, part-time jobs, internships, volunteering, campus activities, etc.), you develop many skills that can relate to any career field. As you describe these experiences, you want to accurately highlight the skills that you can offer to an employer. Throughout your resume, we encourage you to use strong action words to draw attention to these skills. Use this list of action verbs, separated by skill sets, to help get you started with the brainstorming process:
Leadership / Management
Administer
Assign
Coach
Coordinate
Decide
Delegate
Develop
Direct
Empower
Encourage
Enforce
Evaluate
Implement
Improve
Increase
Influence
Inform
Inspire
Integrate
Interview
Lead
Manage
Mentor
Motivate
Order
Organize
Oversee
Persuade
Plan
Present
Produce
Recruit
Review
Schedule
Strengthen
Supervise
Problem-solving / Decision-making
Adapt
Adjust
Anticipate
Attain
Change
Complete
Conclude
Control
Deliver
Distribute
Eliminate
Establish
Expand
Improve
Increase
Monitor
Obtain
Perceive
Plan
Receive
Recommend
Reduce
Utilize
Work
Communication (Verbal & Written)
Advertise
Arrange
Author
Collaborate
Communicate
Compose
Correspond
Describe
Develop
Direct
Draft
Edit
Facilitate
Interpret
Introduce
Market
Mentor
Moderate
Negotiate
Persuade
Present
Promote
Proofread
Provide
Publicize
Publish
Recruit
Report
Represent
Respond
Review
Revise
Sell
Summarize
Translate
Write
Computer / Technical
Assemble
Build
Calculate
Compute
Conserve
Construct
Design
Drive
Engineer
Fix
Handle
Install
Lift
Maintain
Make
Operate
Overhaul
Produce
Program
Remodel
Repair
Solve
Treat
Upgrade
Teamwork / Helping / Interpersonal Skills
Advise
Aid
Assist
Coach
Collaborate
Contribute
Coordinate
Counsel
Educate
Encourage
Ensure
Facilitate
Guide
Help
Instruct
Interact
Listen
Mediate
Motivate
Offer
Participate
Promote
Protect
Provide
Recognize
Refer
Rehabilitate
Relate
Represent
Resolve
Serve
Support
Teach
Train
Tutor
Volunteer
Analytical / Quantitative / Research
Analyze
Assess
Clarify
Collect
Critique
Determine
Diagnose
Discover
Dissect
Evaluate
Examine
Experiment
Extract
Formulate
Hypothesize
Identify
Inspect
Interpret
Interview
Investigate
Learn
Observe
Organize
Predict
Process
Prove
Question
Reason
Research
Review
Solve
Study
Summarize
Survey
Synergize
Synthesize
Systematize
Test
Troubleshoot
Weigh
Initiative / Flexibility / Adaptability / Creativity
Act
Adapt
Compose
Conduct
Create
Customize
Design
Develop
Direct
Display
Draw
Establish
Express
Fashion
Illustrate
Imagine
Initiate
Innovate
Institute
Integrate
Interpret
Introduce
Invent
Model
Originate
Paint
Perform
Photograph
Plan
Play
Print
Publicize
Revitalize
Show
Sketch
Write
Detail-oriented / Organizational Ability
Administer
Approve
Arrange
Audit
Budget
Calculate
Catalog
Check
Classify
Collect
Compile
Compute
Define
Dispense
Distribute
Estimate
Execute
File
Gather
Generate
Implement
Inspect
Log
Manipulate
Monitor
Operate
Organize
Prepare
Process
Purchase
Raise
Reconcile
Record
Retrieve
Review
Schedule
Select
Sort
Specify
Summarize
Supply
Systematize
Transcribe
Validate