Résumé words · Results and numbers
Another word for “Generated”
What it is trying to claim: That something valuable came into being because of your work.
Why it underperforms
It is doing two jobs badly. In sales it means produced revenue or leads; in analysis it means produced a report, and a report is not a result. The word is also slightly mechanical, which suits automated output and undersells work that required judgement. Without a figure it is one of the emptiest verbs available, because generating implies a quantity by definition.
Stronger than "Generated"
Not ranked. Each is right for one situation, and the situation is the column that matters.
| Word | Use it when |
|---|---|
| Won | It was competitive and somebody else lost it. |
| Sourced | Finding them was the difficulty, not closing them. |
| Produced | The output was a physical or creative artifact. |
| Drove | You caused a movement in a number you can name. |
| Added | Discrete countable units, plainly stated. |
| Wrote | You generated a document. Say so. |
A real bullet, fixed
Before
Generated new business leads for the sales team.
After
Sourced 240 qualified leads in a year from conference follow-up nobody was doing, of which 31 closed for $410k.
Lead counts are cheap; the close rate and the revenue behind them are the part a sales manager reads.
When “Generated” is the right word
For genuinely countable output where the number sits right beside it — leads, revenue, applications, referrals.
Common questions
- What can I say instead of "Generated" on a résumé?
- Won, Sourced, Produced, Drove. Pick the one that matches what you actually did, then follow it with a number. Lead counts are cheap; the close rate and the revenue behind them are the part a sales manager reads.
- Is "Generated" bad on a résumé?
- It is doing two jobs badly. In sales it means produced revenue or leads; in analysis it means produced a report, and a report is not a result. The word is also slightly mechanical, which suits automated output and undersells work that required judgement. Without a figure it is one of the emptiest verbs available, because generating implies a quantity by definition.
- When is it fine to use "Generated"?
- For genuinely countable output where the number sits right beside it — leads, revenue, applications, referrals.
Fix these next
- IncreasedThat a number went up because of something you did.
- AchievedThat you reached a target.
- DeliveredThat something finished and arrived.
- CreatedThat something new exists because of you.
All 72 words are on the résumé words index. For the verbs grouped by what they claim, read résumé power verbs.
After the résumé
Fixing the words is the easy half. The applying is the slow half.
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