Résumé words · Results and numbers
Another word for “Increased”
What it is trying to claim: That a number went up because of something you did.
Why it underperforms
The verb is fine. The failure is percentages without a base, which readers have learned to treat as a warning sign. "Increased signups 300%" invites the question of what three hundred percent of what, and a reader who has to ask has already discounted the claim. The second failure is attribution: things go up for many reasons, and a bullet that implies sole credit for a market tailwind is checkable.
Stronger than "Increased"
Not ranked. Each is right for one situation, and the situation is the column that matters.
| Word | Use it when |
|---|---|
| Grew | Sustained growth over time rather than a single jump. |
| Doubled | The multiple is clean and needs no percentage. |
| Raised | Money, standards, or a specific rate. |
| Drove | You want to name your causal contribution rather than the number alone. |
| Added | Discrete countable units, like accounts or users. |
| Expanded | Reach or coverage rather than volume. |
A real bullet, fixed
Before
Increased sales by 300%.
After
Grew monthly recurring revenue from $12k to $48k over 14 months, mostly by moving from one-off projects to annual contracts.
Real figures make a modest-sounding multiple believable, and naming the mechanism shows it was a decision rather than luck.
When “Increased” is the right word
Whenever both the start and end figures are available, or the percentage is paired with a base.
Common questions
- What can I say instead of "Increased" on a résumé?
- Grew, Doubled, Raised, Drove. Pick the one that matches what you actually did, then follow it with a number. Real figures make a modest-sounding multiple believable, and naming the mechanism shows it was a decision rather than luck.
- Is "Increased" bad on a résumé?
- The verb is fine. The failure is percentages without a base, which readers have learned to treat as a warning sign. "Increased signups 300%" invites the question of what three hundred percent of what, and a reader who has to ask has already discounted the claim. The second failure is attribution: things go up for many reasons, and a bullet that implies sole credit for a market tailwind is checkable.
- When is it fine to use "Increased"?
- Whenever both the start and end figures are available, or the percentage is paired with a base.
Fix these next
- ImprovedThat something works better than it did.
- AchievedThat you reached a target.
- SuccessfullyThat the thing you are describing worked.
- GeneratedThat something valuable came into being because of your work.
- DevelopedThat you built or matured something over a period.
- DeliveredThat something finished and arrived.
- ReducedThat a number you can name went down 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.
Approve the jobs and we get them applied to, with a confirmation saved for each one. The free tier is 25 applications a month, no card, and a credit is only spent once a submission is confirmed.