Applicants use the word 'Participate' in their resume to emphasize that they'll succeed at any position they get hired for if given the opportunity. Companies want to hire people willing to participate, as it gives them a sense of the commitment employees will put into their work.

While 'participate' is a good word to indicate that you have a collaborative team mentality, it doesn't show how effective you are. This makes it a weak verb—it creates doubt about your abilities and doesn't convey the extent of what you did. Everyone participates in something, but not everyone achieves success.

If you want to use the verb participate, reword your experience to explain your role in the activity and offer evidence of having done it well. Also, use it in the past tense ('participated') unless you're talking about an ongoing role. For example, using action verbs such as 'Aided' or 'Excelled' to describe your experience helps to define your actions and accomplishments more strongly.

Weak verbs should be avoided to ensure you're communicating accurately and effectively—they do not draw the recruiter's attention to what you did in your past job. These verbs are more effective if replaced with different power verbs.

I've compiled some synonyms you can use instead of Participate on your resume, followed by real examples I've written for clients (feel free to use them!).

Resume Synonyms for Participate:

Contributed
Delivered
Engaged
Facilitated
Integrated
Transformed
Spearheaded
Innovated
Pioneered
Revamped
Leveraged
Optimized
Streamlined
Orchestrated
Championed
Aided
Collaborated
Combined
Communicated
Concurred
Coordinated
Excelled
Teamed
Tracked
Selected
Routed
Ordered
Pooled
Procured
Retrieved
Synchronized

How to replace Participate with a stronger action verb:

Let's look at examples of how you can remove and replace the overused phrase, Participate, with a stronger synonym and alternative that is more effective at highlighting your achievements.

Before: Weak example using Participate

• Participated in a number of reporting tasks and helped speed up the preparation time of key reports

⤸

After: Using a stronger synonym• Developed and implemented new customer reporting and on-boarding paperwork for internal functions, reducing preparation time of standard new client by 75%.

Replacing Participate with Contributed ▾

Before: Participate

• Participated in brainstorming sessions for marketing ideas.

⤸

After: Contributed• Contributed to brainstorming sessions and developed an effective marketing campaign that boosted product sales by 35%.

In the revised version, the candidate shows their contribution in a more specific way, indicating their active role in a successful marketing campaign. The stated increase in sales as a result of their work provides concrete proof of their effectiveness.

Tip: I've prepared a ton of additional examples for you to give you inspiration. Please click on any of the following to expand and see real examples of how I've rewritten client bullet points.

Replacing Participate with Delivered ▾

Before: Participate

• Participated in project planning sessions.

⤸

After: Delivered• Delivered efficient and innovative solutions in project planning sessions, reducing project implementation time by 25%.

The edited version denotes the candidate's active involvement and the tangible result of their contribution. The reduced project implementation time presents a clear metric of their effectiveness.

Replacing Participate with Engaged ▾

Before: Participate

• Participated in team meetings and discussions.

⤸

After: Engaged• Engaged effectively in team meetings, leading the design and approval of a new workplace procedure, which reduced team conflict by 30%.

This rewrite emphasizes the candidate's leadership and engagement, highlighting their role in creating a beneficial change. The metric about reducing team conflict is a strong evidence of their positive impact.

Replacing Participate with Facilitated ▾

Before: Participate

• Participated in the new employee orientation process.

⤸

After: Facilitated• Facilitated new employee orientations and improved the onboarding process, resulting in a 40% increase in new employee retention.

The revision shifts focus to the candidate's facilitation skills and the quantifiable improvements they brought to the company's onboarding process, showing they can make a tangible difference.

Replacing Participate with Integrated ▾

Before: Participate

• Participated in the integration of a new software into the company’s workflow.

⤸

After: Integrated• Seamlessly integrated a new software into the company’s workflow, enhancing efficiency by 25%.

The revised version is more compelling as it shows the candidate's proficiency and the significant increase in efficiency as a result of their work.

Replacing Participate with Transformed ▾

Before: Participate

• Participated in the redesign of the company website.

⤸

After: Transformed• Transformed the company's website, increasing user engagement by 50% and improving the site's search engine ranking.

By using 'Transformed', it signifies the candidate's active role in the project, and the added metrics paint a clear picture of the benefits their participation brought.

Replacing Participate with Spearheaded ▾

Before: Participate

• Participated in fundraising campaign for a local charity.

⤸

After: Spearheaded• Spearheaded a grassroots fundraising campaign for a local charity, raising over $10,000 over one summer.

The revised version presents the candidate as a leader and provides a specific number to quantify their success.

Replacing Participate with Innovated ▾

Before: Participate

• Participated in the development of a new product line.

⤸

After: Innovated• Innovated in the development process of a new product line, reducing time-to-market by 20% and driving a 30% sales increase.

The revised bullet point shows the candidate as an innovator in their industry and the metrics demonstrate the impact of their innovative contributions.

Replacing Participate with Pioneered ▾

Before: Participate

• Participated in devising a new customer service strategy.

⤸

After: Pioneered• Pioneered a new customer service strategy that improved customer satisfaction ratings by 40%.

The revision highlights the candidate's proactive role, replacing the generic 'participated' with 'pioneered'. The significant improvement in customer satisfaction ratings attests to the effectiveness of their strategy.

Replacing Participate with Revamped ▾

Before: Participate

• Participated in the improvement of the company's internal communication system.

⤸

After: Revamped• Revamped the company’s internal communication system, improving productivity by 15% and employee satisfaction by 45%.

Revamping is active and shows the candidate as a change agent. The specific improvement metrics make it clear this was a significant achievement that had a real impact.

Replacing Participate with Leveraged ▾

Before: Participate

• Participated in strategic decision-making regarding company investments.

⤸

After: Leveraged• Leveraged financial expertise in strategic decision-making, leading to a 20% increase in company's ROI.

The revised version is stronger as it shows the specific expertise of the candidate and outcomes of their decisions.

Replacing Participate with Optimized ▾

Before: Participate

• Participated in operations enhancement initiatives.

⤸

After: Optimized• Optimized operations enhancement initiatives, reducing operational cost by 15% and improving efficiency by 25%.

The revised bullet point shows the candidate’s active role in reducing cost and improving efficiency, each backed by precise statistics.

Replacing Participate with Streamlined ▾

Before: Participate

• Participated in the process of refining the company’s workflow.

⤸

After: Streamlined• Streamlined the company's workflow, leading to a 30% increase in speed of deliverables without compromising on quality.

Streamlined illustrates the candidate’s ability to make processes more efficient. The metrics showing increased speed and maintained quality are strong evidence of their effectiveness.

Replacing Participate with Orchestrated ▾

Before: Participate

• Participated in planning and organizing company-wide events.

⤸

After: Orchestrated• Orchestrated successful company-wide events, improving employee engagement and satisfaction by 40%.

Using 'Orchestrated' positions the candidate as a leader in organization. The given metrics demonstrate their impact on employee engagement and satisfaction.

Replacing Participate with Championed ▾

Before: Participate

• Participated in advocating for the implementation of new policies.

⤸

After: Championed• Championed the implementation of new policies, resulting in an improved work environment and a decrease in staff turnover by 10%.

The updated version showcases the candidate's proactive stance and its positive impact on the company, as substantiated by the decrease in staff turnover.

How to use these synonyms in practice

We've put together an infographic to give you more examples of how to put this into practice. Note the use of strong action verbs instead of words like Participate.

More resume bullet point samples that use strong synonyms

How to use Founded on a resume:

• Founded ReferRoom to organize social events for 500 young professionals, and grew it to $20k/year revenue and $8k/year profit..

How to use Led on a resume:

• Led training and peer-mentoring programs for the incoming class of 25 analysts in 2012; developed and maintained training program to reduce onboarding time for new hires by 50%.

How to use Prepared on a resume:

• Prepared a 100 page pitch book summarizing findings and presented analysis to managing directors.

How to use Interviewed on a resume:

• Interviewed future end users in London and New York daily to identify and analyse the inefficiencies in the existing manual process of bulk updating customer details.

How to use Coordinated on a resume:

• Coordinated a team of four developers and two designers to implement and launch online marketplace that connects students with tutors, within 6 months.

How to use Reduced on a resume:

• Reduced time to render the video by 75% by implementing prediction algorithm and delayed graphics.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is another word for Participate on a resume?

Instead of passive phrases like Participate, use other words like Selected, Teamed, Communicated, Procured, Aided or Pooled. Using these verbs will help your accomplishments and bullet points stand out on your resume.

What are other words for Participate on a resume?

You can say Ordered, Concurred or Combined instead of Participate.

Get a free resume review: Find out if your action verbs are strong enough.

As a next step, I'd recommend going through each of your resume's verbs and improving each one with stronger action verbs. The most effective way to do that is by uploading your resume to tool below. It'll tell you which parts of your resume need work, so you can improve them before a recruiter rejects you for them.

Related resume examples

Digital Strategist

Digital Marketing Strategist

Go To Download Page

Digital Strategist

Go To Download Page

Go to the full Digital Strategist Resume Guide or Digital Strategist CV Guide to see and download more proven templates.

Operations Manager

Operations Associate (Entry Level Operations Manager)

Go To Download Page

Process Improvement Manager

Go To Download Page

Technical Operations Manager

Go To Download Page

Technical Operations Manager

Go To Download Page

Business Operations Manager

Go To Download Page

Go to the full Operations Manager Resume Guide or Operations Manager CV Guide to see and download more proven templates.

VP of Marketing

Marketing Vice President

Go To Download Page

Vice President of Marketing (VP, Marketing)

A vice president of marketing resume template that highlights achievements.

Go To Download Page

Go to the full VP of Marketing Resume Guide or VP of Marketing CV Guide to see and download more proven templates.

Get a free resume review

Q: What is another word for Participate on a resume?

Instead of passive phrases like Participate , use other words like Selected, Teamed, Communicated, Procured, Aided or Pooled. Using these verbs will help your accomplishments and bullet points stand out on your resume.

Get expert feedback on your resume, instantly. Our free AI-powered resume checker scores your resume on key criteria recruiters and hiring managers look for. Get actionable steps to revamp your resume and land more interviews.

Upload Resume

Jump to another phrase