A resume is an opportunity for you to clearly communicate why you're a good fit for the role and highlight past achievements that prove relevant. The verb 'supervise' is a great word to show that you have management experience and can oversee a team of workers.

It's an action verb that effectively demonstrates your leadership skills—you can take charge of situations and circumstances and get things done with minimal supervision. However, remember to keep the number of times you use 'supervise' in your resume to a minimum.

Instead of relying on one word to emphasize your accomplishment, use a variety of action verbs to show how you can contribute similarly to a new employer. Moreover, writing about your achievements using the verb's past tense is more suitable than the present form, except if it's a current role. You can do this by using synonyms like 'trained' or 'aligned' in place of 'supervise.'

By making minor changes to your writing, such as including synonyms, you can express yourself with greater clarity and make it easier for companies to hire you. Synonyms make it clear that you have thought about how to highlight the most important parts of your career.

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

Resume Synonyms for Supervise:

Managed
Mentored
Directed
Coached
Orchestrated
Harness
Elevated
Monitored
Spearheaded
Advocated
Groomed
Inspired
Taught
Trained
Assigned
Educated
Harmonized
Instructed
Reconciled
Merged
Aligned
Endorsed
Ensured
Optimized
Predicted
Preserved
Refocused
Strategized
Dispatched

How to replace Supervise with a stronger action verb:

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

Before: Weak example using Supervise

• Supervised team to migrate systems

⤸

After: Using a stronger synonym• Led migration from AWS cloud to GCP for the team which reduced the cloud cost by $250,000 per year .

Replacing Supervise with Managed ▾

Before: Supervise

• Supervised customer service representative team

⤸

After: Managed• Managed a team of 25+ customer service representatives, resulting in increased customer satisfaction by 35%

As a resume writer, I switched 'Supervised' to 'Managed' to reflect a more leadership-focused term. Also, I added specifics about the team size and quantified the impact of the management to provide a stronger, measurable accomplishment.

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 Supervise with Mentored ▾

Before: Supervise

• Supervised junior team members

⤸

After: Mentored• Mentored 4 junior team members to become full project members within a six-month period, enhancing overall project delivery speed

I chose to replace 'Supervised' with 'Mentored', a more specific term that reflects personal development. Furthermore, by including numbers and a timeframe, we demonstrate a clear, measurable contribution to the team's productivity.

Replacing Supervise with Directed ▾

Before: Supervise

• Supervised project to completion

⤸

After: Directed• Directed a $3M project, ensuring its completion 2 months ahead of schedule whilst maintaining high-quality standards

The use of 'Directed' emphasizes leadership and control better than 'Supervised'. Providing specifics about the project's budget and achievements (completion time and quality standards) makes the contribution tangible and significant.”

Replacing Supervise with Coached ▾

Before: Supervise

• Supervised intern training

⤸

After: Coached• Coached 7 interns who went on to secure full-time positions, increasing retention rate by 30%

Changing 'Supervised' to 'Coached' presents a more engaging and supportive role. By quantifying the result (7 interns, 30% increase), it shows the actual impact of your coaching efforts.

Replacing Supervise with Orchestrated ▾

Before: Supervise

• Supervised business negotiations

⤸

After: Orchestrated• Orchestrated critical business negotiations leading to a 25% increase in partnerships within a year

I replaced 'Supervised' with 'Orchestrated' to imply strategic thought process. Quantifying the impact by stating '25% increase in partnerships' makes all the difference in proving the candidate’s effectiveness in this role.

Replacing Supervise with Harness ▾

Before: Supervise

• Supervised product research

⤸

After: Harness• Harnessed competitive product research increasing sales peak by 45% and customer retention by 15%

'Harness' implies the candidate knows how to utilize their resources for optimum results, which is why I replaced 'Supervised'. Including specific numbers like '45%' and '15%' shows direct results from the candidate's work.

Replacing Supervise with Elevated ▾

Before: Supervise

• Supervised brand promotion

⤸

After: Elevated• Elevated brand reach organically, securing 100k additional followers across social media platforms

The choice to replace 'Supervised' with 'Elevated' is more proactive and result-oriented. Providing specific results, such as the '100k additional followers,' adds concrete evidence to the candidate's skills and accomplishments.

Replacing Supervise with Monitored ▾

Before: Supervise

• Supervised financial procedures

⤸

After: Monitored• Monitored financial procedures reducing operational cost by 20% and increasing profitability by 10%

I replaced 'Supervised' with 'Monitored' to highlight keen oversight. The inclusion of percentage results illustrates how the candidate's attention to detail benefited the company financially.

Replacing Supervise with Spearheaded ▾

Before: Supervise

• Supervised facility renovations

⤸

After: Spearheaded• Spearheaded facility renovations, saving the company $200k, and completing the project 3 months ahead of schedule

By choosing 'Spearheaded' over 'Supervised', it communicates strong leadership. Adding specific figures and result outcomes presents a dynamic image of accomplishment.

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 Supervise.

More resume bullet point samples that use strong synonyms

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 Streamlined on a resume:

• Streamlined the implementation process and reduced the average product delivery time from 10 days to 4 days by redefining responsibilities and improving accountability of employees.

How to use Raised on a resume:

• Raised awareness by regularly organizing and hosting collection and charity drives throughout local schools; increased donations by 50% since 2016.

How to use Pitched on a resume:

• Pitched 25+ stocks to the investment team and portfolio managers, resulting in the addition of 6 stocks to the firm's portfolio with investment returns of more than 15% in 12 months.

How to use Managed on a resume:

• Managed international stakeholders in India, United Kingdom and Hong Kong by hosting daily standups and coordinating weekly status reports.

How to use Analyzed on a resume:

• Analyzed impact and effectiveness of in-app UI changes on customer retention; identified features of customer behavior and recommended additional menu modifications [R, MySQL, Chart JS].

Frequently Asked Questions

What is another word for Supervise on a resume?

You should vary up your language on your resume, instead of using Supervise over and over again. Good synonyms to use instead include:

Refocused
Taught
Inspired
Aligned
Optimized
Advocated

What are other words for Supervise on a resume?

Words like Supervise are overused on resumes. Instead, you should use other phrases like Ensured, Endorsed, Taught, Harmonized, Optimized or Predicted.

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

I'd recommend uploading your resume below to get a free resume review. You'll get a detailed analysis of your resume's action verbs and your experience, with instant suggestions on how to improve them based on recruiter insights.

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