List of action verbs commonly used in Job Descriptions

Accepts To receive with consent; take without protest

Accomplishes To complete, perform fully, fulfill

Achieves To bring to a successful end, bring about an intended result

Acts To perform a specified function; product an effect; give a

decision or award.

Administers To control and bring into use or operation; to make

application of.

Adopts To take and apply or put into practice; accept formally as a

report.

Advises To give recommendations regarding a decision or course

of conduct, policy or action; i.e. not simply telling or

informing.

Allocates To set part for a particular purpose; assign or allot.

Analyses To investigate and study the factors of a situation or

 problem in order to determine the solution or outcome;

study various unrelated facts to arrive at a conclusion.

Anticipates To foresee an act, events, trends, consequences or

problems.

Appraises To evaluate as to quality, status, effectiveness, etc.

Approves To sanction officially, confirm; accept as sastisfactory

Thereby assuming responsibility for (Used only in a

Situation where the individual has final authority)

Arranges To place in the proper order; prepare a plan or schedule,

e.g. meeting.

Ascertains To find out or learns definitely, determine.

Assembles To fit together the parts of.

Assigns To designate, give or reserve for a specific person or

purpose.
Assists To give support or aid in some undertaking or effort.

(No authority over the activity is implied)

Assumes To take upon oneself; undertake.

Assures To confirm; make certain of; state confidently.

Attends (i) To look after or take charge of ; apply the mind to or

pay attention to

(ii) is present for the purpose of making a contribution.

Audits To carry out a critical comprehensive and methodical

examination and review a situation, condition or practice

within the enterprise. To conclude with a detailed report

on findings and / or recommendations leading to

conformity with or revision to established policies,

programs, and procedures, if such is indicated or needed.

Authorises To give the power to take action or to require and receive

Performance of actions by others.

Balances To arrange or prove so that the sum of one group equals

the sum of another.

Budgets To determine how much is to be spent on each category

of expenditure during a given time period.

Calculates To determine by using mathematical methods; compute.

To determine by reasoning, commonsense or practical

experience.

Carries out To put into operation, practice; to accomplish

Checks To inspect for satisfactory condition, accuracy, safety or

performance.

Circulates To cause to pass from place to place or person to person,

etc.

Classifies To examine analyze and arrange or organize by class.

Clears To be free from obligation, liability or debt, e.g. customs

clearance.

Collaborates To work with and acts jointly with others.

Collects To gather facts or data; assemble; accumulate.

Compiles To collect, arrange and put together (document, selections,

etc) in one work.

Completes To bring to an end; finish; execute

Computes To determine by mathematical means; to make

calculations.

Concurs To agree with a position, statement or action.

Conducts To carry out, has direction of or directs the execution of.

Confers To consult together, compare opinions, carry on a

discussion or deliberation.

Consolidates To bring together; unite; combine

Consults To asks the advice or opinion of another; confer; refer to;

Contacts To communicate with another person

Contracts To enter into an agreement

Contributes To give together with others; furnish ideas etc.

Controls To monitor, direct and regulate. The monitoring of

performance is the starting point of control. In case

performance deviates from what is expected, corrective

action is taken to get the process back on the track.

Cooperates To work or act with others to achieve a desired result,

Or for mutual benefit.

Coordinates To integrate one’s own efforts with those of others to

Achieve a desired objective with a minimum of

duplication or misdirection of effort. Frequently one

speaks of coordinating of efforts with those of people in

other departments.

Correlates To organize so as to advance effectively a common

program work objective.

Counsels To give advice; consult with; to exchange ideas mutually.

Creates To cause to come into existence; to produce with

imaginative skill.
Decides To arrive at a solution that ends uncertainly or dispute

about; make a choice or judgement.

Delegates To assign to a sub-ordinate the authority to accomplish

an objective or specific result. True delegation exists

only when the manager making the delegation confines

himself to establishing the objective and standards and

measures of performance, reviewing the results, and

coaching the subordinate in terms of those results and

their variance from objectives and performance

standards. (A manager may delegate authority to others

but he cannot delegate his responsibility and

accountability).

Delivers To hand over ; send to an intended destination.

Demonstrates To show clearly; prove or make clear by reasoning or

Evidence; illustrate and explain especially with

 examples.

Describes To represents or give an account of in words.

Designs To conceive and plan out in the mind; devise for a

specific function or end; make a drawing, pattern or

sketch of; create, fashion, execute or construct according

to plan.

Determines To come to a decision concerning an action or proposal;

Choose from among alternatives; fix conclusively or

authoritatively.

Develops To bring an idea or course of action into a clear; full and

Explicit presentation. To cause to grow, expand or bring

about.

Devises To invent from existing principles or ideas, e.g. to devise

a method.

Dictates To say or read aloud for another to transcribe or for a

machine to record.
Directs To regulates the activities or course of; govern or control;

give guidance to.

Discusses To exchange views for the purpose of arriving at a

conclusion.

Disseminates To spread information or ideas.

Distributes To spread, scatter; to divide into classes of distinct

character, e.g. to distribute work.

Drafts To write or compose papers or documents usually in

rough, preliminary form prior to final form, often for

clearance, revision and approval by others.

Edits To revise or correct, as for publication.

Endorses To approve, support or sustain; to sign one’s name on

the reverse of a document, e.g. cheque or commercial

document.

Ensures To make sure, certain or safe usually by a definite

review, plan or action.

Establishes To bring into existence; bring about; set up on a firm

Basis to show to be valid or true e.g. to establish a fact.

Estimates To determine roughly the size, extent or duration of

something; state what one considers to be the likely cost

or price of something; judge tentatively the value, worth

or significance of something.

Evaluates To determine or set the value or amount; to appraise.

Examines To look at critically or methodically; investigate; inspect;

test by an appropriate method.

Exchanges To part with, give or transfer in consideration for

something received as an equivalent.

Executes To put into effect; carry out or follow through to a

conclusion.

Exercises To bring to bear or employ actively as in exercise of

Authority or influence, to put into action, practice or use.

Expedites To accelerate the movement or progress of.

Experiments To carry out an activity or operation; to make a

discovery.

Explains To give an intelligible account of; make known in detail.

Extrapolates To forecast using methods that assume that the future

will continue to reflect already established trends.

Facilitates To make easier; assist the progress of.

Follows up To check the progress of; to see if results are

satisfactory.

Forecasts To estimate the value of a certain variable in the future,

such as manpower, sales, operating costs, etc.

Formulates To put into a systemized statement; develop or devise a

method, system, plan, policy or procedure.

Furnishes To provides, supply or give

Functions To perform a special action or activity; to act, serve or

operate.
Helps To contribute strength or means to; render assistance; to

cooperate effectively with; aid; assist.

Hires To engage the services of for a wage or salary; to grant

the temporary, use of, or the services of, for

compensation.

Guides To conduct or direct along a course of action.

Implements To carry out; perform acts essential to the execution of a

Plan or a program.

Improves To bring into a more de viable or excellent condition.

Informs To bring into a more de viable or excellent condition.

Initiates To originate; introduce in the first instance; course or

bring to pass by an original act, as in originating a plan,

policy or procedure.

Innovates To initiate activity or development that results in the

adoption of a new product, business or way of doing

things.
Inspects To examine carefully and critically.

Instructs To impart knowledge to; supply direction to.

Integrates To bring together or incorporate; make up, combine or

complete;

Interprets To explain the meaning of, translate; elucidate.

Interviews To question in order to obtain facts or opinions.

Investigates To inquire into systematically.

Issues To send out, distribute; to put into circulation.

Keeps To have under one’s care or one’s charge.

Lays out To plan the arrangement of

Maintains To hold or keep, in any condition; keep up to date or

Current, as of records.

Makes To provide; cause to exist or bring out.

Manages To mobilize resources for the achievement of a purpose;

to have charge of or responsibility for.

Modifies To make partial changes; to change somewhat the form

or qualities of.

Monitors To observe or check on a continuing basis.

Motivates To move an individual to action by personal

mechanism.

Negotiates To confer with a view to agreement between the parties

involved.

Notifies To give notice to; inform

Observes To keep; follow; adhere to; perceive; watch; take notice

of.

Obtains To gain possession of; acquire.

Operates To conducts or perform an activity

Organizes To assemble and establish the human and physical

 resources of the business or any of its sub-units in a

sound and proper relationship that leads to the effective

and economical accomplishment of established

objectives. It involves structure, people, definition and

unity of purpose.

Originates To initiate or give origin to.