Another Word for “Increased” on a Resume: 21 Better Options
By FindAJobAI team Updated How we wrote this page
“Increased” is a verb that only works with a number, and resumes often use it without one: “increased sales”, “increased engagement”. Even with a number, a page where every bullet starts with “increased” reads like a spreadsheet with the labels missing.
Keep the number and vary the verb by what grew and how: revenue you generated, customers you acquired, a rate you lifted, output you scaled. Always give the starting point or the time frame, because the same growth over five years and over five weeks tells two different stories.
21 words to use instead of “increased”
Grouped by what you actually did. Every word comes with a note on when it fits and an example bullet: pick the group that matches the work, then put your own scale and result in.
Jump to: Revenue and sales · Users and audience · Rates and scores · Capacity and output
Revenue and sales: 6 alternatives to “increased”
Revenue verbs should come with the amount and the period. “Doubled” is a precise claim that has to be exactly right, “upsold” and “captured” point at where the growth came from, and “generated” means the money came straight from you.
Generated
Use it when new money came directly from your work.
Example: Generated $1.2M in new pipeline in two quarters by running outbound sequences to 900 named accounts, with 14 of them reaching a contract stage.
Grew
Use it when a number rose steadily over months.
Example: Grew monthly recurring revenue from $210K to $340K in 12 months by focusing the team on annual contracts and upgrades.
Expanded
Use it when you added customers, regions or product lines.
Example: Expanded the customer base from 60 to 140 school districts in 2 years by adding a state-procurement listing and a pilot program.
Doubled
Use it when the number really did double, or more.
Example: Doubled weekly trial sign-ups from 450 to 900 in a quarter by rewriting the landing page and cutting the form to 3 fields.
Upsold
Use it when existing customers bought more from you.
Example: Upsold 38 of 120 existing customers to a higher tier with usage-based outreach, adding $176K in annual contract value, starting with the 30 accounts that had used more than 80% of their seats.
Captured
Use it when you took share from competitors.
Example: Captured 11% of a rival's installed base in one region over 18 months by offering a free migration and a price match.
Users and audience: 5 alternatives to “increased”
Audience growth has a funnel behind it: reaching people, bringing them in, turning them into customers and keeping them. Use the verb for the step you owned, and give the numbers for that step.
Acquired
Use it when you brought in new users or customers.
Example: Acquired 8,000 new app users at under $2 each by testing 20 ad creatives in 3 weeks and keeping only the 4 best performers.
Attracted
Use it when people came to you through content, ads or events.
Example: Attracted 32,000 monthly organic visitors to a B2B blog in a year, up from 4,000, by publishing 60 comparison and how-to articles.
Converted
Use it when more visitors, trials or leads became customers.
Example: Converted 22% of demo requests into paid pilots, up from 14%, by sending a tailored recap within 2 hours of each call.
Retained
Use it when fewer customers left.
Example: Retained 91% of annual subscribers, up from 84%, by contacting every account 60 days before renewal and fixing unused-seat complaints.
Amplified
Use it when your work spread a message further.
Example: Amplified a safety-awareness campaign through 25 partner organizations, reaching 1.4 million people against a 600,000 target, with 6 partners posting the message in their own newsletters.
Rates and scores: 6 alternatives to “increased”
Rates and scores should be shown from start to end. “Lifted” and “boosted” suit a change you can tie to one action; “outperformed” needs a stated benchmark.
Raised
Use it when a percentage or score went up.
Example: Raised the net promoter score of a delivery service from 31 to 52 over 3 quarters by introducing live tracking and two-way texts.
Lifted
Use it when a rate rose after a specific change.
Example: Lifted email click rates from 2.1% to 3.6% across a 70,000-person list by segmenting on past purchases and trimming each message to one call to action.
Boosted
Use it when the jump was quick after one change.
Example: Boosted donations by 27% in a December appeal by testing a matched-gift offer on half the list, then using it for all 18,000 donors.
Elevated
Use it when standards or ratings rose.
Example: Elevated the average rating of a booking app from 3.9 to 4.4 stars in 6 months by fixing the 3 most-cited complaints.
Improved
Use it when quality or speed rose, with a number to show it.
Example: Improved first-contact resolution from 68% to 80% for a 30-agent team by adding a one-page troubleshooting guide for the top 10 issues.
Outperformed
Use it when you beat a benchmark, peer group or plan.
Example: Outperformed the regional plan by 19% for 3 straight quarters while carrying the largest territory of 9 reps, with a weekly call plan that targeted the 20 largest accounts.
Capacity and output: 4 alternatives to “increased”
Capacity growth is only impressive if quality held. Add the volume handled and the error rate, delivery time or satisfaction score that stayed steady.
Scaled
Use it when volume grew while quality held.
Example: Scaled a pop-up bakery's output from 200 to 1,500 loaves a day by renting a second oven and adding a shift plan, with returns staying under 1%.
Multiplied
Use it when output rose many times over.
Example: Multiplied a lab's sample throughput by 4, from 60 to 240 a day, by batching runs and adding an automated pipetting station.
Extended
Use it when you lengthened reach, coverage or opening hours.
Example: Extended a clinic's hours to 8 p.m. on weekdays and 4 hours on Saturday with staggered shifts, adding about 320 appointments a month at no extra headcount.
Accelerated
Use it when growth got faster than before.
Example: Accelerated subscriber growth from 5% a month to 9% by launching a referral reward and a free first month, then tracking which of the 2 offers brought the stronger customers.
“Increased” synonyms by industry
Pick the growth that your field counts: users and traffic in tech, accounts and upsells in sales, access and retention in healthcare, revenue against plan in finance, reach and scores in education, and output in operations.
| Industry | Best alternatives to “increased” |
|---|---|
| Tech | Scaled, Acquired and Attracted |
| Sales | Upsold, Generated and Captured |
| Healthcare | Extended, Retained and Elevated |
| Finance | Grew, Outperformed and Expanded |
| Education | Amplified, Raised and Boosted |
| Operations | Multiplied, Accelerated and Doubled |
When it's fine to keep “increased”
“Increased” is the plainest way to say a number went up, and in a bullet like “Increased monthly sign-ups from 800 to 1,400” it needs no replacement. It becomes a problem when it repeats down the page or sits in front of something unmeasured. Keep it where both numbers are shown, and vary the rest.
Before and after: rewriting “increased”
The same work, written two ways. The numbers are invented; yours have to be real.
Sales
Before: Increased sales in my territory.
After: Grew territory revenue from $1.4M to $2.2M in 2 years by adding 18 new dental clinics and upselling 30 existing accounts.
SEO
Before: Increased website traffic.
After: Doubled organic traffic to 120,000 monthly visits in 10 months by rewriting 80 product pages around search intent.
SaaS
Before: Increased user engagement.
After: Lifted weekly active use from 31% to 46% of accounts by shipping in-app checklists and 3 usage-based email nudges.
Customer success
Before: Increased customer retention.
After: Retained 96% of revenue across 70 accounts, up from 88%, by running quarterly business reviews with every account over $20K.
Fundraising
Before: Increased donations.
After: Raised individual giving from $310K to $520K a year through a monthly-donor program and a redesigned year-end appeal.
Warehouse
Before: Increased warehouse capacity.
After: Scaled throughput from 2,000 to 3,500 orders a day without new hires by adding wave picking and 2 conveyor lines.
Recruiting
Before: Increased the number of qualified applicants.
After: Attracted 3x more qualified applicants for nursing roles by rewriting 25 job ads with pay ranges, filling 40 posts in a quarter.
Words to avoid and common mistakes
Swaps that don't fix “increased”
- Enhanced: describes quality, not growth, and can't carry a number well
- Upped: reads like a text message, not a resume
- Skyrocketed: hype that invites skepticism
- Ballooned: suggests growth that got out of control
Common mistakes
- Giving a percentage without a base. A huge percentage on a tiny base, such as $1,000 to $3,000, impresses nobody once they see it; say both numbers when the base is small.
- Leaving out the time frame. Growth over a quarter and growth over three years are not the same achievement.
- Reporting growth you didn't cause. If the whole market grew, compare yourself with a benchmark: the team average, last year or the plan.
Match the job description
Look for the metric in the ad, such as “grow ARR”, “increase pipeline” or “improve conversion rates”, and report that same metric. If the ad says ARR, write ARR rather than “revenue”: hiring managers scan for their own terms.
The free CV score checker shows which of an ad's keywords your resume is missing, and our resume keywords by role show what sales representative, marketing manager and account manager ads ask for most.
“Increased” on a resume: FAQ
How do I avoid starting every bullet with “increased”?
Vary the verb by what grew: “generated” for new revenue, “acquired” for customers, “raised” or “lifted” for rates, “scaled” for volume. You can also lead with the action and end with the increase: “Rewrote 25 job ads, doubling qualified applicants.”
Should I use percentages or absolute numbers?
Both when you can. Percentages show the size of the change and absolute numbers show the scale: “Grew revenue by almost half, from $2M to $2.9M.” If the base was small, the absolute numbers are more honest.
What if I don't know the exact increase?
Use a reasoned estimate you could explain in an interview, and round it: “roughly doubled”, “about 30 more clients a month”. Don't invent precision you can't defend.
How we wrote this page
The FindAJobAI team wrote the 21 alternatives to “increased”, the notes and the 21 example bullets by hand. The people, employers and numbers in the examples are invented: copy the shape (a verb, the scale, the result) and use your own facts.
Nothing here comes from a statistic about hiring, and no AI model writes or changes this page when you open it. Last reviewed on November 1, 2026.