Why the verb you choose changes everything
Two engineers. Same project. Same outcome. One writes "Worked on the API migration." The other writes "Architected and led the API migration, reducing latency by 40% across 12 downstream services." The second bullet scores dramatically higher in ATS systems. The difference is the verb.
When you built or shipped something
- Architected — for system-level decisions you owned
- Engineered — for technically complex builds
- Developed — solid default for feature work
- Implemented — for features or integrations you executed
- Shipped — signals production-ready work
- Deployed — specifically for infrastructure and release work
When you improved something that already existed
- Optimized — for performance, speed, cost improvements
- Refactored — for code quality and maintainability work
- Migrated — for moving between systems or platforms
- Automated — for replacing manual processes
When you led or owned something
- Led — for technical or team leadership
- Owned — for end-to-end accountability
- Spearheaded — for initiatives you initiated and drove
- Defined — for creating standards, interfaces, or contracts
Verbs to stop using immediately
- Worked on → replace with what you specifically did
- Helped → too passive — use your actual contribution
- Was responsible for → just say what you did
- Participated in → what specifically did you do?
The formula: Verb + What + Result
[Strong verb] + [what you built/did] + [the result with a metric]
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