5 Resume Action Verbs to Stop Using (and What to Say Instead)

These verbs are so overused they've stopped meaning anything.

1. "Responsible for" → name the actual action: "Managed," "Built," "Ran."
2. "Helped with" → be specific about your actual contribution: "Co-led," "Drove," "Coordinated."
3. "Worked on" → replace with the verb for what you actually did: "Designed," "Launched," "Analyzed."
4. "Team player" → this is a trait, not an action — show it through a bullet about actual collaboration instead.
5. "Synergized" / "Leveraged" → almost always corporate filler; a plainer verb is more credible.

Related reads