Résumé words · Building and making
Another word for “Developed”
What it is trying to claim: That you built or matured something over a period.
Why it underperforms
Ambiguous across industries in a way that costs you. In software it means built. In business it can mean grew, as in business development. In HR it means trained people. A reader in a hurry picks whichever meaning their own field uses, which may not be the one you meant.
Stronger than "Developed"
Not ranked. Each is right for one situation, and the situation is the column that matters.
| Word | Use it when |
|---|---|
| Built | Unambiguous in every industry, which is its main advantage. |
| Grew | You mean expansion, so say so and give the figures. |
| Trained | You mean developing people. |
| Designed | The architecture or the plan was your contribution. |
| Matured | It existed but was not production-ready, and now is. |
A real bullet, fixed
Before
Developed new business opportunities in the region.
After
Opened 14 new accounts across the Midwest in one year, taking regional revenue from $600k to $1.4M.
The ambiguity disappears the moment the bullet names what was opened and what it was worth.
When “Developed” is the right word
In software and product contexts where the audience shares the meaning, and where the object makes it unambiguous.
Common questions
- What can I say instead of "Developed" on a résumé?
- Built, Grew, Trained, Designed. Pick the one that matches what you actually did, then follow it with a number. The ambiguity disappears the moment the bullet names what was opened and what it was worth.
- Is "Developed" bad on a résumé?
- Ambiguous across industries in a way that costs you. In software it means built. In business it can mean grew, as in business development. In HR it means trained people. A reader in a hurry picks whichever meaning their own field uses, which may not be the one you meant.
- When is it fine to use "Developed"?
- In software and product contexts where the audience shares the meaning, and where the object makes it unambiguous.
Fix these next
- CreatedThat something new exists because of you.
- BuiltThat you constructed something from parts.
- IncreasedThat a number went up because of something you did.
- DesignedThat the decisions about how something would work were yours.
- ImplementedThat you put a system, tool, or process into place.
- EstablishedThat something now exists permanently because you set it up.
All 72 words are on the résumé words index. For the verbs grouped by what they claim, read résumé power verbs.
After the résumé
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