Résumé words · Ownership and duties
Another word for “Maintained”
What it is trying to claim: That something kept working over time because of you.
Why it underperforms
It describes the absence of failure, which is genuinely valuable and reads as passive. The verb also has a weaker second use, maintaining records or relationships, where it means little more than "kept", and the two meanings drag each other down. The strong version needs a number the weak version never has.
Stronger than "Maintained"
Not ranked. Each is right for one situation, and the situation is the column that matters.
| Word | Use it when |
|---|---|
| Ran | Accountability rather than upkeep. |
| Kept | Plainer, for records and relationships. |
| Supported | Industry term where users depended on it. |
| Monitored | Watching was genuinely the activity. |
| Hardened | It got more reliable, not merely no worse. |
| Serviced | Physical equipment on a schedule. |
A real bullet, fixed
Before
Maintained the company production servers.
After
Kept the payments platform at 99.98% uptime across two years and 40 releases, with no unplanned outage longer than four minutes.
Uptime plus release count proves the stability came with change rather than by standing still.
When “Maintained” is the right word
For systems and equipment, where uptime, volume, or a compliance record turn the absence of failure into a measurable achievement.
Common questions
- What can I say instead of "Maintained" on a résumé?
- Ran, Kept, Supported, Monitored. Pick the one that matches what you actually did, then follow it with a number. Uptime plus release count proves the stability came with change rather than by standing still.
- Is "Maintained" bad on a résumé?
- It describes the absence of failure, which is genuinely valuable and reads as passive. The verb also has a weaker second use, maintaining records or relationships, where it means little more than "kept", and the two meanings drag each other down. The strong version needs a number the weak version never has.
- When is it fine to use "Maintained"?
- For systems and equipment, where uptime, volume, or a compliance record turn the absence of failure into a measurable achievement.
Fix these next
- MonitoredThat you watched something over time.
- SupportedThat you provided ongoing help to a person, team, or system.
- AdministeredThat you ran a system, benefit, budget, or programme by its rules.
- OversawThat you had authority over an area without doing the hands-on work.
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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