Résumé words · Analysis and research
Another word for “Reviewed”
What it is trying to claim: That you examined something carefully.
Why it underperforms
It is the least committal of the inspection verbs and it shows. Reviewing describes looking with care and promises no standard, no finding and no consequence, which makes it the default when none of those existed. On technical résumés it also collides with code review, where it has a specific and much stronger meaning that the vague usage borrows against.
Stronger than "Reviewed"
Not ranked. Each is right for one situation, and the situation is the column that matters.
| Word | Use it when |
|---|---|
| Audited | There was a standard and a formal output. |
| Approved | Your sign-off was the control. |
| Vetted | You were screening for risk before something proceeded. |
| Edited | You changed the thing rather than assessing it. |
| Caught | Lead with what the review found. |
A real bullet, fixed
Before
Reviewed code submitted by other developers.
After
Reviewed around 25 pull requests a week for two years and wrote the checklist the team adopted afterwards, which took review turnaround from about two days to four hours.
Volume plus the artifact you left behind turns a routine duty into a contribution that outlasted you.
When “Reviewed” is the right word
For code review, peer review and formal review boards, where it is the exact term and the volume beside it carries the weight.
Common questions
- What can I say instead of "Reviewed" on a résumé?
- Audited, Approved, Vetted, Edited. Pick the one that matches what you actually did, then follow it with a number. Volume plus the artifact you left behind turns a routine duty into a contribution that outlasted you.
- Is "Reviewed" bad on a résumé?
- It is the least committal of the inspection verbs and it shows. Reviewing describes looking with care and promises no standard, no finding and no consequence, which makes it the default when none of those existed. On technical résumés it also collides with code review, where it has a specific and much stronger meaning that the vague usage borrows against.
- When is it fine to use "Reviewed"?
- For code review, peer review and formal review boards, where it is the exact term and the volume beside it carries the weight.
Fix these next
- EvaluatedThat you assessed options or performance against criteria.
- AssessedThat you judged the state or value of something against criteria.
- AuditedThat you checked something formally against a standard.
- MonitoredThat you watched something over time.
All 125 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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