Résumé words · Improving and fixing
Another word for “Upgraded”
What it is trying to claim: That you moved something to a newer or better version.
Why it underperforms
Version numbers are not achievements. An upgrade bullet frequently names the before and after release and stops, which tells a reader that maintenance happened on schedule. What makes an upgrade worth mentioning is either what it unlocked or what it would have cost not to do it, and neither is in the verb.
Stronger than "Upgraded"
Not ranked. Each is right for one situation, and the situation is the column that matters.
| Word | Use it when |
|---|---|
| Migrated | The move itself was the difficulty. |
| Modernised | Several things moved together, with a purpose. |
| Hardened | The driver was security or reliability. |
| Unblocked | Lead with what became possible afterwards. |
| Replaced | You did not upgrade it; you swapped it out. |
A real bullet, fixed
Before
Upgraded the application framework from v2 to v4.
After
Took the framework across two major versions in six weeks with no feature freeze, clearing 40 dependency advisories and unblocking the async rendering work that had been on hold for a year.
The freeze you avoided and the work you unblocked are what a reader is actually assessing; the version numbers are context.
When “Upgraded” is the right word
When the upgrade was hard or consequential: a major version with breaking changes, a security-driven migration, or one that unblocked something specific.
Common questions
- What can I say instead of "Upgraded" on a résumé?
- Migrated, Modernised, Hardened, Unblocked. Pick the one that matches what you actually did, then follow it with a number. The freeze you avoided and the work you unblocked are what a reader is actually assessing; the version numbers are context.
- Is "Upgraded" bad on a résumé?
- Version numbers are not achievements. An upgrade bullet frequently names the before and after release and stops, which tells a reader that maintenance happened on schedule. What makes an upgrade worth mentioning is either what it unlocked or what it would have cost not to do it, and neither is in the verb.
- When is it fine to use "Upgraded"?
- When the upgrade was hard or consequential: a major version with breaking changes, a security-driven migration, or one that unblocked something specific.
Fix these next
- ImprovedThat something works better than it did.
- MigratedThat something moved from one system to another without breaking.
- EnhancedThat you made something better.
- MaintainedThat something kept working over time because of you.
All 125 words are on the résumé words index. For the verbs grouped by what they claim, read résumé power verbs.
After the résumé
Fixing the words is the easy half. The applying is the slow half.
Approve the jobs and we get them applied to, with a confirmation saved for each one. The free tier is 25 applications a month, no card, and a credit is only spent once a submission is confirmed.