Résumé words · Tools and skills
Another word for “Used”
What it is trying to claim: That a tool or method was part of how you worked.
Why it underperforms
It is the right word and usually the wrong sentence. "Used" is honest, short and unpretentious, and the trouble is that a bullet built around it is about the tool rather than the outcome: nobody is hiring the tool. It is also the weakest possible relationship to a technology, sitting below built, ran and shipped, so on a technical résumé it can undersell work that deserved a stronger verb.
Stronger than "Used"
Not ranked. Each is right for one situation, and the situation is the column that matters.
| Word | Use it when |
|---|---|
| Built with | You made something. The tool is context. |
| Ran | You operated it in production, repeatedly. |
| Automated | The tool replaced manual work. |
| Applied | A method or framework rather than software. |
| (move it) | Put the tool in a skills line and give the bullet to the result. |
A real bullet, fixed
Before
Used SQL and Tableau to create reports for stakeholders.
After
Built the self-serve dashboard that replaced about 20 ad-hoc report requests a month, in SQL and Tableau.
The tools survive at the end where a keyword search still finds them, and the sentence becomes about the requests that stopped arriving.
When “Used” is the right word
Freely, as the plain alternative to "utilized", and in a skills line where no verb is needed at all. Just make sure the sentence is about what you produced.
Common questions
- What can I say instead of "Used" on a résumé?
- Built with, Ran, Automated, Applied. Pick the one that matches what you actually did, then follow it with a number. The tools survive at the end where a keyword search still finds them, and the sentence becomes about the requests that stopped arriving.
- Is "Used" bad on a résumé?
- It is the right word and usually the wrong sentence. "Used" is honest, short and unpretentious, and the trouble is that a bullet built around it is about the tool rather than the outcome: nobody is hiring the tool. It is also the weakest possible relationship to a technology, sitting below built, ran and shipped, so on a technical résumé it can undersell work that deserved a stronger verb.
- When is it fine to use "Used"?
- Freely, as the plain alternative to "utilized", and in a skills line where no verb is needed at all. Just make sure the sentence is about what you produced.
Fix these next
- UtilizedThat you used a tool, system, or method.
- Familiar withThat you have some exposure to a tool or subject.
- Proficient inThat you are competent with a named tool.
- Experienced inThat you have done this kind of work before.
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.
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