Alternatives to "designed and developed" in resumes

Question

I am currently working on my resume and the phrase "designed and implemented" seems to come up with almost every paragraph and bullet point. I am a senior software developer so most of what I do is design and development/implementation but how can I phrase it in some other ways to keep if fresh? E.g. keep the reader of my resume from falling asleep?

I suppose that: developed = designed and implemented

Any other ideas? What other phrases should I look for that are often overused?

Answer 1

I think "designed and implemented" is clearer to a non-developer (Your future boss, possibly) than "developed." But if that phrase is showing up in nearly every paragraph, I would find alternative ways of communicating it, just to avoid sounding redundant.

"Designed and Implemented" could be stated various other ways, albeit more verbose ways:

1. "I played a crucial role in the planning and creation of our blogging platform."
2. "I was responsible for the construction of our blogging software, including all database planning, user-experience shaping, and all code."

Of course you could also just add a bulleted-list beneath a big label "Designed and Implemented:" :)

Answer 2

I think "designed and implemented" is ok.

If your resumé in mainly about design and implementation, why don't you try to summarize it?

Designed and implemented:

• System A at B;
• System B at C.

Answer 3

I recommend a thesaurus.

Answer 4

I like to list projects I've done, E.G.:

Designed and implemented the following:

• New order system for www.mycompany.com
• Image processing system for www.anothercompany.com
• etc.

Answer 5

Sometimes I've put, "I was involved in the total lifecycle of the project (or application)". This gets the idea across.

Answer 6

I just finished reviewing nearly a hundred resumes for all types of software positions (leads, coders, testers, etc.). There's nothing wrong with "designed and implemented" particularly if there is a time when you just designed or just implemented. "Designed and implemented" is common to see it in a software resume since it's what you do.

Answer 7

When I've had to review resumes, I've preferred it when the person spelled out what their specific roles in larger projects was. "Developed" (or even worse, "helped develop", although that does acknowledge that they were part of a team) tells you next to nothing about what they have experience in.

If you have a lot of smaller projects, I'd go with the format that GmonC proposed. If it's a fewer number of large projects, I'd probably try to spell out what portions you did (UI work? database? internals? requirements/planning? QA?, etc.).

Answer 8

Verbs in my resume include:

• Review
• Use
• Develop
• Discuss
• Advise
• Define
• Implement
• Deliver
• Write
• Code
• Evolve
• Maintain
• Help
• Visit
• Support
• Learn
• Apply
• Tune
• Port
• Participate
• Diagnose
• Analyze
• Integrate

See also Max pages for a Software Engineer’s resume?

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Edit:

There are also many other verbs which describe parts of a software developer's job, for example:

• Specify
• Predict
• Schedule
• Assess
• Manage
• Debug
• Refactor
• Architect
• Train
• Test
• Interview
• Agree

Note that these aren't exactly alternatives or synonyms to "designed and developed": instead, they're different words, which describe different/additional/various activities.

I think that a better way to write your resume isn't by using a thesaurus, but instead by summarising what you actually did.

Answer 9

I would suggest focusing on the achievements, not on the responsibilities. As a side-effect, you will have some additional verbs to choose from.

Answer 10

I like the term "Crafted". There's even a manifesto for Software Craftsmanship

Answer 11

I've been fortunate to get feedback from some of the positions that I failed to acquire and one of the more helpful ones (which helped me get my current position) was to change the way that the resume is formatted - consequently, you wouldn't encounter this problem.

What they suggested to me was to have the resume 'project based' as opposed to employer based.

So, now I have something like:

---

Project_Title

My Position, Company Name

Size of team: x
Languages:            Technologies:
    - Language 1          - Technology 1
    - Language 2          - Technology 2
    - Language 3          - Technology 3

---

In the technologies section I put things like the RDMS that was used, any special libraries/toolsets (like nhibernate)

It's not perfect: It can bloat the resume a bit if you've got lots of projects, and you'll also likely have more than 1 project per employer. As a result there will be multiple entries with the same employer, but it's not meant to highlight the employers you've worked for, but the work you've done.

edit> I forgot to note that it's beneficial if your position title was descriptive... lead developer usually implies that you 'designed and developed'.

Answer 12

A few other terms and thoughts:

• If there are multiple systems being used, integrate may be a good word to describe what was being done.

• Customize also comes to mind as a word, though this could be dangerous as some people may understand what is meant and others not so much. For example, some SAP or Oracle implementations may require a lot of custom development that may be common in some hands.

• Rolled out may also work as a phrase that some may get and some may not quite get. Deliver would also be in the same area in terms of what was done.

• Consulted though this may be considered too vague for some situations.