Guide 17 / 200 6 swaps Formal register
Professional words for “work on”
Six verbs that describe what kind of work it is.
i · When it mattersTwo lines, no filler
"Work on" is useful in conversation and invisible in a CV. Replace it with a verb that names what you did — built, designed, owned, delivered.
ii · The swaps6 ways
- 01Develop formal
build over time — products, skills
Developed the internal tooling from scratch.
- 02Build neutral
construct something concrete
Built the payments pipeline.
- 03Design neutral
plan the shape and structure
Designed the onboarding flow.
- 04Oversee formal
supervise without doing it yourself
Oversaw three contractors.
- 05Lead neutral
steer the work of others
Led the migration from Postgres to DynamoDB.
- 06Deliver neutral
responsible for completion
Delivered the integration on schedule.