Technical CV action words

Shipped

You released a change someone else could use.

Example, fictional: Shipped a small TypeScript change with a test, after review.

Tested

You wrote or ran a check that can fail.

Example, fictional: Tested the refund path and wrote down the case that used to pass in error.

Reviewed

You read someone else’s change and left a comment they could act on.

Example, fictional: Reviewed the pull request and asked for the failure mode to be written in the description.

Debugged

You found a cause, not only a symptom.

Example, fictional: Debugged a timeout by logging the query, then replaced the per-row call.

Documented

You wrote the decision where the next person will look.

Example, fictional: Documented why the feature was cut, in the ticket, before the release note.

Migrated

You moved data or a service and checked the result.

Example, fictional: Migrated the table in a maintenance window and compared the row counts before opening it.

Reduced

You have a before and after you can explain.

Example, fictional: Reduced the page to one indexed query and wrote the before-and-after in the pull request.

Scoped

You wrote what was in and what was out.

Example, fictional: Scoped the release to the failing test, and moved the extra screen to the next date.

Should every engineer bullet start with “developed”?

No. Shipped, tested, reviewed and debugged tell a reader different things. Use the one that matches the work.

Can I say “spearheaded”?

Prefer a plain verb. If you led the change, say who else worked on it and what you decided.

Do these replace a software CV example?

No. They are wording. The software engineer and project manager examples show a full page.

What if I cannot share the code?

Describe the problem, your part and the test. Leave out private data and a dead link.