Career-services guidance is consistent on this point: resume bullets should open with a precise, active verb, not a passive construction, and not a vague stand-in like "helped," "worked on," or "responsible for." The fix isn't just "use a stronger verb" in the abstract, though. It's using the verb from the right category for what you actually did. A bullet about running an experiment shouldn't borrow a leadership verb, and a bullet about managing a team shouldn't borrow a research verb. Matching the verb to the function makes the bullet read as precise instead of just decorated.
The fix isn't only the verb. "Directed" also sets up the sentence to state scope and result, which "responsible for" never does.
The nine categories
Skim to the category that matches what the bullet is actually about, then pick the verb that most precisely matches the scale and nature of what happened. A coordinator and a founder both "led," but they didn't do the same thing.
Leadership
Communication
Research & Analysis
Technical
Teaching & Mentoring
Quantitative & Financial
Creative
Helping & Advocacy
Organizational
Two rules for using this list
- Don't repeat the same verb twice in one role's bullet list. It reads as a lack of range even when the work varied.
- The verb sets up a promise the rest of the sentence has to keep: pick the strongest true verb, then make sure what follows actually earns it. "Spearheaded" a task nobody asked you to lead reads as inflation, not strength.
Resume language should be active rather than passive, and should avoid vague, generic verbs in favor of specific, active ones that reflect what was actually done.Harvard FAS Mignone Center for Career Success, Guide to Creating a Strong Resume