The words you use on your resume can either help or hinder your chances of getting a job interview. If you're applying for a job where teamwork is an integral part of the daily routine, employers will look to see how well you can work with others—and using 'team' in your bullet points can demonstrate this skill!
Using the present tense verb 'team' in your resume shows that you have a high level of collaboration and are a great communicator. But, if you use 'team' frequently in your resume, it can become repetitive and boring—leading the recruiter to skip over it entirely. It's also best to use the past tense of the verb when presenting your previous experiences.
Fixing this problem is easy: swap out 'team' for synonyms like collaborated, cooperated, or united. This will help impress potential employers and get their attention right away than using repeated language!
Using synonyms can help you stand out from the crowd by giving your resume more depth. It also makes it easier for employers to understand what skills are relevant in a given role—they want employees with team-building skills, not just someone with a list of random knowledge!
I've compiled some synonyms you can use instead of Team on your resume, followed by real examples I've written for clients (feel free to use them!).
Resume Synonyms for Team:
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Rallied
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Unified
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Cooperated
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Accompanied
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Implemented
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Planned
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Embarked
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Partnered
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Engaged
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Headed
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Assembled
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Coordinated
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Reconciled
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Anchored
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Synchronized
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Liaised
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Rallied
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Allied
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Collaborated
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Cooperated
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Connected
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Associated
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Combined
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Merged
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Integrated
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United
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Unified
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Balanced
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Grouped
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Attached
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Leagued
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Confederated
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Consolidated
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Coalesced
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Fused
How to replace Team with a stronger action verb:
Let's look at examples of how you can remove and replace the overused phrase, Team, with a stronger synonym and alternative that is more effective at highlighting your achievements.
Before: Weak example using Team• Team with product and marketing people
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After: Using a stronger synonym• Collaborated with product and marketing teams to redesign the mobile onboarding process, improving retention and user experience by 40% .
Before: Team• Team with the sales team
⤸After: Rallied• Rallied the sales team, implementing a new CRM that resulted in a 30% increase in sales over a quarter.
In the revised bullet point, we have clearly defined an accomplished task. Using 'Rallied' indicates a leadership role, and this aids in painting a clearer picture of your role in the team.
Tip: I've prepared a ton of additional examples for you to give you inspiration. Please click on any of the following to expand and see real examples of how I've rewritten client bullet points.
Before: Team• Team to reach our goals
⤸After: Unified• Unified a cross-functional team of 10, exceeding our yearly goals by 50% in sales, leading to a promotion within 8 months.
The 'after' version clearly shows a leadership role and quantifies the accomplishments. It further illustrates the specific impact you had on the team and the organization.
Before: Team• Team on special projects
⤸After: Cooperated• Cooperated on a special project that led to an increase of 25% in customer retention through implementation of a new feedback system.
The modified sentence gives clear details of the project. It highlights the result of your cooperation in a team project.
Before: Team• Team in strategizing sales
⤸After: Accompanied• Accompanied my peers in building a sales strategy, securing partnerships with 5 industry-leading enterprises, exceeding sales targets by 40%.
Replacing ‘team’ with ‘accompanied’ makes your role clearer. Moreover, specific details regarding the number of partnerships and exceeding targets impresses employers more.
Before: Team• Team for client engagement
⤸After: Implemented• Implemented engagement plans as part of a four-member team, leading to an 18% increase in client satisfaction within the first quarter.
By using 'Implemented', you show personal initiative. Also, incorporating actual metrics shows the concrete results of your efforts.
Before: Team• Team to layout roadmap
⤸After: Planned• Planned a product roadmap with the team resulting in a 15% sales growth in the first 6 months.
Replacing 'Team' with 'Planned' indicates personal initiative and involving metrics makes your achievements tangible, therefore, more impactful.
Before: Team• Team for successfully launching the product
⤸After: Embarked• Embarked on a 3-month long journey with the product team, leading to a successful launch that increased user base by 200%.
Using 'Embarked' suggests the complex journey you underwent. Quantified result makes your efforts and accomplishments clearly discernable.
Before: Team• Team to improve the UX
⤸After: Partnered• Partnered with the UX/UI teams, leading to an improved user interface that resulted in a 60% increase in user engagement rates.
Replacing 'Team' with 'Partnered' makes it clear that you played an active role. Adding the quantitative impact of the UX/UI improvements helps establish the value you can bring to an organization.
Before: Team• Team in decision making process
⤸After: Engaged• Engaged in the decision-making process, leading to 10% cost reduction by optimizing operational processes within 2 months.
The use of 'Engaged' makes your role more specific. Incorporating metrics and timeline gives a clearer picture of the result of your active participation.
Before: Team• Team for handling customer tickets
⤸After: Headed• Headed a team of 10 customer service representatives, escalating customer ticket resolution by 50% in three weeks.
Shifting from 'Team' to 'Headed' shows leadership skills. Including the team size and the specific improvements in the operational process provides a clearer indication of your role.
Before: Team• Team for organizing company events
⤸After: Assembled• Assembled and oversaw a team of 5 to plan our company's bi-annual meetings, leading to a 20% increase in employee satisfaction.
In the modification, ‘Assembled’ is used to highlight your leadership skills. A specific metric related to employee satisfaction demonstrates the visible impact of your efforts.
Before: Team• Team for monthly reviews
⤸After: Coordinated• Coordinated with the accounting team on monthly financial reviews, resulting in a 6% decrease in company expenses within one year.
Using 'Coordinated' shows teamwork. Including specifics about how this coordination affected company expenses invites more attention than a vague reference to 'teamwork'.
Before: Team• Team for accounting activities
⤸After: Reconciled• Reconciled the fiscal year budget with the accounting team, reducing discrepancies by 30% and saving $10K annually.
The use of 'Reconciled' describes your role more accurately. The statement provides a clear indication of your role and the impact your activities had on the overall finance of the company.
Before: Team• Team to achieve quarterly targets
⤸After: Anchored• Anchored a group of 7 in smashing our quarterly targets, outperforming revenue projections by $25K.
Replacing 'Team' with 'Anchored' highlights your leadership. The measure of overperformance asserts the impact of your leadership.
Before: Team• Team for ensuring product delivery
⤸After: Synchronized• Synchronized production and distribution teams to reduce backlogs by 50% in the first quarter, improving delivery time.
By substituting 'Team' with 'Synchronized', the sentence provides a clear image of your role in the team. Furthermore, the new narrative quantifies the benefit of synchronizing the teams.
How to use these synonyms in practice
We've put together an infographic to give you more examples of how to put this into practice. Note the use of strong action verbs instead of words like Team.
More resume bullet point samples that use strong synonyms
How to use Earned on a resume:
• Earned expedited promotion to Senior Analyst after one year as Analyst (earned by less than 1% of cohort).
How to use Generated on a resume:
• Generated 12,000 unique users, 30,000 page views, and 2000+ newsletter signups in 3 weeks by successfully leveraging social media advertising (Facebook and Instagram).
How to use Spearheaded on a resume:
• Spearheaded redevelopment of internal tracking system in use by 125 employees, resulting in 20+ new features, reduction of 20% in save/load time and 15% operation time.
How to use Produced on a resume:
• Produced comprehensive pitch decks, used for internal research and external marketing, on 1) an Indian real estate investment with a $4.5B market cap and 2) telecommunications in emerging markets.
How to use Performed on a resume:
• Performed a gap analysis by conducting a current state assessment to understand the inefficiencies associated with the
existing manual business process.
How to use Evaluated on a resume:
• Evaluated acquisition opportunities for a German reinsurer. Performed accretion and dilution analyses, conducted market research to gauge the viability and long term prospects of target's businesses.
Frequently Asked Questions
Get a free resume review: Find out if your action verbs are strong enough.
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