You did the work. Now make your contribution clear enough for someone else to understand.
A project goes live. A difficult review is completed. A new process starts working. Several people made it happen, including you. Then you open your CV and write: “Supported the team.”
The phrase may be accurate, but it leaves the reader guessing. What did you handle? Where did you use judgement? What can you explain with confidence?
The opposite shortcut is just as unhelpful: claiming you “led” or “transformed” the whole project when you owned one part. A stronger account makes the boundary of your work visible. This is useful for a job application, an internal move or a promotion conversation.
Write down what the team achieved in one sentence. Underneath, describe the part you were responsible for. Keep these separate until you know how they connect.
Team result: the new process was introduced.
My contribution: I tested the handover steps and documented the gaps.
Both statements can be true. Neither requires you to claim sole ownership. If the wider result is uncertain, describe the deliverable you completed instead.
You do not need to attach internal documents to your CV. Use them privately to check accuracy, and leave out sensitive names, figures and details.
All examples below are fictional teaching examples, not client results. Use the approach only where it matches your own experience.
VAGUE OR OVERSTATEDLed the successful rollout of a new system.
MORE SPECIFICCoordinated user testing for the reporting workstream, logged issues and tracked retests before the wider system rollout.
This makes the workstream and contribution visible. It does not turn coordination into ownership of the whole rollout.
Evidence check: Check the test plan, issue log and responsibility you held. Add scale only if you can substantiate it.
VAGUE OR OVERSTATEDResponsible for reports and stakeholder management.
MORE SPECIFICInvestigated unusual movements in the monthly report, resolved data questions with colleagues and documented explanations for the review meeting.
The value is in investigation and a usable explanation. A revenue figure is not required to describe that work accurately.
Evidence check: Check reports and review records. Do not claim errors fell or decisions improved unless you have evidence.
VAGUE OR OVERSTATEDTransformed the onboarding process.
MORE SPECIFICMapped recurring handover gaps, drafted an onboarding checklist and incorporated feedback from the teams using it.
The sentence identifies a contribution without taking credit for everyone’s work or claiming an unmeasured result.
Evidence check: Check which parts you drafted, who approved them and whether the checklist was adopted. If it remained a proposal, say so.
Not every useful contribution has a percentage attached. You can describe what you produced, the complexity you handled and who used the work. An accurate account of a difficult exception is stronger than an invented efficiency gain.
If a team metric is available, make the relationship explicit: state the shared result, then your part. Do not imply that your work alone caused the change. If you cannot verify a figure, omit it or describe what you know.
Choose a piece of work you could explain in a conversation. Make rough notes under these headings:
Then write one sentence joining your responsibility, action and supported outcome or deliverable. Read it back and ask: “Would someone who worked with me recognise this account?”
For a promotion discussion, add what this work shows about readiness for the next level. For a career change, identify the skill another team could use. For a CV, select the evidence most relevant to the role you want.
A responsibility tells the reader what sat in your role. An example of judgement shows how you approached it. This matters when you want a role with more ownership: the reader needs something concrete to explore beyond a stronger-sounding title.
Take “managed stakeholders”. What happened when their needs conflicted? Name the options you considered, the recommendation you made and who held the final decision. If you escalated an issue well, that is a contribution you can describe without pretending you had the authority to resolve it alone.
Before adding a stronger verb, check whether it changes the truth. “Recommended”, “coordinated” and “owned” describe different contributions. Choose the one you could defend in a detailed interview.
YY’s headhunting perspective underpins this focus on responsibility and growth. For a broader remit, read what to check before a regional move. For a specific vacancy, turn the evidence into interview preparation from the job description.
Name the team result briefly, then explain your own action and deliverable. Use verbs that match your responsibility. If you coordinated testing, say that; reserve “led the rollout” for work you actually led.
Describe the output, the difficulty you handled and who used the work. A checked report, a tested handover or an adopted checklist can provide specific evidence. Do not invent percentages or imply an outcome you cannot verify.
Yes, if it is accurate and relevant. Add the judgement you used, the responsibility you took and how that evidence relates to the expectations of the next role.