ASO-01 — Weak or passive action verb
Short answer
ASO-01 is the first leg of the ASO (Action–Scale–Outcome) model: does every experience bullet open with a strong, active verb? Phrases like "was involved in" or "assisted with" leave it unclear whether you did the work, and they cost you a level of perceived seniority.
Bullet revision
[WEAK: Was involved in the payments team] → [ACTION: Redesigned the payments service]
Impact
30 pts
Weight
ASO · high · proportional
25%
ASO share
of the final score
What it checks
- Opening verb matched against the strong-verb dictionary (TR stems + EN full forms)
- Passive voice and weak phrasing patterns
- Bullets built as noun phrases with no verb
Why it matters
Phrases like "involved in" or "assisted with" leave it ambiguous whether you did the work or stood next to it. Readers resolve that ambiguity with the worst reading: a support role.
How to fix it
Open bullets with strong active verbs: designed, built, scaled, optimised, automated, migrated, launched, led. Remove "was involved in / assisted with / responsible for" entirely.
Frequently asked questions
Why is passive phrasing so expensive?
Given the same work, the candidate using an active verb reads as more senior. Ambiguity always resolves downward.
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