Today’s job market moves fast. Landing the right role takes more than submitting applications and waiting. Your resume either works for you—or works against you.
A recent ResumeCoach analysis of nearly 111 million resumes on Indeed reveals a simple problem: millions of job seekers use the same overused words, making their applications blend into the crowd.
The top offender? “Managed,” appearing on 9.1 million resumes. Close behind: “Organized” showed up 7.1 million times, while “Accurate” appeared 5.3 million times.
These words tell hiring managers what your job title was—not how well you did it. Recruiters want results, not role descriptions.
Flip “managed a team of five employees” to something like “led a five-person team that increased conversions by 150%.” The second version sells your impact, not just your duties.
“Employers don’t just want to know what you did,” said Keith Spencer, career expert at FlexJobs. “They want to understand how you did it and what results you achieved.”
The most overused resume words
ResumeCoach tracked 110 common resume buzzwords across 111 million resumes. Here’s what appeared most:
- Managed: 9.1 million resumes (8.2%)
- Organized: 7.1 million (6.4%)
- Accurate: 5.3 million (4.8%)
- Collaborated: 4.4 million (4%)
- Trained: 4.3 million (3.9%)
- Efficient: 4.1 million (3.7%)
- Skilled: 4 million (3.6%)
- Implemented: 3.6 million (3.3%)
- Supported: 3.4 million (3.1%)
- Delivered: 3.1 million (2.8%)
- Monitored: 2.9 million (2.6%)
- Strategic: 2.6 million (2.3%)
- Established: 2.4 million (2.2%)
- Supervised: 2.4 million (2.2%)
- Detail-oriented: 2.3 million (2.1%)
- Resolved: 2.2 million (2%)
- Reliable: 2.2 million (2%)
Beat the applicant tracking systems
Most companies use applicant tracking system (ATS) software—and increasingly AI—to screen resumes before a human ever reads them.
Build a resume that parses cleanly. Avoid tables, graphics, and complex layouts. Stick with clear section headers and simple formatting.
“A clean, simple format that maximizes readability is critical,” Spencer said.
Mirror the language in the job posting. When in doubt, Lauren Mastroni, career expert and digital content writer at Resume Genius, recommended near-exact phrasing.
“If a job description says ‘project lifecycle management’ and you write ‘oversaw end-to-end project execution,’ the screening software might miss it—even though the meanings are similar,” she explained.
Replace vague buzzwords with specific wins. Your resume tells your story. Make it count.