Resume Buzzwords and Phrases: What to Include and Avoid in 2024

Charles Dickens

Career Expert

2023-12-21 09:28:12

Resume Buzzwords and Phrases: What to Include and Avoid in 2024

A buzzword is a word or phrase, new or already existing, that becomes popular for a time. Buzzwords are often derived from technical terms yet have their original technical meaning.


What is Resume Buzzwords:

Resume buzzwords are action verbs or phrases that you can use to show your abilities and expertise on your resume, making it stand out and increasing your possibility of going on to the next level of the application process. 

These terms provide adequate context to your resume, helping the hiring managers understand your worth as an employee.

When the hiring manager reads your resume, you have a few seconds to make a good impression. Your resume is scanned through ATS by hiring managers so increase the chances of getting job by using effective buzzwords for your resume. 

Recruiters or hiring managers are frequently charged with examining many applications simultaneously, and it's not uncommon for them to find the exact phrases or strong verbs used on most resumes. You can highlight your soft and hard skills by using resume buzzwords and phrases. 

Including power phrases on resumes is an excellent approach to effectively catch their attention. Explore our modern resume templates and create your resume now in just few steps.

In this article, you will learn:

  • List of buzzwords for your resume
  • List of buzzwords to avoid
  • Pro tips to highlight skills 

List of Buzzwords Buzzwords for Your Resume:

Looking through a list, you can see how effective action verbs are when used on your resume. The buzzwords you can use for your resume are: 

  • Skill Enhancement
  • Growth-Oriented
  • Evolving Expertise
  • Future-Focused
  • Professional Growth
  • Enthusiastic Learner
  • Pursuing Professional Development
  • Embracing Change
  • Staying updated with Best Practices
  • Skill Refinement
  • Acquiring New Competencies
  • Emerging Trends
  • Problem solving
There are also more positive buzzwords for your resume that will positively affect the hiring manager.

Buzzwords to Avoid:

There are positive buzzwords that will give a practical attitude to the hiring manager; on the other hand, there are also negative words or phrases you should avoid while writing your resume. Now we will discuss what are those words that we should strictly avoid.

Creative

You create a resume that appears identical to a million others and label yourself "creative."
It's unlikely that any hiring manager will overlook that so come up with ideas that worked in the real world.

Detail-Oriented

Instead of just saying you're detail-oriented, you should provide instances when you've demonstrated this quality.

Team Player

The hiring managers always want to work with  team player employees. Many applicants insist on including "plays well with others" on their resume.
Therefore, you should list many examples of your collaborative work.

Hard-Working

For many hiring managers, the term "hard-working" really gets irritating. Your natural job history will speak volumes about your dedication to strenuous effort.
Your achievements will be a testament to your abilities.

Motivated

Your interactions with the hiring manager and the organization will show your genuine motivation.
It should be apparent from the achievements you include on your resume. 

Great Communicator

You're not a great communicator if you must tell someone you are. Effective communication, whether it is written or spoken, speaks for itself.
Take the chance to record how your communication skills helped previous employers.

Expert

Do you truly consider yourself an expert? You don't always need to be an expert to be competent in your field and confident in your skill set. 

Think outside-the-box

 A "outside the box" thinker would be imaginative enough to develop a more fitting term for their different mode of thinking.

Innovative

Companies have a strong desire for innovation. If you have a history of innovation, talk about it rather than just claiming to be talented.

Responsible For

Just stop if you frequently write "Responsible for..." when summarizing your primary duties at previous jobs.

Instead, use strong verbs like "supervised" or "managed" to provide information about your work on your resume.

Best in Class

Are you the greatest in your class? What do you mean by that if we were to ask? Ignore it completely and concentrate only on your actual abilities and accomplishments.

Strategic Thinker

You generally don't need to identify yourself as a strategic thinker.
Just concentrate on providing your resume full of references to past companies who profited from your strategic skills. Put those benefits into bullet form.

Leader

People with leadership potential are looked after by employers. The issue is that they are aware that you are aware of it.

Because of this, they are unlikely to believe you when you say you are a leader. They demand proof for such claims.

Focused on Synergy

Avoid using the word "synergy" at all in your resume. Avoid bringing it up during the interview.

Don't consider it while writing your resume. It is old-fashioned and beaten out.

Other than this, there are more additional words to avoid, i.e. 

  • Multitasker
  • Punctual
  • Excellent leadership skills
  • Goal-oriented
  • Highly qualified
  • Skilled
  • Reliable
  • Experienced
  • Organized



FAQs 

Q1: Should I bold keywords in my resume?
You can bold and italicize certain words and phrases on your resume to make them stand out.

Q2: How do you add keywords to a resume?
An excellent way to make skills-based keywords visible is to include them in the skills section of your resume.

Q3: What is resume optimization?
It includes relevant keywords, clear formatting, and strategic content placement to increase the chances of your resume being seen by recruiters after being scanned by the ATS.

Q4: Are buzzwords excellent or bad?
These phrases sound trendy, create a sense of belonging, and provide an easy way to shift gears in a meeting. But sometimes, corporate buzzwords can also have a negative impact.

About The Author

Charles Dickens

Career Expert

2023-12-21 09:28:12

Charles is an accomplished resume writer dedicated to shaping impactful career stories. With extensive experience, Charles specializes in unraveling individual professional journeys and highlighting unique strengths to align with specific career goals. Having assisted diverse job seekers across various career stages, Charles emphasizes the transformative impact of a precisely tailored resume.

Similar Articles