We all know that job seekers are always looking for ways to improve their resumes. But what they may not realize is that some of the most commonly used words in job listings can actually work against them. By learning which words not to use on your resume, you’ll be able to highlight your skills and experiences without sounding like everyone else.

 

1. “Responsible.”

There are a few words that should be avoided at all costs on your resume. One of them is “responsible.”

“Responsible” doesn’t tell the reader much about what you did or how well you performed in your role. You want to give them more details, like “responsible for managing the daily operations of…” or “employed as an account manager and was responsible for…”

Instead of using “responsible,” follow it up with what you were responsible for instead, such as:

• Managing four employees while maintaining company-wide customer satisfaction standards and growing clientele base from $2 million annually to $5 million annually within three years.

Another word that should be avoided is “enthusiastic.” If you’re enthusiastic about something, it should show in your resume. You can say you’re passionate about what you do and why it matters to you. For example, “Passionate about providing exceptional customer service and delivering results for my clients.”

2. “Duties included.”

In the same way that you have to avoid using words like “responsibilities” and “duties,” you also have to steer clear of the phrase “duties included.” For example, if your job was to take care of the books at a company, do not list every task on your resume. Instead, focus on what got accomplished and how it benefited your employer. Similarly, if you did a lot of things but only one thing really stands out as an accomplishment worth mentioning, then focus on that instead (or include both accomplishments in their own section).

If there are lots of things that were done but no one is going to be impressed by them individually—or if they’re too minor for someone else’s attention—then create bullet points for each item that show how many people were involved or how much money was saved as a result of your work. Remember: employers want results! If an employer has heard this before from other applicants (and they probably have), show them why yours is different by providing numbers and percentages whenever possible.

3. “Experience in”

Experience in, experience doing and experience with are all fine phrases to use on your resume when you’re describing an internship or apprenticeship. They’re less useful when talking about paid jobs.

For example: “Experience in customer service” makes it sound like the company had no way of knowing if you were good at customer service—because you hadn’t actually done it yet! And “experience doing data entry” doesn’t tell us what kind of data entry (and how much) you did. Instead, try something like “I am skilled at customer service,” or better yet, just describe the specific tasks that prove it: “Customer-focused; completed more than 100 surveys each month.”

And if there’s a common thread between all your work experience (like working fast), don’t put down two different jobs where you did that skill—instead find a single job title and write only about what made that job unique and relevant to the position for which you’re applying now.

4. “Created.”

You might think that “created” is a great word to use on your resume, as it conjures up images of inventing something entirely new. But if you’re using your resume to make an application for a job where you’ll be creating something new, then it may make sense to use that word. Otherwise, stick with the more specific and action-oriented words like “designed” and “developed.” These words help show what you actually did—and they are also more likely to get noticed by recruiters and hiring managers.

When you’re writing your resume, think about the words you use to describe your skills and accomplishments. Make sure that they are specific, action-oriented and relevant to the job you’re applying for. This will help ensure that your resume gets noticed by recruiters and hiring managers—and helps make sure that you get invited to interviews!

5. “Organized”

“Organized” is a word that sounds like it should be good for your resume, but it’s actually one of the worst. Why? Because you can’t show how organized you are just by saying that you’re organized. You have to show what kind of organization skills you have and how they relate to the job—and hopefully do so in a way that will make an employer think, “I need this person on my team!”

Here are some tips on how to describe your organizational skills more effectively than simply writing “organized”:

• Show an example of when your organization skills helped solve a problem at work or school. If possible, try asking an employer or professor who was involved in the situation what they would say about your ability to solve problems and organize difficult situations (like scheduling meetings with multiple people).
• Rather than describing yourself as “organized,” describe what kind of systems and processes make things easier for you in everyday life or at work/school. For example: “I use spreadsheets because it helps me keep track of my daily tasks.” Or maybe something like this: “I’m comfortable working with multiple projects simultaneously because I’ve done so many times before.” This way, an employer will know exactly where their money would be going if they hired you! Now go out there and get these jobs!

6. “I led” or “I had many people under me.”

We’ve all seen it: a resume that reads, “I led a project,” or “I had many people under me.” These are implied in the role, and therefore irrelevant to the reader. Instead of focusing on what you did, show your accomplishments and leadership skills by using strong verbs like implemented or developed to describe them.

In general, words like managed and directed don’t carry much weight when you’re talking about yourself as an employee. If it wasn’t already apparent from your job title (for example: manager), then assume that most readers will be able to infer that you were responsible for managing or directing people.

Instead of saying “managed X,” try something more specific such as “set up new sales system for company” or “reduced customer complaint rate by 50% over 3 years” instead of just saying “managed” without specifying any details about what exactly was being managed/directed!

7. “Avoid clichés and filler words, focus on actions and results.

When writing your resume, avoid the following words that are overused:

• I, me and my
• Team player (use “collaborative” instead)
• Think outside the box (use “out-of-the-box” instead)
• Dynamic (use “motivated” or “strong work ethic”)
• Innovative (use “creative” or “resourceful)”

The reason this is important is simple: you want to make sure that your resume focuses on actions you took that resulted in results. When reading through resumes, hiring managers have limited time to decide whether or not they want to call an applicant in for an interview. Since most people know what a strong work ethic looks like, focus on how you’ve applied yours in past roles rather than just stating it at the top of your resume. For example: “Successfully completed 200 cold calls per day for three consecutive weeks” instead of “Strong work ethic”. You can also check out our list of action verbs here!

When writing your resume, keep in mind that it’s not about what you do or what you have done, but rather about the impact of your actions on the business. Focus on describing what you accomplished and how it helped grow your company.