--- title: Job Hunting? Cut These 3 Overused Words From Your Resume Now description: If you're looking for a new job, a simple way to stand out is to avoid these common overused resume words and cliches. authors: - name: Adam Hardy role: Lead Data Reporter url: https://money.com/author/adam-hardy/ bio: Adam Hardy is a lead data journalist at Money, where he frequently reports on financial barriers that affect low-income Americans. Adam’s work has also appeared in Business Insider, Forbes, Nasdaq, The Penny Hoarder, Yahoo! Finance and more than a dozen local and regional newspapers. education: University of South Florida, BA, Magazine Journalism at_money_since: 2021 articles: 499 covers: - Career Advice - Banking - Business - Credit - Credit Cards - Debt - Economy and Politics - Education - Health and Wellness - Housing - Identity Theft - Insurance - Investing - Lifestyle - Loans - Mortgages - Personal Finance - Pets - Professional Services - Retirement - Shopping - Taxes - Technology also_seen_in: - The Penny Hoarder - Forbes Advisor - Creative Loafing - The New York Times - The Washington Post - Bloomberg - Harvard Law School - The Federal Register - National Consumer Law Center - CBS News - Becker's Hospital Review - Business Insider - Mother Jones - The Week - Fortune - The Philadelphia Inquirer - National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators (NAFSAA) - Education Advisory Board (EAB) - The Institute for College Access & Success (TICAS) - This Morning with Gordon Deal - Empower - Reddit social: - https://www.x.com/hardyjournalism - https://www.linkedin.com/in/hardyjournalism/ editors: - name: Julia Glum role: Managing Editor url: https://money.com/author/julia-glum/ bio: Julia Glum joined Money in 2018 and specializes in covering financial trends that affect everyday Americans' wallets. She also writes Dollar Scholar, a weekly newsletter that teaches young adults how to navigate the messy world of money. education: University of Florida at_money_since: 2018 articles: 453 covers: - Career Advice - Banking - Business - Credit - Credit Cards - Debt - Economy and Politics - Education - Health and Wellness - Housing - Identity Theft - Insurance - Investing - Lifestyle - Loans - Mortgages - Personal Finance - Professional Services - Retirement - Shopping - Taxes - Technology also_seen_in: - Newsweek - International Business Times - CBS News - Good Morning America - WUSA9 - Pix 11 - The New York Times - Mashable - The Washington Post - CNBC - Politico social: - https://x.com/superjulia - https://www.linkedin.com/in/julia-glum published: '2026-04-21T17:58:16.000Z' modified: '2026-04-21T19:30:54.000Z' section: Career Advice tags: - News word_count: 538 canonical: https://money.com/most-overused-resume-words/ type: NewsArticle source: structured-blocks --- > **Disclosure:** We research all brands listed and may earn a fee from our partners. Research and financial considerations may influence how brands are displayed. Not all brands are included. [Learn more](https://money.com/page/disclaimer/). ![Overhead view of a man looking at a resume on a piece of paper and a laptop screen](https://img.money.com/2026/04/News-Overused-Words-Resume.jpg) Today’s job market is competitive, and [hunting for a new role](https://money.com/best-job-search-sites/) can feel like a slog. The last thing you want is for your resume to be working against you. A simple way to stand out is to tailor your resume by avoiding overused words. A recent analysis by the career website [ResumeCoach](https://www.resumecoach.com/) found that millions of resumes posted on Indeed include the same handful of nondescript buzzwords. ## Getting a great job with a great pay starts with a great resume ### A Resume Builder can not only help improve your resume, but also match it with your career goals. Click on your state to get started. [Get Started](https://money.com/pr/v0aaf8403010?ap_referrer=%2Fmost-overused-resume-words%2F) The No. 1 most-used word in the analysis was “managed,” which appeared on 9.1 million resumes out of 111 million scrutinized. In second place, “organized” was mentioned on 7.1 million resumes. “Accurate” showed up on 5.3 million. So what's the problem? According to ResumeCoach, these words simply describe a job role instead of demonstrating your effectiveness, and the latter is what hiring managers are truly looking for. For example, the phrase “managed a team of five employees” doesn’t say anything about how well you actually did in your previous role. Instead, you can reword it to something like “led a five-person team that increased conversions by 150%.” “Employers don’t just want to know what you did,” Keith Spencer, a career expert at FlexJobs, said in [Money’s 2026 resume guide](https://money.com/free-resume-template/). “They want to understand how you did it and what results you achieved.” ## The most overused words on resumes ResumeCoach’s analysis tracked the usage of 110 popular resume buzzwords using Indeed’s database of nearly 111 million resumes nationwide. Here are the words that showed up most often. - **Managed:** appeared on 9.1 million resumes (8.2% of all resumes inspected) - **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%) ## Other ways to improve your resume Resume experts told Money that one of the most important things to keep in mind when applying is that employers often use applicant-tracking system (ATS) software — and increasingly AI — to scan resumes before a human ever sees it. That means you need to design a resume that’s easy for ATS programs to read. “A clean, simple format that maximizes readability is critical,” Spencer said. It’s often a good idea to avoid complex design elements like tables and graphics. Instead, opt for clear section labels with predictable formats. As for the content of your resume, using phrases from the job listing is one of the best ways to ensure an ATS puts you in the “yes” pile. When in doubt, Lauren Mastroni, a career expert and digital content writer at Resume Genius, recommended using near-exact phrasing. "If a job description for a role says 'project lifecycle management' and you write 'oversaw end-to-end project execution' on your resume, the company’s screening software might miss it,” she told Money, “even though the meanings are similar.” ## Open more doors with a Resume Builder ### Your resume is one of your most important career tools. TopResume carefully crafts your career story to target the job that you want to land. Click below to get started. [Get Started](https://money.com/pr/bc78f3d35181?ap_referrer=%2Fmost-overused-resume-words%2F) ![](https://s3.consumersadvocate.org/prd/image/image/22338/medium_66de1504-7f5e-4208-b1f7-52cce8fa7de5.png) Having a great resume can help you get closer to your dream job. [Get Started](https://money.com/pr/cd4098400841?ap_referrer=%2Fmost-overused-resume-words%2F) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "@id": "https://money.com/most-overused-resume-words/#breadcrumb", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://money.com" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Career Advice", "item": "https://money.com/career-advice/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Resume", "item": "https://money.com/resume/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Job Hunting? 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