Resume Buzzwords to Avoid: 20+ Words That Scream Template
Some words add zero information to an ATS match and actively annoy the recruiter reading behind it. Here are the buzzwords to cut, and the evidence-based replacements that work harder.
Words to cut and what to use instead
1
Cut: "passionate", "enthusiastic", "excited"Self-praise with no evidence. Replace with the work: a project, a tool, a result. "Built an X that did Y" beats "passionate about X".
2
Cut: "team player", "people person"Everyone claims it. Replace with the concrete role: "collaborated with 6 engineers", "led a 4-person squad".
3
Cut: "hardworking", "dedicated", "driven"Unverifiable adjectives. Replace with output: "shipped 3 releases on schedule", "maintained 99.9% uptime".
4
Cut: "go-getter", "self-starter", "results-driven"Empty energy. Replace with an initiative you took without being asked.
5
Cut: "perfectionist", "detail-oriented"The most claimed trait on resumes. Replace with the detail you caught: "reduced error rate from 3% to 0.5% through validation checks".
6
Cut: "responsible for", "in charge of"Passive duty language. Replace with active verbs: built, launched, cut, grew, led, redesigned.
7
Cut: "various", "multiple", "etc."Vagueness signals padding. Replace with the count or the names: "12 regional dashboards", "3 product lines".
The pattern
Bad: "Hardworking, detail-oriented team player passionate about delivering results."
Good: "Owned the billing migration for 40k users; cut settlement errors 60% with automated validation rules; collaborated with 5 engineers across 3 squads."
Every buzzword you remove should be replaced by one fact: a tool, a number, a role, an outcome. That is how a resume stops reading like a template.
Tip: paste your resume into ATSCheck — the report flags weak phrasing and shows which keywords the job description actually wants instead.
Frequently asked questions
Are buzzwords always bad?
The problem is not the word, it is the missing evidence. "Communication" with a proof line ("wrote docs adopted by 40 engineers") works. Bare adjectives do not.
What are the best action verbs to use instead?
Specific and measurable: built, launched, cut, grew, automated, redesigned, migrated, negotiated, trained, owned. Each should carry a number.
Do buzzwords hurt ATS scores?
They do not lower an ATS keyword score directly, but they crowd out space that real keywords and evidence should occupy — and they hurt you in the human review behind the ATS.