The most overused resume buzzwords and the words most likely to lead to a hire

An eye-tracking research study found that a resume gets 7.4 seconds to make an impression on a potential employer. With most large employers running applications through ATS and AI screening tools before a human reads them, that first glance is harder-won than ever. In those few seconds, the words job seekers choose to pitch themselves are doing all the work – but it appears job seekers are choosing the same ones.  

We analyzed 134,312 resumes with summaries and profile statements written in the last 12 months to reveal the most overused buzzwords on resumes today, the AI-tainted phrases that are taking over, and the buzzwords that are associated with landing a job.  

In the last twelve months alone, 19,633 job seekers described themselves as ‘dynamic’ on their resume. “Dedicated” follows with 16,316 mentions, and ‘proven ability’ completes the three at 15,903.  

Rank	Buzzword	Count of occurrences (last 12 months)
1	Dynamic	19,633
2	Dedicated	16,316
3	Proven ability	15,903
4	Track record	14,171
5	Passionate	13,418
6	Fast-paced (environment)	13,471
7	Problem solver	12,739
8	Motivated	12,680
9	Extensive experience	12,120
10	Proven track record	11,232
11	Cross-functional	10,482
12	Detail-oriented	9,858
13	Reliable	8,070
14	Results-driven	7,452
15	Innovative	6,963
16	Communication skills	6,568
17	Attention to detail	5,679
18	Hard-working	5,635
19	Strong communication skills	5,054
20	Data-driven	4,773

Across the top 20, the buzzwords fall into two categories. Around half are personality descriptors, such as dedicated, passionate, motivated, reliable, hard-working, while the rest highlight experience or results without backing them up, like “proven ability,” “track record,” and “results-driven.”  

More than half of job seekers now use AI to write or improve their resumes, however, recruiters are getting better at spotting them. The analysis reveals that the same chatbot-generated phrases are showing up, some on more than 15,000 resumes.  

Rank	AI-flavored phrase	Count of occurrence
1	operational efficiency	15,425
2	delivering exceptional	7,457
3	while maintaining	7,318
4	continuous improvement	6,968
5	operational excellence	6,481
6	committed to delivering	5,150
7	committed to continuous	4,360
8	committed to fostering	4,096
9	fostering positive	3,715
10	eager to leverage	3,645

The most used AI phrase on resumes is ‘operational efficiency’, found on 15,425 resumes. What gives AI writing away is language that wouldn’t be used to describe themselves or their previous role. AI-generated language tends to be hyperbolic, vague,  monotonous in rhythm, and full of corporate phrasing that doesn’t come up in normal speech.  

Each phrase sounds professional on its own; however, after seeing them repeated on thousands of resumes, they can appear as part of a template. In fact, nearly half (49%) of hiring managers say they automatically dismiss resumes they believe are AI-generated.  

The analysis also followed 41,844 resumes and found that 19% of job seekers went on to land a new role. Nearly a quarter (24.4%) of those job seekers who used action-focused words such as “ambitious” went on to be hired, the strongest buzzword measured.  

Dynamic, one of the most common words found on resumes, led to a hire 22.6% of the time. However, other common words such as ‘proactive’ appear among the words that were the least likely to lead to a hire.  

Buzzwords to keep	Share who were hired	Buzzwords to cut	Share who were hired
Ambitious	24.4%	Dependable	7.2%
Collaborative	24%	Compassionate	10.3%
Innovative	23.8%	Resourceful	10.8%
Strategic	23.6%	Organized	11.5%
Dynamic	22.6%	Proactive	12.1%
Creative	22.4%	Reliable	12.4%
Driven	22.2%	Hardworking	13.2%

Job seekers who described themselves as ‘dependable’ landed a role just 7.2% of the time, the lowest rate of any buzzword measured.  

Most of the words least likely to lead to a hire are more about character, including words such as “compassionate” and “hardworking”. These describe how someone behaves at work instead of what they have done or plan to do, and while employers no doubt value those qualities, on a resume they carry little weight without proof. Character can be communicated in an interview, where an employer can see it for themselves. The resume’s job is to get job seekers to an interview by showcasing their skills and evidencing a track record.  

• Choose words that show direction 
   

The buzzwords that outperform (ambitious, strategic, driven) describe where a candidate is going, while the ones that underperform (dependable, reliable, dedicated) describe how they behave. Recruiters scanning resumes are ultimately looking for what a candidate will achieve for the business. Buzzwords earn their place when they’re attached to something concrete; “driven to cut onboarding time” says more about a candidate than “driven” alone.  
 

• Show, don’t tell  

Stacked adjectives with no evidence read as filler words to recruiters. Instead of claiming to be resourceful, candidates are better showing what their resourcefulness delivered, such as project brought in under budget or a launch pulled off with half the usual headcount. Numbers are more persuasive than adjectives, so including statistics such as ‘growing retention by 12%’ carries more weight than a simple buzzword.  

• Cut AI filler 

Phrases like “committed to delivering” and “eager to leverage” appear on thousands of resumes, and half of hiring managers say they dismiss resumes that read as AI-generated. A test is to read the summary out loud, if a sentence is something the candidate would never say in conversation, such as “committed to operational excellence,’ recruiters could spot that a phrase was written assisted with artificial intelligence. Each of these phrases is better replaced with a specific, checkable claim about the candidates’ work.  
 

• A summary that could describe anyone is better removed 

A summary should be personal to the candidate, as its whole purpose is to get buy-in from a potential employer. A strong summary is backed by things that nobody else can claim, such as their niche, their numbers or their biggest win. If a summary is vague enough that a stranger could paste it on their resume without anyone noticing, it isn’t doing its job, and is better rewritten around what makes the candidate specifically worth interviewing.  

• Swap out weak verbs for precise ones 

Words like “managed,” “helped,” and “responsible for” describe having a job rather than being good at it. Precise verbs show what a candidate actually did, such as directing a team of eight, mentoring two hires into senior roles, or designing a reporting system the department still uses.   

Active phrasing matters, too, as ‘led the team to finish ahead of schedule’ tells a recruiter more than ‘the project was completed ahead of schedule,’ which could credit anyone.  

Summaries only make up part of a resume, and our earlier research that reveals the resume skills that get job seekers hired found that specific, verifiable skills outperform generic ones in almost every industry and this report shows the same pattern holds for language.  

For HR and talent teams, the takeaway is that departing employees are entering a market where nearly every application sounds the same, and the words they choose can shape how quickly they land their next role. Helping them get that right is exactly what structured outplacement support is for, from resume positioning through to placement. 

This report is a resume language analysis of data from Careerminds and its career-services brands. The analysis covered 197,271 English-language resume summaries, profiles, and objective statements from resumes submitted between January 2025 and July 2026, of which 134,312 were written in the last 12 months. Each word or phrase is counted once per resume, with spelling variants merged, and groups of fewer than 10 resumes are not reported. The AI-phrase findings come from a count of every two- and three-word phrase across all summaries, with no pre-set list.