A buzzword is a word that was once a claim and is now a noise. "Results-driven" was a claim in 1995. Today every resume has it, so it tells the reader nothing except that you have read other resumes. The fix is not a better adjective. It is a fact. A number, a scope, a thing that happened. Here are twenty of the words, the replacement for each, and the test that catches the ones that are not on the list yet.
Key points
- A buzzword is an adjective about yourself. The replacement is a fact about the work.
- The test: could the opposite be on a resume? Nobody writes "results-averse". So "results-driven" says nothing.
- Numbers replace adjectives. Scope replaces "experienced". A verb replaces "responsible for".
- Jargon from the posting is not a buzzword. Use the posting's words for the work you did.
- One pass through the summary and the bullets, with the list beside you.
The test
Ask whether the opposite could appear on a resume. "Detail-oriented": nobody writes "careless". "Team player": nobody writes "works alone and resents it". "Passionate": nobody writes "indifferent". A word whose opposite is unwritable is a word that carries no information, because the reader already assumed it.
A fact passes the test, because its opposite is possible. "Cut deploy time from forty minutes to four" could have been "left deploy time at forty minutes". The reader learns something.
If the opposite could not be on a resume, the word is not telling the reader anything.
The twenty
| The word | What to write instead |
|---|---|
| Results-driven | The result. "Took completion from 61 to 84 percent." |
| Detail-oriented | The detail. "Caught a rounding error that would have misbilled 2,000 accounts." |
| Team player | The team. "On a team of nine across two time zones." |
| Passionate | Nothing. The work shows it or it does not. |
| Hard-working | Nothing. Everyone claims it. |
| Self-starter | The thing you started. "Set up the first usability sessions, now the team default." |
| Go-getter | The thing you got. |
| Think outside the box | The idea. "Replaced the form with a single question, which halved the drop-off." |
| Synergy | The two things that worked together, named. |
Leverage |
Used. |
Utilize |
Used. |
| Responsible for | The verb. Led, built, ran, cut. |
| Experienced | The years and the scope. "Seven years in logistics." |
| Dynamic | Nothing. |
| Proven track record | The record. Three bullets with numbers. |
| Strategic | The decision. "Chose to kill the feature before build, saving a quarter." |
| Innovative | The thing you made that did not exist before. |
| Excellent communication skills | The writing. "Wrote the release notes four teams used." |
| Strong work ethic | Nothing. |
| Thought leader | A talk, an article, a thing you built that others copied, named. |
Where they hide
The summary is where most of them live, because the summary is the one place people write about themselves instead of the work. The guide on summary examples has the formula: what you do, one thing with a number, what you want next. No adjectives survive it.
The skills list is the second place. "Leadership" and "communication" are buzzwords when listed, and facts when they appear in a bullet. The guide on skills says where each goes.
The first word of a bullet is the third place. "Responsible for" and "helped with" are soft verbs that hide what you did. The guide on bullet points has the three tiers.
Jargon is not a buzzword
The posting's words for the work are not buzzwords, even when they sound like them. "Stakeholder management" is a phrase the recruiter will search for. "Discovery" is what a design team calls the first phase. Use the posting's term for the thing you did, and put a fact next to it. "Stakeholder management: negotiated the new forms with four department heads and the compliance office."
The guide on keywords is about which of the posting's words to use, and where.
The pass
Open the summary and the bullets of the last two roles. Read each sentence with the table beside you. For every word on the list, ask what fact it was standing in for, and write the fact. Where there is no fact, delete the word.
The result is shorter, and it reads as someone who did things rather than someone who describes themselves. That is what the reader is hiring.
Questions
What about words the posting uses, like "passionate about our mission"?
The posting is allowed its buzzwords. You are not. Answer "passionate about our mission" with the fact: what you did that is like their mission.
Is "led" a buzzword?
No. It is a verb with a fact behind it, as long as the fact follows. "Led a team of four" is a fact. "Led" alone, on a resume with no team, is the inflation the guide on job titles warns about.
Can I use any adjective?
For the work, yes: "a 40-bed ward", "a twelve-partner pipeline", "a three-week release". For yourself, almost never. The reader forms the adjective from the facts.
Does the score catch buzzwords?
The score on this site checks whether a bullet opens with a verb and carries a number. A bullet that passes both has usually lost its buzzwords on the way. The summary is read by a person.
What if my whole industry writes like this?
Then a resume that does not is the one the reader finishes.