5 Words That Are Weakening Your Résumé (and What to Write Instead)

The Golden Rule: Show, Don't Tell

Imagine a movie where the narrator just says, "The hero was brave." Boring, right? You'd much rather see the hero charge into a burning building to save a kitten. The same principle applies to your résumé.

Telling a recruiter you're a "hard worker" is meaningless without proof. Showing them you exceeded your sales targets every quarter for a year is unforgettable. Every time you write a bullet point, ask yourself: does this tell them what I am, or does it show them what I've done?

5 Clichés to Cut (and What to Use Instead)

Ready for a résumé refresh? Here are five of the most common culprits that are taking up valuable space and what you can replace them with.

1. "Hard-Working"

This is the ultimate résumé cliché. Of course you're hard-working—so is every other applicant who wants the job! It's an expected trait, not a unique skill.

• Instead of saying:
• A hard-working and dedicated team member.
• Show your work ethic with results:
• Managed and completed 15 simultaneous client projects, consistently meeting deadlines and earning a 95% client satisfaction score.
• Volunteered to lead a weekend system migration to ensure zero downtime for the team during business hours.

2. "Team Player"

Collaboration is critical in almost every role, but simply calling yourself a "team player" doesn't explain how you work with others. Do you lead? Do you support? Do you mediate? Get specific.

• Instead of saying:
• A proven team player with strong interpersonal skills.
• Describe your collaborative achievements:
• Collaborated with a 5-person marketing team to launch a campaign that increased user engagement by 40%.
• Partnered with the engineering department to identify and resolve software bugs 20% faster than the previous average.

3. "Detail-Oriented"

This phrase has two major problems. First, it's another unproven claim. Second, it's incredibly ironic if your résumé contains even a single typo. The best way to prove you're detail-oriented is with a flawless, well-formatted résumé and a description of your precise work.

• Instead of saying:
• Highly detail-oriented professional.
• Provide evidence of your precision:
• Managed a project budget of $250,000, ensuring all expenses were tracked and reported with 100% accuracy.
• Proofread and edited all external company communications, reducing errors by 98%.

4. "Results-Driven"

The entire purpose of a résumé is to showcase your results. Stating that you are "results-driven" is like a restaurant menu saying the food is "edible." It's redundant and tells the reader nothing new. Let your results speak for themselves.

• Instead of saying:
• Results-driven project manager.
• Just state the awesome results:
• Led a project that was completed 2 weeks ahead of schedule, saving an estimated 80 man-hours.
• Implemented a new customer service workflow that boosted the team's response time by 30%.

5. "Passionate"

Passion is fantastic, but it's a feeling, not a skill. It's difficult to prove on paper and often comes across as fluff. Your passion should be evident in the extra steps you've taken in your career. Save the emotional language for your cover letter and use your résumé to list the facts.

• Instead of saying:
• Passionate about digital marketing.
• Show what your passion led you to do:
• Voluntarily completed advanced certifications in Google Analytics and HubSpot to deepen my expertise in digital marketing trends.
• Founded and grew a personal blog on sustainable tech, reaching 10,000 monthly readers.

Putting It All Together

Swapping out these vague phrases for concrete achievements takes a little more effort, but the payoff is huge. You transform your résumé from a passive list of duties into an active showcase of your value.

If you're looking to build a strong foundation and ensure your formatting is as professional as your content, a dedicated tool can be a game-changer. A great résumé builder like resumost.com helps you organize your accomplishments and create a polished document that avoids these common traps from the start.

Your Résumé, Recharged

Your résumé isn't just a piece of paper; it's your personal marketing document. Every word counts.

Go on, open up your résumé right now. Can you find one of these empty words? Swap it out for a number, a specific achievement, or a concrete outcome, and watch it instantly become more powerful.