The worst words to include in your resume: CareerBuilder

Nearly seven in ten (68%) of hiring managers spend under 2 minutes reviewing resumes, according to a CareerBuilder survey, making word choice crucial for job candidates. 

"Hiring managers prefer strong action words that define specific experience, skills and accomplishments," said Rosemary Haefner, VP of human resources at CareerBuilder. 

"Subjective terms and cliches are seen as negative because they don't convey real information. For instance, don't say you are 'results-driven'; show the employer your actual results." 


The Best Resume Terms

1. Achieved: 52% 
2. Improved: 48% 
3. Trained/Mentored: 47% 
4. Managed: 44% 
5. Created: 43% 
6. Resolved: 40% 
7. Volunteered: 35% 
8. Influenced: 29% 
9. Increased/Decreased: 28% 
10. Ideas: 27%

 The Worst Resume Terms

1. Best of breed: 38% 
2. Go-getter: 27% 
3. Think outside of the box: 26% 
4. Synergy: 22% 
5. Go-to person: 22% 
6. Thought leadership: 16% 
7. Value add: 16% 
8. Results-driven: 16% 
9. Team player: 15% 
10. Bottom-line: 14%

CareerBuilder helps companies target and attract talent, and operates in the US, Europe, South America, Canada and Asia.

*The survey was conducted online by Harris Poll on behalf of CareerBuilder from November 6 to December 2, 2013, and included a representative sample of 2,201 hiring managers and human resource professionals across industries and company sizes in the US.