A new study reveals the most overused words on resumes. ‘Skilled’ is the most overused word on job applications, featuring almost 3.2 million times in the UK. After this, ‘organised’ and ‘responsible’ follow, appearing 1.7 million times and 1.6 million times, respectively.
The survey comes from professional CV builders at CVMaker, who compiled a list of 50 of the most commonly used words and phrases on CVs, based on job applications in the UK. They ran each of these words through Indeed’s Resume Search, analysing all CVs updated in the past 6 months, to find which words appear the most. The data has been shared with Digital Journal.
The top ten most overused words on resumes
| Rank | Word | Number of CVs updated within the last six months that used the word |
| 1 | Skilled | 3,193,157 |
| 2 | Organised | 1,696,706 |
| 3 | Responsible | 1,632,929 |
| 4 | Trained | 1,630,002 |
| 5 | Motivated | 951,857 |
| 6 | Educated | 919,479 |
| 7 | Informed | 908,936 |
| 8 | Social | 832,582 |
| 9 | Adaptable | 822,503 |
| 10 | Confident | 723,613 |
‘Skilled’ was found to be the most frequently used word, featuring in 3,193,157 CVs updated within the last six months. It has a significantly high usage rate, appearing almost two times more than the second-ranking word.
The second most common word was found to be ‘organised’, which featured in 1,696,706 CVs. Next up is ‘responsible’, which featured in 1,632,929 CVs, followed by ‘trained’ and ‘motivated,’ used 1,630,002 times and 951,857 times, respectively.
In sixth place is ‘educated,’ which appeared in 919,479 CVs analysed, and ‘informed’ was close seventh, at 908,936. ‘Social’ and ‘adaptable’ come in eighth and ninth, featuring in 832,582 and 822,503 CVs, respectively, and ‘confident’ rounds out the top ten, appearing 723,613 times.
Nicky Klaasse, CEO of CVMaker, has commented on the findings, telling Digital Journal: “It’s interesting to see which words are cropping up the most in Brits’ CVs, especially with ‘skilled’ appearing at such a high rate. While the words in the ranking do describe valuable traits that employers might look for in potential employees, they tend to lose their impact when employers see them so often.”
How you can make your CV stand out
“A more unique CV shows your individuality and helps you stand out from the crowd, especially when you’re applying for more competitive roles,” Klaasse adds. “The more personal your CV is to you, the more likely you are to land your perfect role.
“Instead of using words like ‘organised’ to describe yourself, try describing a time when you showed organisational skills.” The approach of showing rather than telling helps an employer better understand your strengths, in comparison to reading vague language that they see in many other CVs.
“By avoiding generic words and phrases that could apply to anyone, you will make your CV more memorable, which is exactly what you want when searching for a job,” he recommended. “Showing your unique skillset and personality through your CV really can go a long way.
“Another step you can take to make your application stand out is tailoring your CV to the specific role you are applying for, to make it better match what the employer is looking for. Many recruiters who receive a large number of applications also use AI to help filter through them. Ensuring your CV is aligned with the job description can help make sure you get past these checks.”
While doing this for every role you apply for might seem time-consuming, Klaasse advised that “all you need to do is start with a strong base CV, then slightly tweak things like the introduction, key skills, and recent experience to better reflect the language used in the job description. These small changes can help an employer understand why you would be a good fit for the job, and show that you have taken the time to understand the role.”
Source – https://www.digitaljournal.com/business/job-hunting-beware-these-overused-words-on-resumes/article