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Find the buzzwords weakening your resume

Paste your resume and we'll flag the clichés, filler phrases and weak verbs recruiters skim past — and suggest action verbs that carry actual weight.

Runs in your browser · nothing is uploaded.

Paste some text and we'll flag the clichés, weak verbs and filler as you type.

How it works

  1. 1

    Paste your resume text — or a few bullet points.

  2. 2

    We flag clichés, filler and weak verbs live as you type.

  3. 3

    Swap them for the suggested action verbs — with evidence attached.

Why buzzwords cost you interviews

Buzzwords aren't wrong, exactly — they're unfalsifiable. "Team player" is a claim; "led three releases across two teams" is proof. A recruiter skimming your resume for a few seconds has learned to discount self-description and trust verbs and numbers instead. Every line spent asserting a quality is a line not spent demonstrating it.

There's an important distinction to keep straight: buzzwords are not keywords. Keywords are the concrete skills and tools a job asks for — you wantthose on your resume. Buzzwords are the fluff around them. If you're not sure which is which, run the posting through the job description keyword finder and keep the real terms.

Words to avoid — and what to write instead

Instead of…Write…
Responsible forLed, owned, ran — plus the outcome
Team playerName the collaboration and what it produced
Detail-orientedShow the error rate you cut or the audit you passed
Results-drivenState the actual result — a number
Helped / worked onDrove, built, shipped, delivered
UtilizedUsed

The checker holds a much longer list, but the principle is always the same: replace the label with the evidence.

Questions, answered

What counts as a buzzword on a resume?
Vague self-praise anyone could claim — 'dynamic', 'go-getter', 'results-driven'. Words that assert a quality instead of demonstrating it.
Why are buzzwords bad if everyone uses them?
Because everyone uses them. They add no information, so recruiters have learned to skim right past them — the space is better spent on evidence.
What should I write instead of 'responsible for'?
A verb that says what you actually did: led, built, shipped, reduced, negotiated — ideally with a number attached.
Are buzzwords and keywords the same thing?
No. Keywords are the job description's real terms (skills, tools) — keep those. Buzzwords are empty filler — cut those. It's an easy mix-up with opposite advice.
Should I remove every word the checker flags?
No — it's a prompt, not a rule. Keep a flagged word if the sentence around it already proves the claim with a concrete result.
Does my resume leave my browser?
No. The check runs entirely on your device and nothing is uploaded or stored.

Keep going

Check your resume against a job descriptionFind the keywords that should replace themAll free tools

Cutting buzzwords is step one.

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