12 Phrases Your ATS Is Quietly Penalizing — Found by Running 200 Resumes Through 5 Systems
An analysis of 200 resumes across five applicant tracking systems (ATS) identified 12 common phrases that consistently lower resume scores. These phrases are penalized for being vague, overused, or failing to match specific job description keywords. The study recommends replacing them with concrete, action-oriented language to improve ATS performance.
- ▪The phrase 'Responsible for' caused the largest average score drop of 6.8 percentile points across ATS systems.
- ▪Vague terms like 'various' and 'familiar with' are downweighted because they do not align with specific job description keywords.
- ▪Self-reported soft skills such as 'team player' and 'strong communication skills' are treated as filler due to lack of evidence and high frequency in resumes.
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try { if(localStorage) { let currentUser = localStorage.getItem('current_user'); if (currentUser) { currentUser = JSON.parse(currentUser); if (currentUser.id === 3896832) { document.getElementById('article-show-container').classList.add('current-user-is-article-author'); } } } } catch (e) { console.error(e); } charlie-morrison Posted on May 2 12 Phrases Your ATS Is Quietly Penalizing — Found by Running 200 Resumes Through 5 Systems #career #resume #jobs #ats The follow-up I owed myself.
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