
People Hate These 10 Phrases Common in Job Posts — And Each Generation Has Its Own Lexical Dealbreaker
Amanda Breen
created: July 11, 2025, 7:05 p.m. | updated: July 12, 2025, 9:18 a.m.
Despite the fact that most job applicants who've submitted countless resumes and undergone multi-round interviews are eager to land a position and quit the search, many of them aren't willing to settle for an opportunity that doesn't seem like the right fit.
Related: Don't Expect to Get a New Job in 2025 If You Lack These 2 Skill Sets, New Report RevealsA new study from Adobe Acrobat explores the job listing "red flag" phrases that deter applicants — and how the biggest turnoffs vary across generations.
"Rockstar" (32%), "high sense of urgency" (29%) and "fast-paced environment" (25%) rounded out the rest of the top five phrases that turn off job-seekers, per the data.
"No task too small" (16%)"Wearing many hats" is most likely to alarm Gen Z and Millennial respondents (38%), while "rockstar" particularly concerns Gen X and Baby Boomer respondents (37%).
Millennial and Gen Z applicants also have a different perspective on job listings that highlight a "fast-paced environment," per the research: Millennials are 29% more likely than Gen Z to consider those words a dealbreaker.
15 hours, 6 minutes ago: Entrepreneur