Hi, there lovely readers! Are you thinking of merging onto the ‘the great resignation’ freeway and busy brushing up your resume while all those kick-ass achievements are still fresh in your mind. Or perhaps you still adore your job and you’re prepping for your performance review? Either way, trying to fit all that awesomeness into an eye-catching two-page resume can be challenging, not to mention finding just the right words to emphasise your brilliance. Agree?
According to The Muse, when trying to craft a resume that stands out, people often get a little too ‘creative’ with their word choices, opting for corporate-sounding buzzwords that they think hiring managers want to hear, rather than simply describing their accomplishments.
The message here? Cut the jargon!
A survey by CareerBuilder asked more than 2,000 hiring managers and human resource
professionals about their biggest resume word turn-offs (and turn-ons) and the results were enlightening. Seems no one wants to see those overused business buzzwords and clichés such as “results-driven,” “team player,” “hard worker.” Hiring managers prefer to see proof of such claims through actual achievements using strong and simple action verbs such as “achieved,” “improved,” “trained” or “mentored”. Oh! And equally annoying? Forgetting to quantify those achievements. Without a stat to back it up, they’ll view those hard-won achievements as merely ‘hearsay’. And that’s the last thing you want!
The biggest takeaway? When it comes to the words you choose on your resume, keep it simple. Clearly and accurately describe what you’ve done in the past and it will become obvious to hiring managers why you’re the “best of breed.”
Worst Resume Terms?
- Best of breed
- Go-getter
- Think outside of the box
- Synergy
- Go-to person
- Results-driven
- Team player
- Hard worker
- Strategic thinker
- Detail-oriented
Best Resume Terms?
- Achieved
- Improved
- Trained/Mentored
- Managed
- Created
- Influenced
- Increased/Decreased
- Negotiated
- Launched
- Saved
(Thanks to Erin Greenawald – http://www.themuse.com for her inspiration)
