According to a recent study,recruiters spend an average of 6.2 seconds looking at an individual resume. Working with that kind of attention span and operating with limited space, resume writers need to make every word count. With this in mind, it might be time to a take a critical look at your resume or CV (or even your LinkedIn profile) and root out terms that aren’t doing you any favors. And you can start with these 12 vague, cliche, inappropriate, or downright meaningless words.
“I”
Your resume is a chance to showcase how your skills, experience, and knowledge have produced quantitative results for previous employers. Avoid overusing “I” and focus instead on what you can bring to company and role you’re interest in. Remember, it’s less about you and more about them. A resume peppered with “I”s and “my”s sends the message that you’re focused in the wrong direction.
“Microsoft Office”
Amber Carucci of PR Daily says that most employers assume that candidates have basic computer skills, so applicants shouldn’t take up valuable resume real estate to point out the obvious. Instead, focus on specific areas of expertise such as HTML coding, SEO/SEM, or project management software programs.
“Love”
Used in business communication of any sort, love (e.g., “Accounting is my first love” or “I’d love to work for your company”) is a word that sticks out like a sore thumb. Let’s reserve this quite powerful descriptor for our families, our pets, and our smartphones.
“Impactful”
Sure, impactful is a word, but it’s not necessarily a good one. It’s clunky, awkward, and prompts the question: Was the impact good or bad? Crack open a thesaurus and pick a better adjective (not a tall order since most are better).
“Utilize” and Other “izes”
The “ize” don’t have it. Words like utilize, maximize, and optimize not only fail to impress would-be employers, they detract from the flow and clarity of your resume. Skip the business-speak and err on the side of simple, direct communication that quantifies your achievements.
“Passionate” or “Driven”
Employers have fetishized passion so much that applicants feel compelled to litter their resumes with this absurd descriptor. Instead of using terms like passionate and driven, or feeling obligated to perform an interpretive dance showing how aroused you are by actuarial science or call center customer service, demonstrate it through educational achievement, specific career accomplishments, licensures, and participation in professional associations.
“Experienced”
Experienced is so vague and overused that’s been rendered nearly meaningless. So, just skip it and get specific. What have you done? What projects have you managed? What results have you produced? Dazzle them with facts; don’t bore them with generalities.
“Responsible”
Responsible, as in responsible for, is the cousin of experienced. Instead of writing a long grocery list of what you’ve been responsible for in previous positions, get to the point. Use quantitative data to explain what you did, who you did it with, how long you did it, and how good you were at it.
