Job Hunting Forum

Thursday, December 16, 2010

Dead Language: What Words and Terms You Shouldn't Be Using on Your Resume

Team player. Exceeds expectations. Goal oriented. Yawn.

We've seen, read and heard about all these terms a thousand times before, and we'll probably hear all of them a thousand times again. And for employers viewing hundreds of resumes day in and day out, it's a sobering thought to think how often they see certain terms over and over again.

The crew over at Lifehacker (a fantastically resourceful site with stuff about technology, everyday fixes to problems and more) recently compiled a list of words to avoid so it doesn't look like everyone else's.

The words listed were:
  • Results-oriented professional
  • Cross-functional teams
  • More than [x] years of progressively responsible experience
  • Superior (or excellent) communication skills
  • Strong work ethic
  • Met or exceeded expectations
  • Proven track record of success
  • Works well with all levels of staff
  • Team player
  • Bottom-line orientation
 Reading the list you might immediately phrases you've heard and probably use. It might be time to give your resume another once over because with more than 30 million resumes in circulation, according to job expert Bob J. Gerberg, you can't afford to be lost in the shuffle.

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