Getting your player ready...
When you’re putting your résume together, you want to look professional, present the best image possible and find ways to stand out. And, there are several common words and phrases that many people think fit the bill but aren’t as great as they seem. In fact, they make hiring managers cringe.
Here are eight words and phrases you should eliminate from your résumé.
• Results-oriented. This is one of the worst. “People use this term in lieu of telling giving me specifics,” says Liz D’Aloia, founder of HR Virtuoso.
Career consultant and data analyst Carl Forrest agrees, adding that the term itself is nebulous and doesn’t say anything. “It implies the reader should just take your claim at face-value.”
Both D’Aloia and Forrest recommend focusing on specifics instead. “Give me a brief summary of the project that demonstrated your strong drive for results, how you achieved them, and most importantly, metrics so I understand the scale and impact of the results,” D’Aloia says. “This should be one of those stories that you want to share when I interview you.”
• High technical aptitude. This phrase is especially grating on a marketing résumé, says Wes Lieser, marketing recruiter at Versique Search and Consulting. “It’s just not something that needs to be said. It actually makes me assume that you don’t fully understand what you are doing. This is comparable to a baseball pitcher telling someone that he or she can throw a baseball.” Instead, talk about the specific programs and applications you excel at using.
• Ninja, rockstar and other quirky titles. You may see words like “ninja” or “rockstar” in a hiring ad, but if you don’t, definitely don’t use them in your résumé. It makes you sound pretentious, says Josh Goldstein, co-founder of Underdog.io. “Instead of saying you’re good at something, show it.”
• Assisted. “Assisted” is one that workforce development consultant Frank Grossman doesn’t like. “If you assisted with something, there’s something you did. For example, if you ‘assisted in keeping the facility clean,’ what did you do to assist? Did you clean the kitchen? If one of your accomplishments was to ‘assist the CEO,’ what did you do for her?” Use specifics.
• Strong work ethic. This is the one phrase Kimberli Taylor hates. As the office manager for Conover & Grebe, she is the first person to read through résumés when the firm is hiring, and “strong work ethic” will not impress her. “I hate this because it is not a skill or an asset. It is an expectation of any employee. Listing it as a skill tells me that the candidate believes work ethic is optional for some jobs.” Frequently “strong work ethic” is simply a space-filler on resumes for people with no other skills to list.
• Self-starter. You may think this term makes you look like a productive, eager employee, but it doesn’t necessarily come across that way. Instead, list projects that show your leadership or initiative.
• Detail-oriented. Again, show your skills, whether it’s catching mistakes others miss or your ability to find problems in complex issues.
– Copyright 2014. Monster Worldwide, Inc. All Rights Reserved. You may not copy, reproduce or distribute this article without the prior written permission of Monster Worldwide. This article first appeared on Monster, the leading online global network for careers. To see other career-related articles, visit career-advice.monster.com.
