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7 Buzzwords To Delete From Your Resume

Resumes are a tricky thing to get right. You need to be able to say as much as you can about yourself and your job history in as concise and detailed account as possible. For this reason many job seekers tend to use buzzwords in their resumes like, “Self-motivated team player,” as a way of trying to express as much as possible in as few words as possible. The issue is that these lackluster phrases are a waste of space. With a little consideration you can replace these buzzwords with ones that contain a little Umph, and shows a little personality to the hiring manager. buzzwords

1. RESULTS-DRIVEN

I challenge you to find a company who isn’t looking for an employee driven by results. It goes without saying and is almost a detriment to your resume to include it.

You need to PROVE to the hiring manager that you are driven by results with examples and numbers. Perhaps you have exceeded your targets or been promoted quicker than expected.

2. EXCEPTIONAL COMMUNICATOR

It is difficult to prove that you are an excellent communicator but with a resume you have the opportunity to show off your writing skills. It is the sign of someone with good communication skills that they are able to condense information down and relay it in a clear concise manner. This speaks a thousand times louder than using a lackluster buzzword.

buzzwords3. PROVEN SUCCESS

This is similar to the ‘results driven’ phrase. It should go without saying that you are success that you can provide evidence for. So instead of just saying that you have ‘proven success’  you’re better off citing the exact numbers that prove said success. For example increased social media followers by 58% in 6 months or “exceeded targets for past 5 years.” This gives the hiring manager insight into your career trajectory so they can understand what you have previously achieved.

4. EXPERIENCED

If you are not experienced in the relevant fields, I’m not sure what you’re doing applying for a job. This empty buzzword is so redundant you’re wasting your hiring manager’s time. If you want to show how long you have worked in an industry it is better to use the number of years. However it is also important to remember that just because you’ve clocked up 12 years in sales does not sound as powerful as “generated 20-25% over-quota revenue over 12 years in various challenging roles.”

5. RESPONSIBLE FOR

These two words are just a waste of space on your resume. Instead you should just get straight to the important points  et: “Managed team of 15” and “Achieved record level of social followers”.

6. MICROSOFT WORD SKILLS

There is no point in listing skills on your resume that every candidate posses or at the very least should have. Instead you should research other similar roles and take note of the required skills they list in the job description and add those keywords to your resume.