7 Things You Should Stop Putting on Your Resume - CareerAlley

7 Things You Should Stop Putting on Your Resume - CareerAlley We may receive compensation when you click on links to products from our partners. In the end, its not going to matter how many breaths you took, but how many moments took your breath away Shing Xiong If youre reading this article, youve probably reached that time of your life when you need to start looking for another job. Even if the economy hasnt fully recovered yet from the recession, its not the end of the world. To stand out, you need to get a little creative and stop using those clichs recruiters know by heart and probably avoid. Your resume is your first and most important marketing tool and here are some words to stop using for a more competitive resume: Possesses motivational, leadership and other impressive but common skills I have used this phrase so much in my past applications that it became a catchphrase I learned by heart. It came to mean very little due to most of people overusing it and I soon realized it didnt help me at all. Instead, try thinking of other ways to expressing your qualities or simply give real-life examples of how you applied these skills in your past positions. Assisted with, served as It might seem like the obvious choice when it comes to describing your tasks for a certain position but its certainly not the best. Assistance means you had a secondary role, assisting your supervisor or manager. Instead, write what you actually did, what was your part in the time, what were your exact tasks. Proven track record This is probably one of those phrases that its getting too old too soon. Its very vague unless youre adding something on top of that. So for a greater impact, add figures, percentages and clear activities that justify your skills. Team player It was probably one of the most common words found in positive reviews 10 years ago but now it has well passed its prime. Try replacing this term with modern words such as team environment, follow leadership directives or talk about how you contributed to the team. Good communicator As with other phrases in our list, this one is too very vague and expresses very little. Do you talk a lot with your colleagues or do they understand what you say? To better convey your qualities, try to split them into more specific traits: multilingual communicator, familiar with programmer jargon and so on. Successfully For me, this is the hardest word to avoid, but the most necessary as well. Im always looking for an adjective to add in my phrases and I often get stuck on this one. Successfully should strengthen a description but it does not its unnecessary and often implied by the context. If you werent successful in a task, you wouldnt have put it in your resume. Extensive experience Instead of some vague words, how about you try actually saying how many years of experience you posses in a certain domain? Avoid this clich and start detailing your experience with facts and figures. Bonus tip: Here are some more personal phrases to replace or skip altogether: young, energetic, youthful, athletic, dynamic, innovative, motivated, fit, healthy, professional appearance, mature, responsible for, fast-paced. For further reading, check out LinkedIns study on the most overused buzz words in resumes. What are some clichs you are trying to avoid in your resume? Share with us some replacements for these outdated buzz words! We are always eager to hear from our readers. Please feel free to contact us if you have any questions or suggestions regarding CareerAlley content. Good luck in your search,Joey Google+ Visit Joeys profile on Pinterest Job Search job title, keywords, company, location jobs by What's next? Ready to take action? Choose the right tools to help you build your career. Looking for related topics? Find out how to find the opportunities that help you grow your best career. Subscribe and make meaningful progress on your career. It’s about time you focused on your career. Get Educated Contact Us Advertise Copyright 2020 CareerAlley. All Rights Reserved. Privacy Policy + Disclosure home popular resources subscribe search