Your resume is one of the most powerful tools in your job search, but it might be full of words that drain it of its strength. “[Buzzwords] once had meaning, but they have been repeated so often that hiring managers gloss over them,” says Mitchell Langbert, associate professor of business management at Brooklyn College.
To help you make sure you’re not filling your prime resume real estate with meaningless jargon, we’re breaking down which resume words to avoid, and which terms to add. Now read on you problem-solving, goal-setting, self-motivating go-getter. (Yep, these words are all on the good-to-go list.)
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Delete These
While these words and phrases were actually once effective and meaningful, they are now “dying from overuse,” says Langbert.
Bottom-line
Customer-focused
Dependable
Detail-oriented
Dynamic
Energetic
Enthusiastic
Excellent communicator
Familiar with
Go-getter
Go-to person
Hard worker
Hardworking
Highly organized
Loyal
Optimize
Outside the box
People person
Proactive
Results-driven
Results-oriented
Seasoned
Strategic thinker
Synergy
Team player
Thought leadership
Track record
Value add
Well-versed
Use These
Replace buzzwords with “action verbs that describe what you’ve done and how those experiences have contributed to your success or the success of the company,” says Eleesha Martin, senior recruiting specialist at G&A Partners.
Achieved
Conceptualized
Created
Decreased
Improved
Increased
Influenced
Launched
Listened
Managed
Mentored
Negotiated
Organized
Problem-solved
Resolved
Showed confidence
Trained
Volunteered
Won
Other Words Employers Love:
Goal-setting
Ideas
Revenue
Self-motivating
Under budget
Nix These Space-Killers
Keep your resume to one page with these pro tips:
Ditch phrase redundancies like “responsible for” and “duties included.” “These are largely unnecessary, and can take up valuable space on the resume without actually adding any value,” says Martin.
Remove the “References Available” section; most recruiters know you have references and will ask about them at a later time.
Kill extraneous information. “If it isn’t pertinent to demonstrating or explaining your skills, qualifications, knowledge, abilities and accomplishments, leave it off,” says Martin.
