Five Terms to Avoid in Your Resume

Resume writing is often an onerous chore. The task challenges you to summarize your skill set succinctly and condense years of experience into a few bullet points. Do not think, however, that your work is finished once you have written your resume. Finesse and fine tuning come next. Review your resume for typographical errors, readability and word choice, being sure to remove the five words that could cost you a chance for an interview.

Your experience and your time spent chronicling it don't necessarily have weight in the matter of seconds a hiring manager skims your resume. Your goal is to be flagged as a potential candidate before the recruiter moves on to the next applicant. Although any number of reasons could cause the recruiter to toss your resume aside, you can help prevent your resume from being passed over. One way to improve your resume writing is to remove trite or meaningless words and phrases.

Words to avoid when describing yourself include subjective adjectives, grandiose terms and clichéd buzzwords. Instead of using such off-putting words, give objective examples to illustrate your excellent customer service and highlight your achievements. For example, use words that show that you interacted as part of a team instead of simply claiming to be a people person or a team player. "People person" is among the most overused phrases found in resume writing.

According to a national survey of 2,201 hiring managers and human resources professionals, the five terms that are most frequently viewed as turn-offs in resume writing are as follows: "best of breed," "go-getter," "think outside of the box," "synergy," and "go-to person." These words and phrases can actually hurt, rather than help, your resume. Instead, be sure to use action-oriented verbs that describe specific skills, accomplishments and job functions. Details and accomplishments communicate much more and differentiate you from your competition.

In the course of your resume writing and refining process, read your words aloud. Try to be objective, and ask yourself whether the statements provide a potential employer with an accurate depiction. Strings of trite adjectives do not do justice in connecting you as a candidate to the job. Frequently used buzzwords become a meaningless blur to hiring managers reading dozens or hundreds of similarly phrased resumes. You would do well to stick with objective measures, rather than subjective, so you can be sure that you're being considered the way you intend. Considering that more than two-thirds of hiring managers devote less than two minutes to each resume received, every chosen word is significant. Distinguish yourself with descriptions of what you have achieved, rather than overused phrases that lack impact.

Keep your resume free of filler and fluff. As much as possible, design your resume using specific, objective descriptions and keeping in mind phrases and words to avoid. When you elevate your resume writing from mediocre to memorable, you increase the likelihood that your application will open an interview door or more.

(Photo courtesy of cuteimages / freedigitalphotos.net)