Be More Than a Resume Buzzword!

Are you a hardworking, results-oriented, and creative problem solver with a track record of success? Do you have excellent communication skills? Are you an expert with a lot of experience? Yes, you may have all these skills, but so does the majority of applicants you are competing against. Buzzwords, overused phrases, and language that carries zero value on the surface won’t get you very far! Here are a few commonly used buzzwords and phrases to avoid on your resume and replacement suggestions that are sure to set you apart from your competition!

Results-oriented

I am sure you have heard by now that resumes should be focused on your results, accomplishments, and achievements and less so on roles, responsibilities, and functions. However, simply stating you are results-oriented is meaningless! This is a matter of show, don’t tell. Describe a project that demonstrates your strong drive for results, what did you do to achieve those results, and include metrics as much as possible to highlight the scale and impact of the results.

Hardworking

You might think by using ‘hardworking’ you are impressing your reader by saying how dedicated you are to your job, but you are really just using a filler phrase that doesn’t say much. What makes you hardworking? Why are you more hardworking then the next applicant? Give real-life examples of how you went the extra mile on the job, and back that story up with an accomplishment or result of your efforts.

Excellent Communicator

Take a moment and think about what it is you want the hiring manager to get from reading that you are an excellent communicator. What specifically makes you an excellent communicator? What you really want a reader to know is that you have listening skills, you have positive nonverbal communication, you speak with clarity and are concise, you demonstrate empathy, you are open minded and are respectful, etc. Pro tip: intentionally use these skills in an interview to further demonstrate your excellent communication!

Expert

True experts do not need to self-proclaim this elite status on their resumes; their years of accomplishments and industry achievements should speak for itself. Being an expert requires a well-earned reputation filled with years of quality experience. Someone who claims to be an “expert negotiator” but then fails to show proof and evidence of this skill throughout their resume is setting themselves up for interview failure when bombarded with questions about this area of expertise. Truly an expert in a specific skill or area? Demonstrate this expertise through your results, accomplishments, awards, and recognitions.

When in doubt, think about the opposite of the descriptor you are using. Would anyone put on their resume that they are a boring, inattentive, loner? Hopefully not, so does saying you are a creative, detail-oriented, people person say much about you? These skills should be conveyed in the proof of your work. How were you creative? What do you do that proves your detail focus? Describe a time you successfully collaborated on a project.

Still having a hard time quantifying your skills? At the very least, diversify your language:

· Instead of problem solver, use: resourceful, solution finder, work out challenges, innovate solutions

· Instead of team player, use: collaborator, multi-dimensional, servant leader

· Instead of detail-oriented, use: meticulous, thoughtful, thorough

· Instead of track record, use: diverse, established, irrefutable success, consistently deliver

· Instead of experienced, use: accomplished, competent, qualified

· Instead of creative, use: cutting-edge, resourceful, original, innovative, inventive, crafty

· Instead of strategic, use: contemplative, methodical, logical, structure, deliberate

· Instead of led, use: executed, orchestrated, spearheaded

· Instead of manage, use: coordinate, direct, guide, head, pilot, supervise

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