A resume should sound intelligent and professional, but including pompous, vague, or cliche words for their own sake can make you sound fake. In addition, it can make your resume harder to read, so readers are unable to understand or stand confused as to what you are trying to say. Make sure everything you write is what you would justify in person in the interview without fumbling. Stick to “Show, don’t tell.”
Providing specific examples of your accomplishments makes you stand out far more than generic buzzwords. They might sound good, but since everyone puts the same words on their resumes, you’ll just blend in and don’t stand out. Here are a few examples to avoid:
💯 Hard Worker: You sure might be one however just listing it won’t do good rather replace it with an instance of a time you put in the extra effort to meet a goal or took on an extra task without being asked.
💯 Outside-the-Box: If you have many outside-the-box ideas, potential employers would like to see how you have applied those ideas in your role. Instead of simply mentioning that you “Brought outside-the-box ideas to classroom management,” describe how you “replaced systems & processes that helped achieve XX”
💯 Experienced: You should be specific, and let hiring managers draw their own conclusions as to whether you are truly experienced with examples of the work you did that created an impact on the organisation.
💯 Team Player: Unless you can provide an example to prove to the hiring managers that you are a team player, there is no reason to believe that you are one. Talking about how you volunteered to train others on your team to accomplish xx shows your commitment to your team.
💯 Dynamic, Enthusiastic, or Energetic: It is best to leave these and other adjectives off a resume because it can quickly cross into bragging territory. Having a professional accomplishment list is one thing, but detailing how amazing of a person you are is another. Another reason is that these adjectives are subjective.
Save the adjectives for when your interviewer asks you to describe yourself. ✍️ Connect with me to get a professionally built targeted Resume, Cover Letter, and LinkedIn profile.