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27 annoying words on your resume that make

hiring managers cringe
Rachel Gillett0Jun 30, 2016, 02.04 AM
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These words don't mean much to hiring managers, other than "This one's going in the 'no' pile."
While many large companies use automated resume-screener software to cut down the initial
pool of job applicants, loading your resume with meaningless buzzwords is not the smartest way
to get noticed.
"Nearly everyone is guilty of using buzzwords from time to time, but professionals are evaluated
increasingly on their ability to communicate," says Paul McDonald, senior executive director for
professional-placement firm Robert Half.
Some of the major problems with using buzzwords, according to Mary Lorenz, a corporate
communications manager at CareerBuilder, are that they have become so overused that they've
lost all meaning, and they don't differentiate the job seeker from other candidates because they're
so generic.
Other, less jargony words and terms should be avoided when they serve little purpose to the
hiring manager. All these words do is waste their time and, as a result, you lose out on the few
precious seconds a recruiter spends scanning your resume.
Instead, Lorenz says job seekers should speak in terms of accomplishments and show rather than
tell.
"Avoiding overused terms can help job seekers convey their message and stand out from the
crowd," McDonald says.
Here's what you should avoid:
View As: One Page Slides

27 annoying words on your resume that make hiring managers cringe

1. 'Best of breed'
When CareerBuilder surveyed more than 2,200 hiring managers last year, it found "best of
breed" to be the most irritating term to be seen on a rsum.
The phrase offers little meaning and doesn't help differentiate candidates. "Employers want to
know what makes the job seekers unique, and how they will add value to the specific
organization for which they're applying," Lorenz says.

2. 'Phone'

Career coach Eli Amdur tells Business Insider that there is no reason to put the word "phone" in
front of the actual number: "It's pretty silly. They know it's your phone number."
The same rule applies to email.

3. 'Results-driven'

"Instead of simply saying that you're results-driven, write about what you did to actually drive
results and what those results were," Lorenz suggests.

27 annoying words on your resume that make hiring managers cringe

4. 'Seasoned'
"Not only does this word conjure up images of curly fries," says Rita Friedman, a Philadelphiabased career coach, but "it is well-recognized as a code word for 'much, much older.'"

5. 'Highly qualified'

McDonald saying using terms like "highly qualified" or "extensive experience" won't make you
seem better-suited for the job in fact, it could have the opposite effect. Instead, he suggests
you focus on the skills, accomplishments, and credentials you bring to the role.

6. 'Responsible for'

Superfluous words like "responsible for," "oversight of," and "duties included" unnecessarily
complicate and hide your experience, says Alyssa Gelbard, founder and president of Rsum
Strategists.
"Be direct, concise, and use active verbs to describe your accomplishments," she suggests.
Instead of writing, "Responsible for training interns ...," simply write, "Train interns ..."

27 annoying words on your resume that make hiring managers cringe

7. 'NYSE'
Vicky Oliver, author of "Power Sales Words" and "301 Smart Answers to Tough Interview
Questions," says you should spell out any acronyms first and put the initials in parentheses. For
example, "NYSE" would read "New York Stock Exchange (NYSE)."
"For starters, acronyms are capitalized, and all caps are harder to read than upper and lower
case," she says. "It's also really difficult to wade through a piece of paper that resembles alphabet
soup."

8. 'References available by request'

This outdated phrase will unnecessarily show your age, Gelbard says: "If you progress through
the interviewing process, you will be asked for personal and professional references."

9. 'Ambitious'

"Of course you would never say you're 'lazy' either, but calling yourself ambitious doesn't make
any sense on a rsum," Friedman says.
"It can imply that you're targeting this job now, but will quickly be looking to move up in the
company because you won't be satisfied in the role, leaving the employer stuck with doing a new
job search in the very near future."

27 annoying words on your resume that make hiring managers cringe

10. 'Team player'

"Who doesn't want to be a team player? If you're not a team player, you're probably not going to
get the job," McDonald says.
But using this term isn't going to make you stand out from other candidates. "Instead, use an
example of how you saved a company time, money, and resources on a team project or in
collaboration with others."

11. 'Microsoft Word'

Yes, you and everyone else.

It's assumed that you have a basic proficiency in Microsoft Office, Gelbard says. Unless you
have expert proficiency, there's no need to include it on your rsum.

12. 'Interfaced'

"Words like this make you sound like an automaton," Oliver says. "Most recruiters would rather
meet with a human being. Keep your verbs simple and streamlined."

27 annoying words on your resume that make hiring managers cringe

13. 'Hard worker'

It's true that a company is less likely to consider you if you haven't worked hard or don't come
across as someone who will put in what it takes to get the job done, but that doesn't mean writing
"hard worker" will convince hiring managers of your efforts.
"Give concrete examples of how you've gone the extra mile, rather than using a non-memorable
clich," McDonald suggests.

14. 'Hard'

Speaking of the word "hard," using it to describe your work tasks can also have a negative effect.
ZipRecruiter hosts a database of more than 3,000,000 rsums, which small businesses,
individual employers, and recruiters looking for candidates can rate on a scale of one to five stars
(one being the lowest, five the highest). After ZipRecruiter analyzed these rsums and their
ratings, it found a correlation between certain keywords and low ratings.
The word "hard" was found to a strong correlation with one-star reviews, with up to a 79%
greater likelihood of receiving the lowest rating. It's likely the word gives employers the
impression that you're put off by hard work.

15. 'Punctual'

Being punctual is great, but it's also pretty basic to holding down a job. Don't waste the space on
your rsum.

27 annoying words on your resume that make hiring managers cringe

16. '@'
Unless it's in your email address, avoid casual texting language like @.
"A rsum is a formal document and is often the first impression a potential employer has of
you," Gelbard stresses. "Business language should be used to reinforce that first impression and
text-style or casual words should be avoided."

17. 'People person'

Clichs like "people person" are impossible to prove, Oliver says, and recruiters have heard these
phrases so many times they're likely to feel their eyes glaze over as soon as they see them.

18. 'Hit the ground running'

"This one is a pet peeve of mine," McDonald says. "The expression is unnecessary and doesn't
add value. A recruiter isn't going to be able to place you if you're not eager to start the job and
you aren't committed."

27 annoying words on your resume that make hiring managers cringe

19. 'I,' 'me,' or 'myself'

Avoid using personal pronouns like I, me, my, we, or our, Gelbard says.
"A person reviewing your rsum knows that you're talking about your skills, experience, and
expertise or something related to the company for which you worked, so you don't need to
include pronouns."
ZipRecruiter also found people who use "me" or "myself" on their rsum had up to a 79%
greater likelihood of receiving the lowest rating from hiring managers.

20. 'My objective ...'

And while you're at it, don't bother including your career objectives. All they do is send the
message that you're more concerned about yourself, writes career and workplace expert J.T.
O'Donnell.
"When the first thing a recruiter sees on your rsum is what you want from them, they're turned
off," TopResume job-search expert Amanda Augustine tells O'Donnell.

21. 'Successfully'

"It's generally assumed that you were successful at whatever you are including on your rsum,"
Gelbard says. "There is no need to say that you successfully managed a marketing campaign or
successfully led annual budget planning."

27 annoying words on your resume that make hiring managers cringe

22. 'Innovative'
Subjective words like "creative," "innovative," and "exceptional," are your own opinion and have
little bearing for a recruiter, O'Donnell writes. Even worse, these words make you sound cocky.
Augustine tells O'Donnell that a good test is to ask yourself if you'd say these things when
speaking face to face with a recruiter.

23. 'Extracurricular activities'

Unless these activities are in some way related to the job you're applying for, no one really cares
what you do in your spare time when they're skimming your rsum.

24. 'Address'

Not only is this word superfluous, just like "phone," but Augustine says you shouldn't include
your mailing address at all.
"Nobody needs to have that on their rsum anymore," she says. "And to be quite honest, it's a
security concern. It's more about identity theft than anything else."
Another reason not to include your mailing address: You don't want hiring managers trying to
contact you in five different places that just makes more for you to keep track of.

27 annoying words on your resume that make hiring managers cringe

25. 'Honest'
Honesty is one of those things you have to show, not tell, Friedman says.
"It's not as if there are some other candidates out there vying for the job who are describing
themselves as 'duplicitous' or 'dishonest,'" she says.

26. '3.0 GPA'

Once you're out of school, your grades aren't so relevant. The exception is if you're a recent
college graduate and you have a stellar GPA.
But if you're more than three years out of school, or if your GPA was lower than a 3.8, ditch it.

27. 'Learning'

ZipRecruiter also found the word "learning" to have a strong correlation with one-star reviews,
as it may give employers the impression that you're inexperienced and require a great deal of
training.
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