Imagine having to read hundreds of resumes a month. Month after month. Those seemingly harmless words that don’t really convey any verifiable information that keep popping up start causing major cringes. Give hiring managers a break and cleanse your resume of the eye-rollers. Here are the most egregious offenders.
Extensive Experience
It’s hard to imagine another word coming after “extensive” and that’s what a cliche does. It has a way of putting everything, including thought, on auto-pilot. This is not the effect you want. Hiring managers will be able to judge from your resume how much experience you have. Don’t feed em this line. They will like you less for it.
Successful
Yes, you want people to think of you as successful, but you’re not likely to put an unsuccessful aspect of yourself on your resume, so lose this adjective.
Driven
BMW uses this is in a clever way. Your resume does not.
Strategic
As opposed to robotic? Hiring managers get that you believe you had good reason for doing the things you do. Calling it strategic doesn’t add anything and no one wants to talk to Captain Obvious. Don’t be Captain Obvious.
Enthusiastic
Wait for the interview to demonstrate this. It’s the only way it can mean anything.
Motivated
If you’re selling property and you’re ready to wheel and deal then maybe motivated has some meaning (i.e., you’re desperate). Leave this one off the resume.
Creative
Another adjective where you really have to show and not tell.
Proven Track Record
Let the hiring managers come to this conclusion on their own. It’ll be more meaningful that way.
Leadership Position
It just sounds painful.
Avoid annoying hiring managers by showing some empathy towards their threshold for annoyance. They’ll read on only if it’s not a painful thing for them to do.
About NextGen
NextGen is the brainchild of longtime telecom professionals with nearly 50 years of experience and millions of dollars in Telecom Recruiting Services. We focus on establishing long term relationships with our clients and candidates so we can recruit the best and the brightest in the telecom industry. This ‘quality over quantity’ approach is at the heart of everything we do and has resulted in successful job placements at Fortune 1000 firms worldwide.
