Global recruitment company Glassdoor has published a list of 21 words and phrases you should never include on your CV if you hope to land a job.
According to Jamie Hichens, Senior Talent Acquisition Partner at Glassdoor it’s vitally important to make a good impression with the language used in your CV as despite automated screening processes, the majority of companies still largely rely on recruiters to read through submitted CVs.
“You have a limited amount of time to catch a recruiter or hiring manager’s eye – use it wisely,” said Hichens.
As a result filling precious resume space with verbose language or overused buzzwords can easily backfire.
Here are the words you should avoid – and why the experts say you should chuck them.
| Word/Phrase | Why the experts say you shouldn’t include it |
|---|---|
| Unemployed | Your employment dates already show if you’re unemployed – you don’t need to highlight it. |
| Hard-working | Your employer already hopes that you’re hardworking and self-motivated – you don’t need to point it out. |
| “Ambicious” | Misspelled words should never appear on your resume. Print it, take a pen to it and have someone else read it. |
| Microsoft Office | You should only include skills specific to the job you are applying for – Microsoft Office is (or should be) a given. |
| Objective | Is your career trajectory pretty straightforward and lacking major gaps between jobs? Then you probably don’t need an objective statement. |
| Synergy | Completely overused jargon. Steer clear. |
| Reference available after request | This is a sign that a candidate is overeager. If a recruiter wants to call to know more about you, they will reach out directly. |
| She, He, Him, Her | Talking in 1st or 3rd person reads weird – did someone write your resume for you? Just state the facts. |
| Rockstar | Completely overused jargon. Steer clear. |
| Dabbled | Don’t indicate proficiency in an area which you are not truly familiar with. If you know how to do something say so, otherwise leave it out. |
| On Time | This is an expectation. |
| Expert | Unless you are prepared to be peppered with questions regarding your expertise, steer clear of indicating you are an expert in your field. |
| Unnecessary personal information | Date of birth, family status, personal interests etc. should be avoided on a resume. |
| “I know HTML, Photoshop…” | Skills are the most common resume lies. Although you may think that having every skill listed in the job description will get you the internship, that’s not always true. |
| Hobbies | Content that does not relate to the job and does not address what qualifications a candidate has for a job can absolutely eliminate a candidate. |
| Generalisations | Substantiate your accomplishments with numbers – you need to provide context for your impact at your previous jobs. |
| Accomplished | Instead of saying you are accomplished, show it. |
| Stay-at-home mom | Like personal information, do not feel obligated to explain gaps in your resume. |
| Responsible for… | Strengthen your resume through muscular verbiage and results instead of listing off responsibilities. |
| Results-oriented | While many other words are misused or diluted by overuse – this is the weakest and most abused. |