In a media interview, I was asked about some buzz in the job search world advising us not to use the following 10 over-used resume phrases. The logic behind this advice: they've been used so much, employers don't see them as meaningful phrases.
It didn't take me long to come up with a response because this is a pitfall I see on so many job seekers' resumes, especially in their Summary of Qualifications sections.
So what's a job seeker to do? Here are my ideas for improving those 10 over-used resume phrases.
How to Turn Over-Used Resume Phrases into Meaningful Phrases
- Extensive experience - Say how many years you have. However, if telling the total number of years would make you look too old on your resume, say "More than X years." (X being the number of year the employer wants in the ideal candidate.)
- Innovative - Give a prime example of your innovation. For example, "First manager at ABC Bank to do such-and-such."
- Motivated - See #2, or copy and paste a statement from one of your LinkedIn recommendations or performance reviews that speak to how motivated you are.
- Results-oriented - See #2, #3, or write an overall career achievement statement that captures that concept. For example, "Consistently exceeded quotas by concentrating on bottom line results."
- Dynamic - Say it with dynamism! For example, "Like a dog with a bone when it comes to completing high-energy projects."
- Proven track record - Give a generalized recommendation, such as: "When I need something done right, I go to (Your Name)." -- typical customer comment.
- Team player - Nothing wrong with this if it's used to paint the picture of you as a team player on your new employer's team. For example, if you're applying for a position on a creative marketing team, you might say something like, "Team player who draws out others' ideas to develop the best creative campaign possible."
- Fast-paced - If you want to work in a fast-paced environment, go ahead and use this term. But if you don't want the pressure of working in a fast-paced environment, don't put that term anywhere in your resume or LinkedIn profile.
- Problem solver - You can make it pretty darn obvious without using this term! For example, "As a manager of over X employees for X years, I'm known as the go-to person for personnel problems."
- Entrepreneurial - Show that you are entrepreneurial by pointing to your specific success with P&L, leadership, innovation, and such. And quantify your results to make it a truly meaningful phrase.
A good way to get a handle on this concept is to read lots of resume examples that avoid using these over-used phrases. You can also find more than 800 suggestions for good resume phrases in my online resume builder, Ready-Made Resumes.
