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Showing posts with label resume. Show all posts
Showing posts with label resume. Show all posts
Monday, July 13, 2015
20 words you should never put on your résumé
I came across this article on Business Insider. I think it's some good information that I think you might find useful...
While many large companies use automated résumé screener software to cut down the initial pool of job applicants, loading your résumé 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.
One of the major problems with using buzzwords and terms, according to Mary Lorenz, a corporate communications manager at CareerBuilder, is they have become so overused that they've lost all meaning. Another issue, she explains, is that many of these words don't differentiate the job seeker from other candidates because they're so generic.
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:
20 words you should never put on your résumé
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 résumé.
"Anyone can say they are 'best of breed,' a 'go-getter,' a 'hard worker,' or a 'strategic thinker,'" Lorenz says. "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."
2. 'Phone'
Career coach Eli Amdur says 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.
4. '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 Résumé 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 ..."
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. 'Seasoned'
"Not only does this word conjure up images of curly fries," says Rita Friedman, a Philadelphia-based career coach, "it is well-recognized as a code word for 'much, much older.'"
7. 'References available by request'
This outdated phrase will unnecessarily age you, Gelbard says. "If you progress through the interviewing process, you will be asked for personal and professional references."
8. '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 explains. "It's also really difficult to wade through a piece of paper that resembles alphabet soup."
9. '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."
10. 'Ambitious'
"Of course you would never say you're 'lazy' either, but calling yourself ambitious doesn't make any sense on a resume," 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."
11. 'Microsoft Word'
Yea, 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 résumé.
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."
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 cliché," McDonald suggests.
14. '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.'"
15. 'Punctual'
Being punctual is great, but it's also pretty basic to holding down a job. Don't waste the space on your résumé.
16. '@'
Unless it's in your email address, avoid casual texting language like @.
"A resume 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'
Cliches 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."
19. 'I'
Avoid using personal pronouns like I, me, my, we, or our, Gelbard says.
"A person reviewing your resume 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."
20. 'Successfully'
"It's generally assumed that you were successful at whatever you are including on your resume," Gelbard says. "There is no need to say that you successfully managed a marketing campaign or successfully led annual budget planning."
http://www.businessinsider.com/words-to-never-put-on-your-resume-2015-7?op=1#ixzz3fjP0wztg
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Tuesday, February 17, 2015
4 Resumé Secrets That Give You an Edge
Here's another pretty good article from the good folks at Men's Health Magazine. Check it out!
It doesn't take long to leave an impression: Recruiters and hiring managers spend an average of 6 seconds reviewing a candidate's resumé before they make an initial assessment, according to a study from the job-search website TheLadders.
Six seconds.
Now that you’re done shaking your head, give you resumé a 6-second look and ask yourself what you took away from it.
If you scan documents like the majority of hiring managers, your eyes moved over your resumé in an F-shaped pattern, finds a study from the research and consulting firm Nielsen Norman Group. That means you probably read all of the top one or two lines, the first few words of the next lines, and very little of the bottom portion apart from section headlines. And knowing that, you can rework your resumé for better results, the study authors say.
First of all, your most impressive and relevant accomplishments need to find their way into the top-left portion of your C.V., the researchers advise. Applying for a sales job? Consider a headline like “Award-Winning Sales Experience” for the career portion of your resumé. Right away, you’re announcing to the hirer that if he keeps reading, he’ll see something impressive. You could even begin your resumé with one or two bullet points highlighting your greatest professional feats. Just get the good stuff up top and to the left, the study suggests.
Here are four more gems to help you spit-shine your resumé:
1. Drop in an achievement stat between your former employers’ names and the dates you worked for them, TheLadders study suggests. Hiring managers spend a big chunk of those 6 seconds looking at who you worked for and how long you were with them. So force employers to read about your successes by wedging them into that portion of your resumé. For example:
ABC Labs, New York, NY - Awarded Chairman’s Chemist Honor 2008 to 2013
2. Emphasize numerical rankings if you’re part of an elite list, says Mathew S. Isaac, Ph.D., of the Albers School of Business and Economics at Seattle University. We’re talking “Top 10” or “Top 25.” Such rankings are inherently impressive and eye-catching. Just make sure you’re not on the outside of a round number. For example, mentioning you’re #11 or #6 will give the resumé reader the impression you failed to make it into the most-successful echelon. In both of those cases, it may be better to say you’re in the Top 15 or Top 10, Isaac suggests.
3. Don’t hide your time off after college. Employers will likely see this break as a sign of your “flexibility," a trait that’s especially valued in creative fields like entertainment, marketing, or architecture, says study coauthor May Ling Halim, Ph.D., of California State University, Long Beach.
4. Present your accomplishments in the simplest, most-flattering context, urges a study from the University of California, Berkeley. For example: If you grew your team’s profits by 10 percent in an industry that averages just 2 to 3 percent growth, don’t assume the interviewer will figure that out. Instead, point out that you “tripled the average growth rate”, the research suggests. On the other hand, if you achieved 30 percent growth in an industry that averages 50 to 60 percent improvement, leave out the context. “Play up the interpretation that shows you in the most favorable terms,” advises study coauthor Samuel Swift, Ph.D.
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