5 Overused Resume Phrases

In your quest to find the ultimate job you have been told to keep your resume up to date and as interesting as possible, but have you ever been told that there are certain resume phrases to avoid all together? The reason is simple. If you are applying for a job that many others are applying for as well and you use phrases in your resume that are in everyone else’s resume as well, then the chances of you standing out from the crowd and thus becoming the frontrunner for the position you are after are going to be slim to none.

With the job market the way it is now and many people vying for the same job, it is more important than ever to make sure that not only is your resume up to date, but original and absent of overused resume phrases. Here are five overused resume phrase to avoid and how to re-word them:

1. Track record of success: Re-word as, ‘Consistently surpassed sales goals each and every year by more than 7 percent.’ Here you are saying the same thing only you are citing a specific example of why you are so successful.

2. Go-to person: Re-word as, ‘Selected by division manager on a consistent basis to head up special assignments.’ Again you are giving specific examples of why you are always the go-to guy instead of just stating that you are.

3. Team Player: Re-word as, ‘Strong commitment to a team environment with the ability to follow leadership directives if necessary.’ This shows that you can contribute, but that you can also follow directions if need be. Don’t use the word team player, unless you are talking about the Yankees.

4. Spoke with customers on a daily basis: Re-word as, ‘Interacted with clientele on a regular basis to create repeat business and referrals.’ You can add a specific number to that if you like but again you are getting a bit more specific. Saying it the first way is like, duh, of course you spoke to customers at your last job, that was your job.

5. Partnered with others: Re-word as, ‘Ability to work with a multitude of other from various departments in order to collaborate and implement new sales strategies and techniques.’ This shows that you not only play nice with others, but that you can be productive while doing so.

Always remember that your resume is your one and only tool to sell yourself enough to open the door to your dream job. Once you get the interview it is a different story, but you will never get that interview if you don’t know what resume phrases to avoid using. Put yourself in the interviewer shoes. Would you want to hire someone who stands out from the rest of the resumes and thus looks more like an individual who could possibly lead, or would you want to hire someone who says and acts like everyone else and reminds you of a single sheep in a massive herd? Don’t be a sheep, because sheep are followers and often times get lead to their own slaughter.

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