Using Outdated Phrases Can Hurt Your Chances of Getting a Job
A well-crafted resume can spell the difference between getting called in for an interview and having your application tossed in the trash. Studies show that prospective employers will look at your resume for no more than 20 seconds so you really need come up with an impressive resume if you want to improve your chances of getting the job.
To come up with a winning resume, think of ways to make it stand out from the rest of the competition. Given today’s extremely competitive job market, your resume needs to be extremely unique and innovative. You can do this by reviewing your resume and crossing out all those outdated phrases and dreaded clich?s that have been used a million times over.
Avoid These Outdated Phrases!
To help you come up with an impressive resume, here are some of the phrases that you absolutely need to avoid when writing your resume.
- Career objective. While having a career objective on top of your resume was acceptable in the past, it has long faded from use. Hiring managers know that your objective is to get the job so you should replace this with target jobs and positioning statements instead.
- Vague buzzwords. Phrases like “excellent team player”, “strong communication skills”, “superior organization skills”, “results-oriented”, and “strong work ethic” cannot help your resume stand out against a sea of competitors. Instead of simply stating that you are a great team player, are results-oriented or have a strong ethic, highlight your qualities by talking about the projects you were involved in and discussing how you managed to get results. Including specific details can help you validate and further strengthen your claim.
- “Consistently met and exceeded results”. While this may be technically accurate, using this phrase in your resume can be a bit boring. Consider using engaging details and descriptions to bring more life into an otherwise uninteresting resume.
- “Years of experience in ?”. Putting an emphasis on your years of experience is clearly outdated. Most employers and hiring managers are more interested in what you do and what you can bring to the table so there is really no point in highlighting your years of experience in your field of expertise.
- “References available upon request”. There is no need to state the obvious, so refrain from using this outdated phrase when writing your resume.
Using these outdated phrases will not impress your hiring manager and may even hurt you chances of getting called in for an interview. Experts suggest it would be in your best interest to avoid them.
