What makes your resume standout in a pile that could easily be several hundred thick?  Competition for jobs increases as the economy continues at a sluggish pace, and “being qualified” for a position is not enough anymore to get you a phone interview.

You must get through the initial cut that will introduce 80% of the resume pile to the green recycle bin. Only those who make it past the first stage of cuts will be invited to participate in an interview with a prospective employer. Your resume must speak loud and clear for you, as no one else will at this early stage of the game.

I spent time reviewing a friend’s resume, and while it was a good first draft, it needed polish and refinement. I completed several Google searches for tips on good resume writing, and found vast amounts of common, and not so common, sense tips.

Websites like CareerBuilder.com and TheLadders.com have great information on solid resume writing practices, and it made me think about the impact of word choice in resumes.  With a little more digging, I found information on both “good words” (image building) that should be included in a resume, as well as, the “bad words” (over used) that should be avoided in a resume. 

This is not a comprehensive list, by far, and I would encourage you to review the wealth of information that is online before you send out your next resume. 

Please understand that careful choice of words in your resume will dramatically help, or hurt, your attempt to standout in a packed crowd.  

Words that should be included in a resume:

• Strategic planning
• Change management
• Cost reduction
• Organizational development
• Team building and staff development
• Leadership
• Product positioning and life-cycle
• Project planning or project management
• Performance and productivity improvement

General style and content that should be avoided in a resume:

• Long passive phases
  • These tend to put your audience asleep, so write your resume in the present tense.
• Unrealistic accomplishments
  • This is really important as it goes to credibility.  If you have a truly unbelievable achievement, be prepared to offer supporting documentation
• Appearance and age descriptors
  • You do not know what the employer is looking for, so don’t guess and sell yourself short. Make sure you dress appropriately for the interview by knowing the environment you are about to enter.
• Overly technical information and jargon
  • This is a common problem for the technical people.  You need to include what you know, but do not make it a list of every single acronym that you can find. 
• Personal unrelated activities
  • You have no idea how personal activities will be received by the person who is reviewing the resume. It is not worth the risk at this stage.  Be observant in the interview and bring it up, if the interest is shared.

Words that should not appear in a resume:

• Excellent communication skills
• Goal driven
• Flexible
• Motivated
• Strong work ethic
• Reliable
• Multi-tasker
• Independent
• Detail oriented
• Self motivated

Most of the words that are in the ‘do not use in your resume’ list are resume cliche words. They have been used for so long that they no longer carry any weight, and frankly these attributes are taken for granted as the price of admission to the modern work force.

Your resume should convey a message of excitement and energy. The use of active and positive words help to bring out the correct tone and message.  Take time to thoroughly review, and re-review your resume before you send it out.  Remember, you have one shot to get past the first round of cuts, so make it count by using the rights words in your resume.

Do you have any words that you feel should be included or excluded from a resume? Share your knowledge and experiences.

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