10 Most overused phrases

[stanley clement]

Career experts always advise job seekers to avoid common resume
mistakes, but one grave error often left out of the mix is the overuse
of clichés and vague phrases – and perhaps it’s the worst gaffe to
commit.


“If a job seeker places overused phrases on his or her resume, the
chances of standing out from other candidates are greatly diminished,”
says Kathy Sweeney, a certified professional resume writer. “A resume
is a marketing tool and should be utilized to distinguish the
candidate from other people vying for the same position.”


Details, details


From first glance at a candidate’s resume, employers want to see
career progression: concrete accomplishments, any gaps in employment
and potential growth within the employer’s company, says Sally
Stetson, co-founder and principal with Salveson Stetson Group, an
executive search firm. Because employers want to see significant
accomplishments, rather than lists of job duties, job seekers must
provide solid illustrations of their talent.


“Providing specific examples may allow a potential employer to relate
the applicant’s work experience to potential business needs within
their company,” Stetson says. “These examples will also demonstrate a
business and results orientation.”


Keywords


When employers search for candidates in their databases, it’s based on
“exclusion” rather than “inclusion,” Sweeney says. In other words,
employers look for keywords as a way to narrow the applicants down the
10 or 20 most-qualified candidates. These chosen few are left standing
only after others are weeded out.


But what some candidates think constitute keywords and phrases are
actually vague generalities that show up on the majority of resumes.


“Keywords are not ‘team player’ or ‘good communication skills,’”
Sweeney says. “If an employer searched for those phrases, they would
receive about 1,000 resumes that would be considered ‘relevant’ to
their search parameters.” Instead, keywords are solid functions like,
“sales,” “marketing” or “business development,” she says.


Here are 10 clichés Sweeney and Stetson see job seekers overuse on
their resumes and how to rephrase each one into a strong example of
your talent.


Cliché No. 1: “Strong communication, customer service and
organizational skills.”
• Let Kathy rephrase that: Possess strong communication, customer
service and organizational skills, which increased customer
satisfaction from 85% to 98% and realized 100% on-time delivery of
assigned projects.*


Cliché No. 2: “Introduced new products.”
• Let Kathy rephrase that: Developed, introduced and launched
successful new products, which increased market share 3% and
contributed $3 million to bottom-line profitability.*


Cliché No. 3: “Track record of success.”
• Let Sally rephrase that: Consistently surpassed sales goal by 10% or
more each year.*


Cliché No. 4: “Possess leadership, communication, motivational and
inspirational skills.”
• Let Kathy rephrase that: Highly-effective leadership, communication,
motivational and inspirational skills, which led to 98% employee
retention ratio and four out of six employees promoted into management
positions.*


Cliché No. 5: “Exceeded all productivity goals for the department.”
• Let Kathy rephrase that: Exceeded established department
productivity goals 16% through development / implementation of best
practices to increase employee output, communication of corporate
objectives and introduction of compensation plans to reward high-
performing individuals.


Cliché No. 6: “Go-to person.”
• Let Sally rephrase that: Selected by CEO for special customer
service assignment that improved customer retention by 14%.*


Cliché No. 7: “Team player.”
• Let Kathy rephrase that: Possess strong commitment to team
environment dynamics with the ability to contribute expertise and
follow leadership directives at appropriate times.


Cliché No. 8: “Served as company spokesperson.”
• Let Kathy rephrase that: Served as highly-successful company
spokesperson, which generated positive media relations, resulted in
identification as an industry expert, and garnered coverage in
business / industry publications, including The Wall Street Journal,
Investor’s Business Daily and PC World.**
Cliché No. 9: “Partner with others.”
• Let Sally rephrase that: Collaborated with key members of the
finance and information technology departments to develop and
implement a new sales tracking tool.


Cliché No. 10: “Spoke with existing customers on a daily basis.”
• Let Kathy rephrase that: Successfully interacted with clients to
generate repeat and referral business, which resulted in $1.5 million
in new product orders.*


Cliché No. 11: “Expert presenter, negotiator and businessperson.”
• Let Kathy rephrase that: Expert presenter, negotiator and
businessperson able to forge solid relationships with customers, which
improved sales 33% and increased customer base from 10 to 50 new
clients.*


Cliché No. 12: “Managed cross-functional teams.”
• Let Kathy rephrase that: Led diverse, cross-functional teams in the
fulfillment of corporate productivity, quality and bottom-line
objectives.


Cliché No. 13: “Resolved customer difficulties quickly and tactfully.”
• Let Kathy rephrase that: Honored with the “Customers Come First”
award for consistently resolving customer difficulties in an expedient
and tactful manner. **