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Tips
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10 Phrases That Can Sink Your Resume.
- by Liz Ryan
 Liz
Ryan (The Savvy Networker).
If you're job-hunting today, you know that employers are looking for
sharp, self-motivated people. Paradoxically, just about the worst
way to convey your talent and motivation is to say in your resume or
cover letter, "I'm self-motivated." Anyone can say that! The phrase
falls flat. You can't afford to let done-to-death boilerplate
language sink your resume like a boat anchor.
Resume clichés like "self-motivated individual" and
"results-oriented professional" are out of date in 2010. You can do
a better job of letting hiring managers know how you solve problems
on-the-fly or leap over tall buildings in a single bound.
Here are ten of the deadliest resume phrases in use ("massive
overuse" would be more accurate) and replacements for each one.
You'll rewrite the replacement phrases to reflect your own
accomplishments--and that's the key! We can't expect a timeworn
piece of resume boilerplate to stand in for our own pithy, personal
examples.
Kill this: Results-oriented professional
Replace with your own version of this: I love to solve thorny
supply-chain problems
Kill this: Excellent team player
Replace with your own version of this: At Acme Dynamite, I partnered
with Engineering to cut our product cost in half
Kill this: Bottom-line orientation
Replace with your own version of this: My accounting-process
overhaul saved the company $10M in its first year
Kill this: Superior communication skills
Replace with your own version of this: I led a two-day offsite that
yielded our 2010 product lineup and a $40K cost savings
Kill this: Possess organizational skills
Replace with your own version of this: Reduced customer-complaint
resolution time from three weeks to one by revamping the process
Kill this: Savvy business professional
Replace with your own version of this: I'm a PR manager who's gotten
his employers covered by Yahoo! and Time magazine
Kill this: Strong work ethic
Replace with your own version of this: I taught myself HTML over a
weekend in order to grab a marketing opportunity
Kill this: Meets or exceeds expectations
Replace with your own version of this: Invited to join our executive
staff at a strategy summit during my first year at the company
Kill this: Strong presentation skills
Replace with your own version of this: Was recruited to join Acme
Dynamite after my boss heard me speak at a conference
Kill this: Seeking a challenging opportunity
Replace with your own version of this: I'm looking for a midsize
manufacturer primed to grow its business in the Pacific Rim
Get the boilerplate lead out of your resume today, and replace it
with concrete, visual stories that bring your power to life. Watch
employers respond! You can't afford to send out another lifeless,
sounds-like-everyone-else resume. Employers want the real you on the
page. Try it!
--
Liz Ryan is a 25-year HR veteran, a former Fortune 500 VP, and an
internationally recognized expert on careers and the new-millennium
workplace.
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