Top 6 Most Overused Words in a Resume

Employers look for specific accomplishments and certain keywords when searching through resumes as a way to limit their list to the most qualified candidates. People often think that including corporate sounding buzzwords will get them noticed by hiring managers, however, with most companies posting an average 100 jobs a year, (that's 11,800 resumes that they have to go through each year) it's more important than ever to make yourself stand out and ditch these common-as-muck clichés

1.  Motivated

The word "motivated", especially when it's presented by itself with no explanation or lead-up, is vague at best. After all, if you weren't motivated, you wouldn't exactly be pursuing a career move to the next level.

2.   Creative

Creative" is almost always near the top of overused buzzwords lists, and with good reason. It's simply not creative enough anymore.

3.    Expert

This word is simply silly because no one is really an expert at anything. Not only are you lying to yourself, but you're also lying to potential employers.

4.    Enthusiastic

You may, in fact, be an "enthusiastic individual", but that won't get you anywhere. You'll have a far better chance of getting ahead in your job search if you presented yourself as a "miserable sod" on your resume.

5.   Innovative

Like "creative", "innovative" has simply lost its strength. If you really are innovative like you claim you are, you'd have come up with more innovative ways to show it. "Giving birth to new strategies" is a good start.

6.   Passionate

And the same can be said about words like "passionate". A better way to approach this trait would be to provide examples of your so-called passion. While a bold move, is something like, "Once committed to a project, there is nothing that can stand in the way of my success".

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