The 7 Cliché Descriptions to Avoid in Your Resume and Cover Letter

Maybe your resume already looks good for you, but for the recruiter- not so much. Recruiters look at hundreds of resumes every day so to them, almost every resume looks the same as the resumes on their pile.

Making your resume stand out from the bulk of other ‘canned’ resumes is not really that hard. You just need to know which phrases to avoid.

I’ve gathered some cliché and cringe-worthy phrases to help you get started:

1.      Qualitative Descriptions

Your resume will read like a work of fiction when you use phrases like “seasoned manager” or “influential leader” without an accompanying explanation. The solution? Drop the description and add years of experience and quantifiable achievements instead.

2.      Results Oriented

What exactly do you mean when you describe yourself as results oriented? Is there a criterion for the so-called ‘results’? Who defines the ‘results’? Who said you were results oriented? This description is very subjective. Instead of putting “results oriented” on your resume, make your accomplishments more descriptive by listing projects you participated in and the results of each project.

3.      Creative

Recruiters have seen thousands of resumes, and ‘creative’ is used just as much. In fact, if you do a search on LinkedIn, almost every profile will have the word “creative” in it- even professionals not involved in any creative works say they’re creative. Demonstrate your creativity instead by writing a compelling cover letter. 

4.      Passionate

So what is wrong when you say that you are passionate? It goes two ways: recruiters might actually buy this (not likely) and think that you’re passionate about what you do, or they might think that you’re desperately looking for a job. The verity of your enthusiasm can easily be checked through your social media profiles. If you really love what you do, your Facebook and Twitter accounts should show work-related status updates, thus reflecting how excited you are about what’s happening in your job.

5.      Responsible For ___

A recruiter, upon seeing this phrase, often pictures a mechanical employee simply doing what he’s paid to do- no more, no less. Change this phrase to stronger verbs that embody leadership and initiative.

6.      Guru

Guru, it sounds impressive, doesn’t it? But the thing about putting ‘guru’ in your resume is it puts you up as somebody who tries to be smart for the sake of being smart. Stop proclaiming that you are a guru about something, or that you are an expert on something. It’s fine if other people describe you that way, but not when you’re using it to describe yourself.

Instead of putting guru or expert in your resume, demonstrate your expertise by listing published books, interviews, past speaking engagements and other accomplishments that could establish you as a real guru in the field.

7.      Excellent Oral & Written Communication Skills

Although this is a must-have soft skill, recruiters don’t really need to see it in your resume. Why? Well for one, they can judge your communication skills based on your resume and cover letter in mere seconds. If your resume fails to communicate why you should get an interview, then what’s the point of putting “excellent communication skills” on paper? Proofread your resume for grammar mishaps instead.

Your resume is your stepping stone to getting a job, so spending an extra 30 minutes to make it attention grabbing and worth reading is a good investment. If you think your resume needs some improvement or you want to have it checked or revised, do not hesitate to contact us.

Michelle A. Riklan, ACRW, CPRW, CEIC
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