This survey of 2,000 recruiters reveals the most despised – and the most liked words found in their applicant’s resumes. But out of the survey comes golden advice…
The company surveyed 2,201 hiring managers and HR people to come up with the best of the best and the worst of the worst.
“I’m a real go-getter who always thinks outside the box, demonstrates thought leadership, and proactively motivates myself!” If this sentence made you cringe, you’re not alone. These phrases come from the new CareerBuilder survey on the best and worst résumé terms.
The Worst Résumé Terms
1. Best of breed: 38 percent
2. Go-getter: 27 percent
3. Think outside of the box: 26 percent
4. Synergy: 22 percent
5. Go-to person: 22 percent
6. Thought leadership: 16 percent
7. Value add: 16 percent
8. Results-driven: 16 percent
9. Team player: 15 percent
10. Bottom-line: 14 percent
11. Hard worker: 13 percent
12. Strategic thinker: 12 percent
13. Dynamic: 12 percent
14. Self-motivated: 12 percent
15. Detail-oriented: 11 percent
16. Proactively: 11 percent
17. Track record: 10 percent
The Best Résumé Terms
1. Achieved: 52 percent
2. Improved: 48 percent
3. Trained/Mentored: 47 percent
4. Managed: 44 percent
5. Created: 43 percent
6. Resolved: 40 percent
7. Volunteered: 35 percent
8. Influenced: 29 percent
9. Increased/Decreased: 28 percent
10. Ideas: 27 percent
11. Negotiated: 25 percent
12. Launched: 24 percent
13. Revenue/Profits: 23 percent
14. Under budget: 16 percent
15. Won: 13 percent
Considering, according to this survey, the average hiring manager spends two minutes looking at a résumé (and other studies have shown the time to be 45 seconds), it may be worth your time to rewrite your résumé to reflect what hiring managers want to see.
But, if you’re the one doing the hiring, stop and realize your own biases and maybe vow to spend a bit more time looking at résumés. After all, it’s not about what the résumé says (unless you’re hiring professional résumé writers); it’s about what the person can do for you.
Though you may want to immediately reject someone because he or she threw a word like synergy around, that might not always be the best course. Take a closer look and see what the person has really accomplished. After all, your goal should be to hire the best people for your business, and that may mean people who aren’t the world’s best résumé writers.
Add your favorites and the reasons why in the comments below!
Adapted from an original post by SUZANNE LUCAS
