Words You Should Not Use in a Resume

Most guides in resume writing present power words - words that attract employer attention when he scans hundreds of resume - but few of them include words you should not use in a resume.

Here is a list of words and word categories which should be avoided when you create your resume.

As Words

Abbreviations and acronyms
APTA, CPOFAS, RIFL, MRSRSA and it starts to look like a Scrabble game. Too many abbreviations and acronyms make a resume unreadable. As a rule, avoid using them, and use them only when they are easy to recognize. If these words are very popular in your field use them with care.

Personal pronouns
It may seem strange to avoid personal pronouns (me, I, mine, etc) in your resume - a document that's only talking about you. Because it's all about you, using personal pronouns is redundant and pointless. A resume should not contain unnecessary words, because it is not a novel, but a short presentation of your abilities and experience.

Negative words
These words transform your resume in a total failure: "arrest", "boring", "fired", "hate" and "racist"; if there are problems you want clarified with the employer, keep them for the interview.

Don't overuse some of the words
There are words that are a must in a resume but you don't have to overuse them. For example: excessive use of: "a", "and", "but", "because", "very", "also" and words you can't define: even if a word sounds good and makes you look intelligent, if you use them the wrong way, you lose any chance to be called to an interview.

Words You Should Not Use in a Resume

Resume Writing - 5 Words You Should Never Use on Your Resume

Human Resources professionals are inundated with resumes on a daily basis. Now, more than ever before, job seekers must learn to make their resumes stand out. One of the simplest and more effective ways to do this is by using power words and phrases. These words add muscle to your resume statements and exhibit intelligence. Search online for resume power words and you will be overwhelmed by the amount of websites that claim to 'provide' the complete list of resume power words.

Some power word sites list several words as power words that are NOT power words at all. Your resume can land up in the reject pile if you use the wrong phraseology.

As Words

Five words you should never use on your resume are:

A lot - This is probably the most obvious in the list. The problem with saying 'a lot' is that the phrase is entirely too vague. 'A lot' probably means something different to you from what the phrase means to me. There is no value in the phrase 'a lot.' One girl saying, "I eat a lot of chocolate," could mean something entirely different from another girl making the same statement. How much is 'a lot?'

Instead of saying, "I did XYZ a lot of the time," you could say, "I did XYZ 16 hours per work week." The more specifications you add to your resume, the better your chances are of getting an interview.

Creative - Should someone who boasts of being creative actually have to come right out and say they are creative? Probably not. The best way to show creativity is by accentuating accomplishments or skills you have that emphasize your creativity.

Flexible - Flexible is so overused that the word has lost all power. Flexible does not impress anyone. Flex that muscle on top of your head and come up with another power word that gets the same idea across.

If you are applying for a job where physical flexibility is critical (i.e. ballerina or yoga master) feel free to leave this word on your resume.

Interesting - Interesting as a power word is not interesting enough to grab or keep the attention of a human resources executive. Using stronger power words will create the idea that you are interesting and companies will be interested in calling you for an interview. Anyone truly interesting will never come right out and say that they are!

It - Using 'it' in place of actually telling what 'it' means confuses most readers.

Want another reason to cut 'it' out?

You automatically appear more intelligent.

Using power words can boost the effectiveness of your resume.

Resume Writing - 5 Words You Should Never Use on Your Resume