When it comes to job applications, grandstanding is rampant. Candidates realize that even their most interesting, insightful and valid points will have no influence unless hiring managers pay attention to their materials. Fear of being ignored has prompted job seekers to overdose on descriptive language. Unfortunately, when someone takes this too far in a resume or on LinkedIn, the resulting attention may not be the kind that gets a person hired.
Although it is tempting to use hyperbole to advance your candidacy, resist the urge. Empty statements will not yield benefits but may get you dismissed for being unrealistic.
Red flag phrases to leave off your resume and LinkedIn profile include:
— compliments from others.
— vocabulary you don’t understand.
— repeated descriptive phrases.
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Compliments From Others
I once attended an enterprise marketing master class where chief marketing officers from leading tech brands discussed strategies for communicating about their widely recognized companies. The presenters were, without question, top performers in their field. They mentioned that the highest compliment you could give a marketer was to call her a “storyteller.” Yet, they also clearly said that they would not call themselves storytellers. It’s a compliment only someone else can pay you. In other words, the best in the business aspire to be storytellers but would never be so brazen as to list that as a credential.
Describing yourself as “visionary” poses a similar problem. As a good rule of thumb, if you need to submit a resume to get your next job, you are not visionary. You may have visions or even really great ideas, but even the CEOs I advise who manage teams with thousands of employees and millions of dollars in revenue realize that they are not hired to be visionary. It is exactly that insight and realism about the value they bring to their work that shows how well they understand the work world.
When you describe yourself using an expression reserved to describe a very select few of the most influential leaders in a profession, you reveal how little you really know. Perhaps your manager will write those things about you in your next review — but you should not write them in your resume.
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Vocabulary You Don’t Understand
Possessing an extensive vocabulary is impressive. Typically, this comes from years of voracious reading and learning how specific words convey just the right point. In an effort to impress hiring managers, some professionals use unique words instead of tired ones. This a great move; using a range of colorful words adds interest to your resume and can help the reader to get a better picture of your qualifications.
But before you go crazy with the thesaurus, limit your choices to words you (and most others) know well and truly understand. When you stretch to use a word whose meaning eludes you, you take on significant risks. First, there is a good chance that the reader may not know that word either. If your meaning is not clear or you make a reader feel dumb, you minimize your chances of moving to an interview. Second, when you use a stretch word, you may use it incorrectly. If your reader has a robust vocabulary and you use a word incorrectly, she may judge you for the mistake or for trying too hard. If you cannot comfortably use the word in two to three different sentences, you should not write it on your resume.
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Repeated Descriptive Phrases
Space on your resume is limited, so use the real estate wisely. A modern resume will likely have a title, summary, some core skills, experiences and education. Each section should add another layer to your qualifications. Yet many resumes repeat the same information multiple times. A well-written resume gives the recruiter a range of reasons to talk to you.
For example, you describe yourself in your summary as an “innovative self-starter who tackles global enterprise challenges within deadline at technology startups.” When you move to your core skills, add something new, like the types of challenges you tackle, the tools you use and specific business functions or processes you know well. Resist the urge to relist skills and traits like “self-starter” and “technology startups.” In your experience section, go into more depth regarding your responsibilities, processes and results. Variation in your descriptions and details is incredibly important.
To do well in the resume review process, you need to convincingly show that you have mastery of a range of specific functions. Use every line in your resume to show your knowledge and awareness of what that role requires. Resist the urge to overstate your skills or put together statements that “look good” but have no real meaning. A winning resume is a comprehensive document that strengthens your candidacy with variety, depth and clarity (and a bit of humility.)
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Red Flag Phrases to Leave Off Your Resume originally appeared on usnews.com
