With the end of another academic year, we have a new force of graduates who will now be competing for some very limited job opportunities. If you are one of those hopeful jobseekers than you must make sure that you make yourself out-stand, how you may ask, and the answer is by making your CV do the magic. Your CV defines who you are; it must show that you are one of the best people out there that the company must have.
Unfortunately, not everyone is able to make the most of this opportunity, with the standard format and style; it gets almost impossible to make your CV stand out. But thanks to this new trend people now appreciate uniqueness and creativity. That doesn’t mean that you must hire a graphic designer to make you a super colorful and bright CV, something as simple as use of words can do the wonder. Below are some of the most common phrases that you must avoid using if you want your CV to stand out.
1. Professional behavior:
Professional is one of the most common words that most people use. The problem is that the word doesn’t define much; you need to define what you mean when you call yourself professional. Maybe show some example of what makes you a professional employee, maybe share an experience.
2. Competent person:
Again one of the most used words, unfortunately it doesn’t do much either. Again instead of just declaring you are a competent person, define what makes you a competent person without using the word. Maybe you can say that you have effectively achieved something at your past job, or even in your academic career, your marks or GPA can define your competency.
3. The over-used business idioms:
Use of idioms can be effective, but using the same ones, that we all have seen since forever, can actually decrease you resume’s effectively. Thanks to the internet you can always look up for idioms and it’s synonymous. Use of unique words shows your creativity and the fact that you actually can think outside the box, rather than just saying you do, show them that you really can think outside the box.
4. Objective:
Objectives can be very subjective thing but unfortunately again people use some very common words to define their purpose. Thus rather than juggling the same five words you must try to use that space to define yourself through your unique experiences and achievements. Also make sure that the experience that you share is relevant to the job that you are applying for. Non relevant experience doesn’t add points so it’s not crucial to add that.
5. Your details:
If you think that the employers won’t pay attention to the details that you provide than you are very wrong. Everything that you put on your CV can be used to evaluate you. One of the most common mistake or problem that human resources have witnessed is the use of random names in the email address. Use of words like super_asad or angelic_aneeta shows non-seriousness and lack of professionalism.
6. Using extreme words:
Another mistake that most people make in an attempt to make their CV stand-out is that they use highly complex words and grammar, thinking that it will make them look good. On the other hand people are drawn to more of a natural language. Use of simple grammar and words only shows your hold of the language and gives a natural impression. Again it’s important that you represent yourself not Shakespeare.
7. Success and result oriented:
To proof themselves worthy of the job, one might think he or she must show how successful and effective person is. This is important that you show that you are worth it, but use of words like result-oriented and successful won’t help you much. Again the use of words can help you a lot, thus, instead use words like performance oriented or use the titles that you have won in your class or in your past job.
8. Self-pusher or starter:
Being a self-starter is really important, but do you need to say that in your CV, the answer is no. In your workplace no one will push you into doing your daily task, it is expected that you will do your job without being told to do so, thus instead of saying something as controversial as self-starter write something else about yourself.
9. Responsible for:
As said above its important that you share your experience, but how you share them matters too. Use of words like “responsible for” every time you mention your past activities will make your CV look dull and boring thus you can simply describe your post and mention the tasks in bullets this keeps it clean and visible.
10. Excellent communication skills:
Last and not the least, one of the most commonly used phrase “excellent communication skills”. If you really are good with communication then you probably won’t have to say it. You would have been able to communicate it through your CV. Thus don’t risk your chances by using words like these.
Conclusion:
Human resource people have to go through hundreds of CV’s every day imagine how they must feel if they see the same stories and sentences in each CV. It is a very common practice; people do use same universal phrases when defining themselves and their experiences, which actually shadow your unique experience and personality. Thus next time you are making your CV feel free to use your own words and ideas. Define who you really are and make sure you sound relevant to the position that you are applying for. Which means that you must re-do your CV, or some aspects of it whenever applying for a new position or job.