The Curriculum Vitae is perhaps the most important document from a professional perspective if you are looking to apply for a job or internship application. While there is a lot of advice out there on how to draft a CV, it is also important to understand and acknowledge what cannot be put on a CV. In fact, despite your qualifications, the way you have worded the document can make or break your chances of bagging the position. There are some words which if used, are likely to have a negative impact on the recruiter’s impression of your application.
In this article YLCC highlights these words and why you should not use them. Read on!
- SYNERGY
High-end words like synergy and wheelhouse are often misused in a CV to over-emphasise certain aspects of the applicant. This practice is mostly frowned upon.
- FIRST/SECOND PERSON (I/HE/SHE/HIM/HER)
A CV, or any formal document for that matter, should always be drafted in 3rd person and not otherwise. Use of first person or second person pronouns (like those mentioned above) is considered to be extremely unprofessional and also gives the impression that someone else has drafted the CV on your behalf.
- UNNECESSARY PERSONAL INFORMATION
A CV or Resume is a formal document and as such should not contain unnecessary information like family status, date of birth, personal interests, etc. The singular objective of the CV is to assert your eligibility for the role and therefore such information is deemed irrelevant.
- CAN’T/WON’T
Negative words should be avoided on a resume as it creates inhibitions in the minds of the recruiters. The document is meant to portray what you can do and your abilities, not what you cannot do or do not have an inclination towards. There should be an attempt to frame negative premises in a positive manner.
- DEMONSTRATING
This word means to show a demo and is often incorrectly used to imply that you have delivered a presentation or achieved something (e.g. success). Use the appropriate action verbs!
- HARD WORKING
This is a generic description; instead, focus on validating your hard work through your achievements.
- HANDLING/HANDLED
The word often perceived in a negative manner. For example, you do not ‘handle’ a team- instead you ‘lead’, ‘direct’ or ‘motivate’.
- CONFIDENT
Let your body language portray your confidence; mentioning the word in the Resume can set unrealistic expectations for the recruiter- this amounts to running an unnecessary risk.
- EXPERT
If you are an expert in your own niche field, your qualifications and other achievements should demonstrate that adequately. There is no need whatsoever to mention that you are an ‘expert’ separately.
- RESULTS-ORIENTED
(Refer to the last point) Again, instead of highlighting that you are ‘result-oriented’, draft your CV in a manner that highlights your achievement.
- TEAM PLAYER
Employers want to hire people who are easy to get along with and who are able to collaborate and communicate effectively with others. In other words, they’re looking for team players. The trick here, though, is to show – not tell – you’re one. You can do this by using real-life examples and success stories about collaboration – for example, how you and your team were faced with a looming deadline and came together to deliver the project in a timely and efficient manner.
- MICROSOFT OFFICE
Mentioning how proficient you are in software that’s pretty much been around since the dawn of the internet and used by practically everyone is far from impressive. As technology is constantly changing, you’ll want to show how up-to-date you are with all the latest software, so try to use other examples of more specialised programs that are related to the role you’re applying to.
- HONEST
Mentioning you are an honest individual does not quite elicit trust in you. On the contrary, it might make employers suspicious of you and think you are trying to hide something. Remember that honesty should be a trait of any decent human being and not a special talent.
- UNEMPLOYED
If there are any unexplained gaps in your employment history, employers will deduce that you were unemployed during that time – and there’s really no point drawing more attention than necessary to the fact you were out of work for X amount of weeks or months.
- PUNCTUAL
There is zero need to highlight this. Being punctual is pretty much expected of everyone who has a job and who wants to keep it. There’s really no need to highlight basic things like arriving to work on time.
- FUNNY
Unless you are applying for a position that specifically requires you to have an amazing sense of humour, mentioning that you are funny makes no sense, and is a complete waste of space.
Similarly, words like loyal, energetic are irrelevant as these are basic expectations from any candidate in a professional setting. Redundancy in these matters is going to harm your interests. So, from next time, make sure you exclude these words!
YLCC would like to thank Riya Gupta for her valuable inputs in this article.
