Be very careful what you ask for, or you just may get it. A few years ago, I wrote a post “Bad Job Ads Attract only Desperate Candidates” and I pointed out some really common (boring) words in job descriptions that are not only useless, they are the kind of words that suck all the oxygen out of the room when you use them. Candidates don’t know precisely what you mean when you use them – so they actually detract from your message, and reduce your ability to attract top performers. Even some top executive search firms are guilty of using these phrases in their position overviews.
Now I find that our friends at LinkedIn have done the same thing…but with the most overused words in resumes. (Their list is below) Note how closely the lists match up! Apparently candidates have learned to play back all those meaningless job description words in their resumes. Hilarious.
LinkedIn’s most overused resume words:
- Innovative
- Dynamic
- Motivated
- Extensive Experience
- Results Oriented
- Proven Track Record
- Team Player
- Fast Paced
- Problem Solver
- Entrepreneurial
My two year old list of overused job description words:
- Dynamic (found in 22,000 local ads)
- Hands On (found in 12,000 local ads)
- Motivated (found in 10,000 local ads)
- Fast Paced (found in 9,000 local ads)
- Exciting (found in 8,000 local ads)
- Team Player (found in 4,000 local ads)
- Self-Starter (found in 4,000 local ads)
So, if you use dull words in your job descriptions, I suppose you have no right to complain about all those dull resumes you receive….right?