Hey ThinkTalkers,

Today I want to address a topic that still makes me cringe… resumes. If you are anything like me, your apartment would be cleaned, laundry done, homework completed, moldings dusted, cat fed, neighbor’s hedges trimmed, and TV wires organized before you got down to your resume (yes folks, some may call me a procrastinator, and I accept my title proudly).

But in today’s fast-paced job market your resume can be a make or break it factor in your possible employment. You don’t want a design element or phrasing to be the reason your resume gets tossed to the side and Smarty-pants Susan gets your job instead because she took the time to carefully craft her resume (and she probably reads ThinkTalk’s career advice blog everyday).

So before you send out the next batch of resumes to potential employers, I’d suggest checking out this article from The Savvy Networker blog. Career advice specialist Liz Ryan tackles the 10 phrases that can sink your resume. Ryan talks about how most generic resume phrases such as "self-motivated individual" and "results-oriented professional" are out of date today but provides you with suggestions for alternative phrasing. The 10 anchor-like phrases are as follows:

Kill this: Results-oriented professional

Replace with your own version of this: I love to solve thorny supply-chain problems

Kill this: Excellent team player

Replace with your own version of this: At Acme Dynamite, I partnered with Engineering to cut our product cost in half


Kill this: Bottom-line orientation

Replace with your own version of this: My accounting-process overhaul saved the company $10M in its first year

Kill this: Superior communication skills

Replace with your own version of this: I led a two-day offsite that yielded our 2010 product lineup and a $40K cost savings

Kill this: Possess organizational skills

Replace with your own version of this: Reduced customer-complaint resolution time from three weeks to one by revamping the process

Kill this: Savvy business professional

Replace with your own version of this: I'm a PR manager who's gotten his employers covered by Yahoo! and Time magazine

Kill this: Strong work ethic

Replace with your own version of this: I taught myself HTML over a weekend in order to grab a marketing opportunity


Kill this: Meets or exceeds expectations

Replace with your own version of this: Invited to join our executive staff at a strategy summit during my first year at the company

Kill this: Strong presentation skills

Replace with your own version of this: Was recruited to join Acme Dynamite after my boss heard me speak at a conference

Kill this: Seeking a challenging opportunity

Replace with your own version of this: I'm looking for a midsize manufacturer primed to grow its business in the Pacific Rim

There you have it. If you have any of these overused phrases in your resume I suggest taking Ryan’s advice and updating them to a more personalized and descriptive wording.

Stay strong job hunters; your endless work on resumes and cover letters will pay off in the end!

"Resume t-shirt" courtesy SOCIALisBETTER via Flickr Creative Commons