HR Soapbox Blog

The Perfect Résumé

(Published August 3, 2009)

Is there such a thing? From an employee's standpoint, I'm guessing it's the one that lands them a job. For that to happen, though, the résumé has to make it past HR.

I think it's safe to say that HR professionals all across the country can agree that they expect the résumé to be spell- and grammar-checked, but do they agree on how best to construct a résumé and what kind of language to use?

I recently read an interesting article by Liz Ryan on Yahoo! HotJobs. In it, she listed the 10 worst boilerplate phrases job seekers can include on their résumé. I was surprised to see included on that list: team player, superior (or excellent) communication skills, strong work ethic.

She advised job seekers that using these phrases in their résumé gives off the impression that they are uncreative and "vocabulary challenged." In my opinion, using straight-forward language and commonly recognized phrases is to an applicant's advantage. Get too creative and an employer might not know what you're talking about. Use 10-cent words and risk a keyword search bypassing your résumé in search of the simpler version of the same word.

In the article, Ryan also advised applicants to add a human voice to their résumé. She provided the following as an example.

"I'm a Marketing Researcher who's driven by curiosity about why people buy what they do. At XYZ Industries, I used consumer surveys and online-forum analysis to uncover the reasons why consumers chose our competitors over us; our sales grew twenty percent over the next six months as a result. I'm equally at home on sales calls or analyzing data in seclusion, and up to speed on traditional and new-millennium research tools and approaches. I'm fanatical about understanding our marketplace better every day, week and month — and have helped my employers' brands grow dramatically as a result."

My initial reaction to reading that was, "Wow, that was wordy for a résumé!" I think that full sentences have no place on a résumé; a résumé should be a quick, factual read. I'd save the human voice for the cover letter.

HR pros are busy people. They don't have time to wade through paragraph after paragraph on a résumé and try to interpret creative language, especially these days when they are likely receiving twice as many résumés as usual. At least that's my take. What's yours?

Melissa V. Pomerantz
Editor

Posted by Editorial at 8/3/2009 7:38 AM

I dislike "team player," "hard worker," and "strong communication skills" not because they lack creativity per se but because they are so common and standard they don't mean anything anymore. Blah, blah, blah. Find another, more specific way to demonstrate how those traits produced results in your past employment.

Yes, keep it simple (not overly creative or wordy). I am a big fan of knowledge, responsibility and experience bullet points PLUS results statements. Don't waste my time with subjective fluff paragraphs in a resume please.

I don't think a resume is the best way to show off writing ability. If I want to review your writing skills, I'll ask for writing samples or assign a writing exercise.

In my industry, I'm not looking for petty reasons to disqualify a candidate on their resume (such as a typo or a misspelled word). I really just want to be able to tell at a glance if the person has some of the credentials required for the position. There is much more to be learned in the interview process.
Posted by: Wendy at 8/4/2009 12:59 PM

I'd have some significant hesitation hiring anyone who admits to being "fanatical" up front. "Analyzing data in seclusion" - really? Who talks like that?!?
Posted by: HRPandora at 8/4/2009 2:47 PM

I agree with Wendy ... keep the resume short preferably one page only; knowledge, responsibility and experience bullets. I do not take any time to read the "fluff" including the overused phrases.
Posted by: Shirley Hamilton at 8/4/2009 2:54 PM

I agree with the others - give me what you can do - how you match up to my job opening and leave it at that. I do not have time to read narratives that really mean nothing!
Posted by: Sue at 8/4/2009 3:56 PM

After almost 40 years in Human Resources (Personnel)I have no problem with catch phrases such as "team player," "hard worker," and "strong communication skills." Phrases come and phrases go. However, that is not what I am looking for in a resume. I want to know what the applicant has done. The resume is only an introduction. As Wendy said, "there is much more to be learned in the interview process".
Posted by: M. Williams at 8/4/2009 6:02 PM

I read that article by Liz Ryan and had many of the same thoughts as Melissa. I'm not big on filler catch phrases but if you truly are someone who works best in a team environment or independently, by all means tell me so that I can take that into consideration. The term "hard worker" is a waste of ink. Seriously, who applies for a job by sharing that they are a slacker?

I don't want to read cutesy narratives though as I want to be able to skim the resume quickly to see if the candidate is even in the ballpark of what I'm looking for or if it is someone who just sent their resume to anyone hiring. I've found that the wordiest resumes and cover letters tend to come from the least qualified candidates. Candidates who clearly meet the requirements don't need to hide behind verbose narratives to tell me that. Those who are grasping at straws on the other hand, tend to feel the need to try to convince me that their experience is somehow related.
Posted by: Elle at 8/5/2009 11:26 AM

I agree with Elle's post above. I also do not like "cutsey narratives or comments". I did not agree with Liz Ryan's article. I also think she takes a short sighted view of resumes. While she list the "boilerplate phrases" she does not like. If Liz Ryan is criticizing the use of "boilerplate phrases", indicating it makes one appear "vocabulary challenged". I would think the example presented, would not include examples of the phases being criticized. She goes on to uses phrases like "driven, up to speed, and understanding our marketplace".

One of the things that was clearly overlooked is that the resume format does not work well for someone who worked as a consultant and a full-time employee. While I have 20+ years in HR primarily in the high-tech industry--7 of those years were as a consultant. That experience does not work well in a resume format. How professional would I appear with comments like, "I'm fanatical"

Lastly, a resume is a business document not a "friendly note". A company would not send a letter out indicating, "have a look our contract and let's chat if you decide to sign".

Merlynn
Posted by: Merlynn at 8/5/2009 12:53 PM

I totally agree with you about this article and felt much the same way when I read it. It seems like the article was not well thought out. If she didn't agree with the 10 phrases, then why didn't she provide some better examples? I agree that the example she did provide was over the top--too wordy for a resume format. I do think it is tricky to find the right way to develop a good resume these days. A lot depends on who is hiring. Is it a traditionalist or a Y generation kind of manager? Individuals from each of these groups will be impressed by completely different types of resumes. I vote for straightforward language, an honest assessment of skills and an easy-to-read format. In my limited experience with reading and assessing resumes and candidates, they wordy ones are an immediate red flag.
Posted by: Barb at 8/5/2009 6:03 PM

As in everyday life there are so many variables to state exactly how an HR professional will react to a resume. Everyone is different and had different experiences. But after 20+ years in HR and reviewing resumes, I agree that to the point is probably the best. That being said, it also depends on the position I am hiring for. If I needed a creative person who can write with a flurish... maybe a wordy resume would work.
Posted by: Autumn at 8/10/2009 12:08 PM

Resumes are used by folks at all levels of the job hunting spectrum - and those at the bottom may not have "results" to include - if their job was just doing the same rote tasks day in and day out with no chance to show ingenuity or "increase this" or "develop that" - they have a hard time jazzing up the old resume. Often times someone is looking to jump up a level or two to get into a job where they really can make a difference - and that is really difficult to communicate on paper without sounding trite and duplicating what a zillion other job hunters have also said about themselves.
Posted by: Carol at 9/1/2009 8:43 AM

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Posted by: Creative Resume( Visit ) at 9/15/2009 2:05 AM

I Detest the word 'utilize' it's an old 80's buzzword and really mean's use so why not use 'use' you don't sound any more intelligent using 'utilize' in fact I always mentally change the word back to 'use'when I read it!
Posted by: Gail at 10/15/2009 11:26 AM

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