Your Curriculum Vitae is perhaps the most
important document you will ever write or produce. It is an opportunity for you
to define your professional identity and set yourself apart from the
ever-growing competition. But often, CVs are filled with shiny overused (and
unwanted) words that do nothing to help you get hired and actually sometimes
hurt job potential of the candidate. If you are really curious to get the
attention of a managing hiring, make sure yours
stands out as an original and logical document.
In 2012, leading professional networking
site published a list of top overused buzzwords. LinkedIn surveyed more than
180 million professionals around the globe and identified creative, analytical,
and effective as the top three overused professional buzzwords used by people
to describe themselves to potential employers.
Here’s the list of LinkedIn’s Top 8
Overused Professional Buzzwords in 2012:
1.
Creative
2.
Motivated
3.
Effective
4.
Analytical
5.
Experimental
6.
Multinational
7.
Specialised
8.
Responsible
The
common mistake jobseekers do when writing a CV is to attempt to make it look
and sound formal. Frequently, this means filling it with words straight out of
a business book. Consider the hiring manager going through dozens (or even
hundreds in some cases) of applications in a day and reading the same jargon.
They can’t help but go on an autopilot mode and glide through all the CVs even
faster, ignoring verbatim.
If you wish to avoid buzzwords in your
future CVs and catch the attention of the hiring manager, here is our piece of
advice that can help you recognise overused or clichéd words:
·
Avoid self describing words
such as visionary, innovative, unique, and creative, etc. – Because there are
just few people who are capable of holding these titles – Steve Jobs, Henry
Ford, Shawn Fanning, and Warren Buffet – not quite common!
·
Avoid words that are hard to
comprehend or confusing. For example: Out-of-the-box thinking, 360-degree, and
change agent, etc.
·
Do not use jargon when writing
down accomplishments. Avoid words similar to knowledge of, experience with,
familiar with, value added, responsibilities include, leverage, and utilise,
etc.
·
Avoid writing qualification
(MBA, CPA, CPS, MACS, or GP, etc.) right beside your name on the top. Instead,
put your qualification related details in the body of your CV.
·
Let us know if you know other
buzzwords that should be avoided!
Hazell Engineering has been supplying the
services of high-calibre engineering personnel to the international Oil and Gas
market, both on a contract and permanent basis, for over 27 years.
If
you are looking to hire professionals in Oil and Gas engineering, visit http://www.hazelleng.com/ or contact our
team at administration@hazelleng.com
for assistance.
