Best and Worst Phrases for a Resume

A new CareerBuilder survey asked 2,201 hiring managers and HR professionals to identify the best and worst resume terms.  Here’s what they found:

The Worst

The following terms were selected as uninviting resume terms:

1. Best of breed: 38 percent
2. Go-getter: 27 percent
3. Think outside of the box: 26 percent
4. Synergy: 22 percent
5. Go-to person: 22 percent
6. Thought leadership: 16 percent
7. Value add: 16 percent
8. Results-driven: 16 percent
9. Team player: 15 percent
10. Bottom-line: 14 percent
11. Hard worker: 13 percent
12. Strategic thinker: 12 percent
13. Dynamic: 12 percent
14. Self-motivated: 12 percent
15. Detail-oriented: 11 percent
16. 16. Proactively: 11 percent
17. 17. Track record: 10 percent

The Best

However, employers also identified several key terms and strong verbs that hiring managers look for in resumes:

1. Achieved: 52 percent
2. Improved: 48 percent
3. Trained/Mentored: 47 percent
4. Managed: 44 percent
5. Created: 43 percent
6. Resolved: 40 percent
7. Volunteered: 35 percent
8. Influenced: 29 percent
9. Increased/Decreased: 28 percent
10. Ideas: 27 percent
11. Negotiated: 25 percent
12. Launched: 24 percent
13. Revenue/Profits: 23 percent
14. Under budget: 16 percent
15. Won: 13 percent

The survey also noted that because hiring managers spend a minuscule amount of time looking at a resume, these key terms, for better or worse, will shape their all-important first impression of the candidate.

So, if you’re searching for a new job, take these tips in mind when building your resume.