Recently, a LinkedIn question asked about the ten most common (and least appreciated) resume clichés. Among the candidates were: results driven, detail oriented and team player.
When I write a resume, I’m less concerned with cliché words than cliché information. The words “team player” are perfectly fine to use, if your achievements and skills back them up. The examples in your resume should show what you’ve achieved as part of a team and should make you stand out from other candidates with similar claims.
Compare these two descriptions using the cliché “strategic thinker”:
- Strategic thinker: Able to come up with new approaches to serve the needs of customers.
- Strategic thinker: Redirected business resources into products with larger payback, driving an additional $150,000 in annual sales.
The details in the second bullet prove the candidate does indeed think strategically. Those details change “strategic thinker” from a cliché into a very valuable skill.
Robin Schlinger is the founder of Robin’s Resumes which provides excellent services to those who value the best in resumes and career marketing documentation.
Resume cliches image from Shutterstock
About Robin Schlinger
This is very good to know. It’s quite easy to fall under some sort of cliche because there are so many rules about writing resumes.