Resumes – Are You Using Fluff Words Or Are You Showing Real Value?
Hard-working, results-oriented project manager with over 10 years experience in the computer manufacturing field.
Is this similar to the opening line on your resume? If so, then keep reading, my friend. Your resume needs you to know what I’m going to say.
It’s pretty common to see resumes that start with fluff words like hard-working, dedicated, results-oriented, etc. When recruiters read this, I imagine they think, “You better be hard working, dedicated and results-oriented if I’m going to consider you for this job.” or “Duh, if you weren’t all these things, would your company have kept you on the payroll for all those years?” (Not hard for me to imagine since this is what I thought when I was a recruiter!)
On the other hand, it’s not fluff if real value is attached – if the resume demonstrates HOW the job candidate is hard-working or dedicated. Occasionally, I’ll see a sprinkling of results, which proves the claim to be results-oriented, but for the most part, these traits are usually arbitrarily thrown up there at the top of the resume.
Wasted real estate is what this is… Like a beautiful corner lot in a thriving business district becoming overgrown with weeds and trash. The top of the resume is where you make your first impression – it is the resume’s most valuable real estate.
Distinguish yourself from the 100 other applicants applying for the same job:
1) Start with a strong entry line. Jay & I call this the positioning statement. Make a powerful first impression with your positioning statement.
2) By all means, state your soft skills, but put them second in line at the top of your resume.
2) Prove your soft skills with the accomplishments you should have developed in the employment experience section.
A better beginning
Project Manager with over 10 years experience in the computer manufacturing field. Proven commitment to doing what it takes to meet or exceed expectations. Adept at producing results in…
Happy Hunting!
Great post, Angela. I will be honest: When I get a resume that is full of self-serving fluff and 50 cent corporate words and acronyms(especially if they are strung together in meaningless phrases), my brain freezes up and I grab the nearest Sharpie and put a big “X” thru the resume and toss it in the nearest recycling bin. In contract, show me a resume that communicates clearly and concisely what a professional can do for me, my clients or my colleagues and I’m ready to talk.