Wednesday, May 21, 2014

Job Cuts And Unemployment: Time To Dust Off That Resume

Recently the Australia Government announced the cutting of 16,500 jobs within the Public Sector, and given that Australians have been delivered the toughest budget in almost twenty years, many economists are predicting that many jobs will go and unemployment will rise. This article written by Janelle Coulton about resumes might come in handy as many Australians may soon find themselves unemployed.


Words That Can Ruin A Resume'

Jobseekers need to constantly update and pay attention to details when updating their resume’. There are some words that are a complete turn off for recruitment agencies and human resource departments. A good resume’ needs to stand out from all the other applicants and given that jobs can be really competitive, it needs to be close to perfect.

For most people, their resume is not as good as it could be and hiring managers from many companies will say that it all comes down to the language the applicant uses when writing their resume. Job seekers seem to be addicted to all the latest ‘buzzwords’ and are under the mistaken impression that employers love this terminology. Employers will state that they are sick of these words and receiving a resume that is full of clichés is a good enough reason to file that resume in the recycle bin.

Job seekers need to learn what makes recruitment agencies and employers happy when presenting their resume’. Below are the top six words or terms that disappoint a prospective employer, an explanation on why these words don’t work and what words a prospective employee should be using:

Accomplished: The applicant is stating what should be obvious. If he or she is not accomplished then they have probably been fired from every job they have ever held. A better term that could be used is “Peak Performer.”

Results-driven: Every job applicant will use the term “results-driven,” however when applying for a job, the job seeker really does not want to sound like every other applicant. The goal is to stand out from the crowd and be noticed by a prospective employer. Using the term “Performance-Driven” may yield better results for the applicant.

Successful: This word is boring to a prospective employer, and it is also an overused word that appears on many resumes. A job seeker wants to communicate that he or she has been highly successful in their previous places of work and impress a prospective employer. There are better ways to communicate this in a resume. Alternative words and phrases could include; Best In Class, Award Winning, or Top Performer. If the job seeker has won awards or big promotions, these should be detailed on their resume too.
Skillful or skilled: Again these terms are boring. Many hiring personnel hate seeing these words in a resume as it makes the applicant sound incredibly dull and boring. The employer will be thinking that the applicant is not very creative. If a job seeker is having trouble finding an appropriate word to show that he or she is skilled in what they can do, it might be a good idea to use a thesaurus dictionary. Try using the words; Talented, Sharp or Resourceful.

Problem-solver: This is actually a given. There is no human being on the planet that does not problem solve in some way. It is human nature to solve problems. This term really does not need to be on a resume. Again, it is about being creative, use words like; Troubleshooter, Forward-Thinking, or Visionary Leader.


Dedicated and dependable: This is another term that is way overused and boring to a prospective employer. A job seeker really does not want their resume rejected because the person reading it bored with it. Creativity is the key to success here, so try using: High-Potential, Quality-Driven, and Dynamic.

Employers are looking for employees who stand out from the crowd; they really do not want to be reading a resume that bores them to tears. When a resume contains overused words and terms, it will be seen as average, and the prospective employee will be judged as average. No job seeker wants to be seen as just an average employee. When writing a resume it is a good idea for a job seeker to show the person their attributes, not just tell them using certain language. This means giving examples of how the applicant used their skills as a troubleshooter or a forward thinker. Writing a short example about something the applicant did that showed how talented he or she really is. Job seekers need to ensure that their resume is special and gets attention from recruiting staff.


For more information about the author, visit her website:

Janelle Coulton Freelance Writer







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Copyright © 2014 Angie Rose Whitney

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