The purpose of a resume is to paint the best professional picture of yourself as possible in a relatively short amount of time. When people write resumes without the help of the professional, it’s very common to throw in a lot of “filler words,” “fluff” or (a little more bluntly-put) “nonsense!” While we still advise you to hire a professional to help you with your resume – the return on investment can truly be incredible – we’re here to help guide you in the right direction. Do your best to avoid these items on your resume, and you’ll be setting yourself up for success!
Any personal pronouns. Personal pronouns on a resume are redundant; if you think about it, the whole document is about you! It goes without saying that you were responsible for the items on your resume. Resumes are written without personal pronouns nowadays, and it’s more professional to leave them out.
And any form of the following:
Seasoned – What makes you seasoned?
Demonstrated – Don’t just mentioned you have a demonstrated ability in something – show us what makes that ability noteworthy.
Successful – What achievements can you mention that show you’ve been successful without actually saying the word?
Uniquely skilled – Unless you have a skill you’re 100% certain no one else has, there’s technically no way to be “uniquely skilled” at anything.
Results-driven – Show us your results!!!
Self-starter – Anyone who’s looking for a new job could be considered a self-starter; this is just a bit generic.
The problem with these words isn’t the words themselves – they’re certainly not “bad.” The problem is that your resume will be so much stronger if you explain how these traits describe you. These words are very unimpactful and won’t make a big case for you on the recruiter’s desk.
When you’re writing your resume, be vigilant of overusing fluff words like the ones above (and other similar words as well); speak simply and clearly about your professional achievements. If you find yourself needing some help getting the verbiage down pat, take a look at our pricing page to determine the correct package for you!