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Keep These Words Off Your CV If You Want The Job

OK, it’s time to get real. If you’ve handed out your CV hundreds of times and wondered why nobody got back to you, you might be guilty of these mistakes. 

Maybe you call yourself a perfectionist on your CV (please, please can we stop doing that?) or you used a textbook CV template you’ve found on the internet.

So many mistakes. So, if you really want the job, it’s time to take these words off your CV for good!

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Hardworking: Yes, this isn’t such a bad one – and yet. It’s on almost every CV, and it’s kind of expected. Nobody wants to hire someone that’s lazy, that’s a no-brainer.

It usually comes hand in hand with the dreaded ‘team-player’, but try to be a bit more creative. Is there anything else about you besides the fact you’re hardworking?

Perfectionist: Are you? Are you really? I am always hit with instant disappointment when I see or hear this word, but it’s not your fault. We’ve all been told this is a good answer.

We all think our interviewers have never heard it before. Worse still, when we explain by saying we can’t hand something in until we know it’s perfect. Done is better than perfect, always remember that.

Team Player: Another word that everybody uses. This one is supposed to make you seem more likable, supposed to say ‘I’d fit right in at the office!’ 

Being a team player is the minimum expected, putting it on your CV doesn’t tell the employer much. You don’t know what kind of team you’re getting yourself into, maybe they’re a miserable bunch.

Instead, try to say something like, “Sociable,” or “Collaborative” or “Easy to get along with”. Just a different way of saying it can make your resume stand out.

Honest: When I see this word, the opposite immediately flashes before my eyes. Why would someone have to include this in their CV? Are they hiding something?

It’s just such an expected trait, and somehow seeing it written down flags up the negative connotations. So, stay away from this and the implications it could cause.

References available upon request: This is a phrase to avoid as it takes up valuable space that can be used to add more details about your actual accomplishments and experience. You can leave it off, as in most instances an employer would assume you have suitable references. If a company is interested in making you an offer, they will ask you for references and at that point, you can provide them.

In Conclusion,

Phrases to avoid on your CV can be tackled very simply by omitting clichéd and generic wording and phrasing at ALL costs. You will run the risk of coming across as boring and unimaginative.

What we know is you only have a finite amount of space in which to best describe yourself and your professional capabilities, therefore you need to create a document that is concise but imaginative and will grip the reader and greatly increase your chances of landing a job interview.

Don’t know how? Reach out to our professional CV writers who will help you out.

12 Comments

  1. Am not understanding the references part. Are you saying we shouldn’t include the referees at all?

  2. thank you for the tit bits but kindly tell us the words to replace with those ones

  3. Very valuable information. Thank you. Just to confirm so it would best not to include the references bit in one’s CV?

  4. Team player..aah..
    please tell us the words to attract the employer.

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