Let’s say you’re a hiring manager and you need to fill a really important position.
Do you want the person that you hire to be “competent”?
Or “skilled”?
Stick around and find out why using the phrase “Core Competencies” on your resume may
be hurting your job search.
And I’ll also tell you about other lackluster words you should stop using as well!
Hi, I’m Jeri Walker with Your Best Designed Career.
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Okay, let’s talk about core competencies.
I often see resumes that use the phrase “Core Competencies” as a descriptor for various
skills and expertise.
When I see this, I kind of feel like I’m looking at a crooked picture hanging on a
wall, I cannot stand to see “Core Competencies” on a resume.
“Competency” to me, sounds like “I’m good enough.”
Look at this definition of competent.
Adequate, but not exceptional.
Is that how you want to be perceived by a potential employer when you may be competing
with hundreds of other candidates?
Adequate?
The whole purpose of your resume is to market yourself to a company so they’ll call you
in for that interview.
And good marketing uses strong, persuasive language.
Can you imagine what would happen if instead of this ad, the marketing department at Apple
designed something like this?
Do you think this would compel many people to buy their product?
Obviously I’m being sarcastic, but the point is, words are persuasive.
You can use them to your advantage…or not.
So instead of using the phrase “Core Competencies”, say “Expertise”, or “Skills” or you
can combine them and just say, “Skills and Expertise”.
Because who would you rather hire?
Someone with competence or someone with expertise?
It’s a subtle difference, but when you remove the other weak language in your resume, you
can easily increase your value as well as credibility
to the recruiter, just by changing a few words to use more persuasive language.
Another phrase I see a lot is “Responsible for”.
While you do want to demonstrate what you have done on your resume, “Responsible For”
is a really dull phrase.
Put some verbs in your messaging to increase the impact of your statements, and instead
of saying “Responsible for” use words like…“Manage…” or “Lead…” or
“Oversee…”
Do you see the difference, do you feel the difference in how that sounds?
Another common weak word I see on resumes is “Assist”.
Do you want to be perceived as a “Helper” or a “Do-er?
Don’t use “Assist”.
Reframe your verbiage and try “Facilitate…”
“Direct…”or even, “Consult with” or “Partner with”.
These words all transform you into the “Do-er”.
The next word I’d like you to remove from your resume is “Support”.
This is similar to “Assist” in that it attaches your value elsewhere, to someone
else as opposed to speaking to the value that you bring as an individual.
So instead, use “Guide” or “Bolster” or “Advise”
Okay, now the last one I want to talk to you about is not really a specific word, but something
you need to be aware of when choosing words on your resume.
And that is “Company specific jargon or acronyms”
Be sure that you aren’t using words or terms on your resume that are only used at your
company.
Remember, that anyone outside of your company won’t necessarily know what these words
mean so, it’s possible the statement on your resume will lose its impact because your
reader doesn’t have a reference point.
Terms or acronyms that are specific to your company should not be used on your resume.
Just replace them with more widely recognized terminology so there will be no question in
your reader’s mind what it is that you are saying.
Always be mindful about the strength of the words on your resume.
If you get stuck, just take advantage of a thesaurus, that will help you find the right
power word.
So now you know some of the things you should not say on your resume, but do you know some
of the things that you should say on your resume?
If you want to get a free copy of my resume cheat sheet, check the description box below
I’ll put a link for it down there.
And if you want to learn about more things you should be doing in your career or job
search, consider subscribing and click on the bell notification so you don’t miss
a thing.
Thanks for watching, I’ll see you next time.