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When you sit down to update your CV next, use these words to really make an impact!

Do you consider yourself a hard worker? A real go-getter? Someone who likes to think outside of the
box? Then youre just the type of person who needs to review their CV.

In a recent survey we found out that there are some words hiring managers and human resources
managers just dont want to see on your CV. And if youve called yourself a go-to person, a team
player or a strategic thinker, youll need to make a few changes before you send your CV to anyone
else.

The deal-breakers
Unless you want to end up on an employers Do not call list, think twice before you put any of these
empty words on your CV they wont accomplish as much as you might hope:
1. Best in class: 38 percent 2. Go-getter: 27 percent 3. Think outside of the box: 26 percent 4.
Synergy: 22 percent 5. Go-to person: 22 percent 6. Thought leadership: 16 percent 7. Value add: 16
percent 8. Results-driven: 16 percent 9. Team player: 15 percent 10. Bottom-line: 14 percent 11.
Hard worker: 13 percent 12. Strategic thinker: 12 percent 13. Dynamic: 12 percent 14. Self-
motivated: 12 percent 15. Detail-oriented: 11 percent 16. Proactively: 11 percent 17. Track record:
10 percent

You dont have much time
Given the amount of time your CV has to make an impression, it should come as no surprise that
your choice of words can be exactly the reason you arent brought in for an interview. In fact, if you
get more than a couple minutes of attention, you should consider yourself lucky.
Sixty-eight percent of hiring managers and human resources pros will spend two minutes or less
reviewing each CV they receive; 17 percent will actually spend 30 seconds or less.
Hiring managers prefer strong action words that can be used to define specific experience, skills
and accomplishments,. Subjective terms and clichs are seen as negative, because they dont
convey real information. For instance, dont say you are results-driven; show the employer your
actual results.

The words they actually want to see
If you felt like you really had something when you called yourself hard-working, theres a lot of
room for improvement. (Besides, thats something almost everyone would say.) Employers dont
simply want to know what you think about yourself; they want to see results. If you really are a hard
worker, prove it by backing up that claim with some data.
Rather than focusing on your previous duties to capture your relevant experience, focus on what
youve been able to achieve using your relevant skills.

The following terms mostly verbs should help you refocus your CV on what truly matters. As an
added bonus, hiring managers would love to see these terms:

1. Achieved: 52 percent 2. Improved: 48 percent 3. Trained/mentored: 47 percent 4. Managed:
44 percent 5. Created: 43 percent 6. Resolved: 40 percent 7. Volunteered: 35 percent 8.
Influenced: 29 percent 9. Increased/decreased: 28 percent 10. Ideas: 27 percent 11.
Negotiated: 25 percent 12. Launched: 24 percent 13. Revenue/profits: 23 percent 14. Under
budget: 16 percent 15. Won: 13 percent
The bottom line: You cant afford to make a bad first impression, and you dont have a lot of time to
make a good first impression. With some hiring managers, youll have 30 seconds to make your
case, and the numbers say you probably wont make it past two minutes.

Highlight your accomplishments and sell just how important your skills have been. If youve received
honors or awards, make sure to find room for them. Focus on what you think will cause hiring
managers to stop and take a second look at your name you can likely find more unique things to
say about yourself than Im a hard worker.


Srikumar is a career mentor for www.skillsgrow.com. He researches and writes about job search
strategy, career management, hiring trends and workplace issues

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