Professional networking site LinkedIn analysed member profiles and collated a list of words that are used most often. A lot of people use similar words in their resumes and online profiles, so it’s likely that these words are used frequently in resumes as well.
Here are the top 10 terms that are overused by professionals in Singapore resumes and LinkedIn Profiles:
1. Track record
2. Motivated
3. Effective
4. Creative
5. Dynamic
6. Innovative
7. Problem solving
8. Communication skills
9. Extensive experience
10. Interpersonal skills
And in case you’re interested, here’s the top term for all countries included in the LinkedIn study:
- Creative: Australia, Canada, Germany, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom and the United States
- Multinational: Brazil
- Dynamic: France
- Effective: India
- Problem solving: Italy
- Motivated: Ireland
- Managerial: Spain
- Track record: Singapore
I see a lot of resumes and do agree that these terms are used too often. This reduces the impact of the words and can make it boring to read your resume/profile. So use such words sparingly and try and substitute them with other words, which sound more conversational/natural and less like buzzwords.