10 Words To Include & Avoid On A Resume! (An Expert Guide)

Shivam Chauhan
3 min readNov 12, 2020
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You won’t be able to have much time to make an impression for yourself with the help of your resume. Instead, you have just a few seconds to impress the hiring manager. In those seconds when the employer is scanning your resume the choice of words comes into the picture. Your choice of words will communicate the value you have added to your resume.

However, using common terms such as “go-to person” is considered to be best to get your qualities conveyed to the employer efficiently. But such words have become one of the most used ones and won’t help you to stand out from the other applicants for the job.

Rather you can choose action-oriented words & phrases who instead of showing tells your employer why you should be considered for the job role. So rather than using phrases like “Result driven personality delivering impactful results” use phrases like, “I made the revenue slip by 20% by developing a streamlined delivery process”.

There are some specific special words that you should avoid & include on your resume before applying for a job post.

Words that you should avoid on your resume.

Business Jargon.

Overused Business jargon should be avoided as it weakens your resume. Instead of which you should plain, clear language for your resume which is more effective. To get your Resume built by professionals with the words you should include in your resume for that you have My Resume Jobs. Some examples of Business jargons are as follows:

  1. Wheelhouse
  2. Core competency
  3. Move the needle
  4. Value add
  5. Synergy
  6. Buy-in
  7. Ecosystem

Self-promotional general phrases.

Yes, we all know that a resume is a place for showcasing the skills & abilities, but the use of long and tiring phrases to explain your value can turn out a bit ineffective.

So rather than using such kind of phrases use short phrases such as for example “ Identified the opportunity & developed Digital PUC monitoring system”.

Some of the examples of self-promotional phrases to avoid are:

  1. Best of breed
  2. Results-driven
  3. Detail-oriented
  4. Proactive
  5. Go-getter

Also, certain words & phrases which do not add anything new or classified information to your resume should be avoided. You don’t have to include each and everything on your resume as you don’t you enough time and even space to include everything on your resume to impress the employer.

Instead, try using action statements that help you show how you work with others. Some of the additional phrases which the hiring managers are expecting from you on your resume:

  1. Team player
  2. Self-motivated
  3. Hard worker

Words which you should include on your resume

You including your past work experiences provides a clear view of how you are different from the rest of the applicants. They are looking for examples that show you have added value to the company with your past work. So look for the following list of action statements that show how much value you will bring to the company if they hire you.

  1. Established
  2. Ideas
  3. Managed
  4. Negotiated
  5. Influenced
  6. Volunteered
  7. Trained
  8. Mentored
  9. Resolved
  10. Created

From the first round of interviews to the final interview the employer is in search of what value you bring to the company. Your very first point of contact with the employer is your resume. So in the age of phrases and generalities, bombard them with action words that exactly show how you fit in the description they have given for the job post.

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