30 buzzwords on your CV that’ll get you the job

Often “out-of-the-box thinking” creates a unique identity, but it might not be the best approach when writing your CV.

You are hardworking, innovative, and have impeccable communication skills – well, yes, so do most candidates (at least on their resume!) vying for the same job opening you applied to. Think about it, recruiters spend only 7 seconds with your resume before deciding to move to the next candidate or give you a chance. If you want to crack an interview, you have to ditch the hackneyed resume buzzwords and focus on including the perfect resume words that are concise and carry weight.

This article is all about the buzzwords that must have a place on your CV to attract recruiters’ attention and get you the job.

Keep it simple, silly!

At Talent500, we scan through several resumes every day and almost 70% of those have a repetitive tone. While we do overlook the monotonous language, what gets us over the edge is when candidates use business jargon or fluffy words just to come across as “smart.” Never had this approach convinced us about the “smartness” of a candidate, but it did confuse us at times for sure.

Before you start using the right buzzwords, go through the job description carefully. The most scope for utilizing the ‘word play’ is in the accomplishments section. While we encourage job seekers to use their voice in their CV, we strongly recommend replacing all the jargon with strong action verbs. These words rightfully highlight your skills and catch our attention as a recruiter.

Level up with action verbs

While ‘Responsible’, ‘Expert’ and ‘Proven ability’ often find a place on the CV, recruiters are moved by the action verbs. What’re those? They are the power words that describe specific actions taken or tasks completed. When you use action verbs correctly, you add an impact to the important information that you want the recruiter to focus on.

Assume you are applying for a frontend developer role. Instead of the common terms, you might want to use these action verbs.

• Accelerated: Successfully accelerated the UI/UX development to meet the revised project deadline.
• Collaborated: Collaborated with backend developers and clients to deliver results. 
• Implemented: Implemented framework updates and best practices for project success. 
• Designed: Designed a wireframe for a futuristic mobile application. 
• Enhanced: Enhanced customer experience by migrating an existing application to a new platform.

Highlight skills & experiences over personal strengths

In 2017, LinkedIn shared a study listing the top ten most-used words, and recruiters globally shared how they “hated” and “repulsed” such words. Those words were: Creative, Experienced, Expert, Focused, Leadership, Motivated, Passionate, Skilled, Specialize, and Strategic. You have a couple of these on your resume, don’t you? We don’t necessarily believe that there is something bad about using these buzzwords, but the English dictionary has 171,476 words, so you are not out of options.

It is nice, even recommended to mention your specialization on the resume. Just don’t be restricted to using ‘specialize’ or ‘skilled’, instead use these alternatives.

• Well-versed in 
• Concentrated expertise on 
• Rehearsed
• Trained
• Exercised
• Disciplined
• Studied

The same goes for ‘experience’. Using the word ‘experienced’ is alright, but if you are experienced in a multitude of things why not zhoosh it up with variations like:

• Competent 
• Qualified 
• Cultivated  
• Accomplished

Articulate with power verbs alternative to ‘leadership’

Leadership quality is a big sell, and recruiters want to see action-oriented words that portray your leadership abilities. Rather than just blandly using ‘leadership’, choose words that encapsulate the style of your leadership such as:

• Accessed 
• Actualized
• Directed 
• Enacted 
• Guided 
• Impacted
• Influenced 
• Prerogative

Self-promotion vs. self-initiation: there’s a difference 

We understand that candidates are tempted to sell themselves as a ‘go-getter’ and ‘point-person’, but honestly, as recruiters, we care more about how proactive a candidate is in taking initiative and getting stuff done. The CV is ultimately about showcasing what value you will bring to the company. So don’t waste your precious CV real estate on words like a team player, hard worker, or people’s person. It is expected of you, but it doesn’t make you appear unique.

Instead of that include words that will really make you stand out like:

• Self-starter 
• Contributed 
• Diversified 
• Partnered 
• Volunteered
• Participated

Bottomline 

Recruiters don’t expect you to have a flair for writing (but it doesn’t hurt), but they expect it to be different from the run-of-the-mill resumes. Your CV must include information that recruiters will find valuable. When every other applying candidate has the skills and expertise, it comes down to how fresh your CV appears to a recruiter (and remember you have only 7 seconds!).

Talent500 is helping candidates hone their resumes and land their dream jobs. We not only evaluate your resume but also fix any weak spots and skills gaps through upskilling. Join our team of elite talent today.