When it comes to your resume, you’re probably so concerned about what to include and add that you don’t think about what to remove. However, you most likely have quite a few unnecessary words that can be eliminated to avoid fluff or distraction. Keyword optimization is a very important part of your resume, and your resume won’t be as optimized as it should be if there are extra or unneeded words.

Its time to remove these 25 words from your resume. Here is a list of  the top words to remove from your resume so that you can stand out, impress, and get the offer that you’ve been waiting for!

What Should Not be Included In a Resume?

When recruiters first look at your resume, there are a few things they usually look for. Mainly, if you’ve already done the type of work required for the new position and whether your holistic skill-set aligns with what the company needs to grow through the position. Anything else is seen as an extra bonus that helps to color your professional experience and strengthen your case.

Indeed, your soft skills can stand out as a big asset, and your ability to problem-solve and adapt will make you stand out from the competition. However, in trying to showcase yourself from all angles, you may end up diluting your pitch and signal to the recruiters that you are trying too hard to look qualified with fluffy words, industry jargon, and “template” keywords that seem inauthentic.

Instead, focus on showcasing how you can help the company grow in your position with the skills you’ve acquired over time. Make your resume into a targeted pitch for the position you want. Instead of listing skills, showcase how they’ve helped your previous company grow. Anything else that doesn’t make a good case on why you would be the best person for the position or detracts from clarity should be avoided and not included in your resume.

Overall, make sure that you remove the following from your resume:

• Old and irrelevant high school and college information
• Short-lived jobs that don’t showcase your strengths
• Low GPSs and test scores
• Photos
• Personal information (preferences, politics/philosophy, marriage status, etc.)

Unnecessary Words to Remove From Your Resume

Now that you have more perspective on how to present your resume in a way that will make you stand out as a candidate, how do you go about fixing the technical aspects, or removing unnecessary words from your resume?

First Step: Determine what words DO belong in your resume. If you haven’t already tailored your resume to the position you’re applying for, check out our blog on How To Tailor Your Resume to the Job Description. This is a great place to start because it will ensure you have all the necessary keywords Applicant Tracking Software (ATS) will be looking for in your resume. When it comes to resume optimization, keywords are key. But, it’s also important to make sure you don’t have unnecessary or unprofessional words taking up space and distracting from the point of your resume.

Once you’re sure your resume has all the necessary keywords and skills required, it’s time to get into the editing phase and determine what can be taken out. Start with the fluff and filler words. These words don’t actually impress but tend to highlight insecurity. A recruiter will take one look at your resume and think you’re trying too hard to market yourself. Think of your resume as prime real estate. If you include too many unnecessary words, they will dilute the market value of your resume.

Fluff Words To Remove From Your Resume

Certain words are overused in resume writing, meaning recruiters are sick of them and don’t find them at all helpful. They don’t tell the hiring manager anything about you as an employee. Some common buzzwords to avoid are:

• Strategic
• Passionate
• Creative
• Expert
• Motivated
• Focused
• Ninja, Jedi, Rockstar, and any other quirky titles

Weak Action Verbs to Remove From Your Resume

What is an action verb? A term that expresses an action. Action verbs can help paint a vivid picture, but they can also be incredibly overused and vague. What does the term utilized or assisted actually tell you? Nothing. To put it bluntly, recruiters are tired of reading phrases like “responsible for” or “assisted with.” They come across them constantly and they don’t add any real value to your resume.

It’s okay to use them sparsely and only when you are describing a job responsibility. However, if you find yourself constantly writing them that’s when it’s time to pump the breaks. A little creativity can go a long way when it comes to resume writing. For example, instead of saying assisted, try facilitated, collaborated, or arranged. Some weak action verbs to exclude from your resume include:

• Utilized
• Assisted
• Supported
• Responsible for
• Organized

Cut Down on the Hyphens

Words like results-oriented and detail-oriented are better explained rather than stated. Show hiring managers your achievements through quantitative data and your responsibilities rather than through a vague phrase that doesn’t show any real value. Employers expect you to pay attention to details and be a self-starter anyways, so it doesn’t need to be specifically mentioned.

• Results-oriented
• Self-starter
• Detail-oriented

Other Words That Aren’t Necessary on Your Resume

The following words are overused and generally unhelpful. Leaving them off your resume won’t lower your chances of getting hired but will only help you get your dream job in the long-run. Remember, you can “show” all of these words without having to state them. That’s exactly what recruiters want to see.

• Objective
• References Available
• Hard Worker
• Problem Solver
• Team Player

Remove Pronouns from Your Resume

Make sure your resume does not include pronouns. Don’t refer to yourself in the first person, as it is unprofessional. You’ll have an opportunity to introduce yourself in your cover letter.

• I
• Me
• You
• She
• He

It’s important to note that your resume should tell a story of your work history and how you can contribute value to your new position. It should show a recruiter your abilities through clearly presented achievements and specific outcomes that make you irreplaceable. Any words that take away from this message should be removed.

When you remove these 25 words from your resume it becomes more optimized and gets rid of the extra unneeded words.

If this seems too over your head and you’d like support through the resume-writing process, these are some of our top reasons why you should hire a professional resume writer.

If you think you need more help with your resume, contact Capstone Resume Services today to schedule a personal resume services consultation. Our experienced resume writers will have a conversation with you to learn about your experience in order to effectively showcase it on your professional resume and help you land your dream job.

How many times have you applied for a job only to be met with dead silence? How often have you frantically refreshed your email waiting for a reply that doesn’t come? The job search process can be a difficult and frustrating one.

When applying for a job, it’s important to have a professional, well-written resume that is sure to stand out to hiring managers. The way to capture the interest of your future employer is through a targeted resume. What is a targeted resume? It’s simple. Targeted resumes are tailored to the specific job you are applying for. They are written to highlight the skills, experiences, and achievements that are most relevant to that particular position.

If you submit your basic, standard resume to each and every job opening you apply for, chances are you won’t even hear back for an interview. Hiring managers are looking for very specific things in your resume and want to see how you’re the right fit for this job opening in particular. They need to see experience and skills that directly correlate to the ones needed for the specific role they are hiring for. If your resume isn’t tailored to the position you’re applying for, you aren’t giving yourself the best possible shot at landing the job.

In another blog, we explained the importance of hiring a professional resume writing company. When you partner with Capstone Resume Services on your resume, you’re getting a professional resume that is customized to your industry and tells the complete story of your work history, skills, and accomplishments. And while the resumes we write are tailored to you, they aren’t tailored to a specific position. So before you submit your resume, you’ll need to tweak it to ensure you’re giving the hiring manager what they are looking for.

What to Tweak In Your Resume

So, where do you start? With the job description, of course! Read it thoroughly several times and take notes on the key requirements and necessary credentials. Make note of what responsibilities and skills are mentioned first. Those are the ones you should focus on. Then, go through your resume and tweak your experiences and skills to speak to those requirements. 

Remove any skills that aren’t relevant for the position and only include those that are listed. Also be sure your skills list starts with those the recruiter will be most interested in and can quickly see on a first scan.

To stand out, it’s also important to research the company to get a feel for its brand and culture. Then, you can reverse engineer how you present yourself to align with the company’s mission and vision. Is the company very formal and professional or very casual and laid-back? Knowing this information can really help you to strategize how to most effectively present yourself in a resume and a cover letter. Don’t underestimate the power of research!

Highlight Your Employment History 

Many hiring managers look at your employment history to determine if you are qualified for the position. Be sure to edit and tweak your employment experience to clearly show you have the necessary qualifications. Don’t stretch or rework the truth, but be sure to describe your experiences in a way that highlights the tasks and achievements that most closely match with the job you’re applying for.

Make sure all relevant qualifications are at the top of your experience section so that they stand out. Identify the things in your resume a recruiter would be most interested in and make sure they are at the top of your resume. After all, the average recruiter only looks at a resume for 6 seconds. You need to make the most of that limited time! And, don’t worry if it’s not the most recent experience you’ve had. In order to effectively tailor your resume, you must identify what is the most important for this particular job and push that in the most effective way possible.

Also, don’t forget to showcase the impact you’ve had at every position. Add a bullet-point to each employment history section that highlights how you’ve helped your prior team and company thrive. The best way you can do so is by using numbers, percentage points, or tangible language that can quantify your efforts. Overall, employers understand that individuals can perform a certain job, but they wonder whether they can perform it well enough to affect the growth and success of the company. 

Use The Right Keywords & Check for Typos

You’ll also want to pay close attention to the keywords included in the job description. If these same keywords aren’t in your resume, chances are you won’t be flagged as a potential candidate by the applicant tracking system. Be sure to sprinkle them throughout your resume strategically so that they flow naturally.

The best way you can research the right keywords is to look through your top job descriptions and write down all the words that stand out. Do certain keywords repeat in all of the job descriptions? If so, definitely use them! You can also make a tag cloud to see which keywords describe your resume’s current essence, and use that information to better target and highlight other more powerful words. 

The last step? Proofread! You’ll want to read over your resume carefully to check for errors. The more changes you make, the more opportunities for typos arise. Hiring managers likely won’t continue reading if they spot a typo. Why? Because it usually signals lack of attention to detail and inability to be thorough with your work. It speaks volumes on how you would approach your work at the job and how much effort and care you place on your important projects. 

Another good way to check that your resume is effectively tailored to the position you’re applying for is to have a friend or family member read it over to see if they can clearly see why you’re applying for the job just from reading the resume.

Update Your Certifications, Training, and Tech Knowledge

To ensure you are up to date with your industry’s skills sets, don’t forget to mention if you’ve taken any relevant online courses, attended key conferences, or have undergone skills training. Since technology changes quickly, employers want to ensure that their new hires understand new technology and can adapt to tasks and processes quickly. 

If you feel your skills are a bit rusty and need to be updated, there are many courses and certifications you can finish even within a day in order to upgrade your resume for more leverage.

To see which technical skills are the most desired in your profession and specifically in your desired role, you can look through your favorite job postings and write down which technical skills are not only required but preferred. By showcasing that you have the bonus skills preferred for the position at hand, you will stand out amongst the competition!

Improve the Layout and Design of Your Resume

Design is the essence of branding, and as a candidate, how you present your professional experience is your brand. This is exactly why the design and layout of your resume can speak volumes about your personality, how you express yourself, and your eye for details and aesthetics. From the colors you choose to the way you present your skills visually, your resume design is vital in making that first impression and helping you stand out. 

Long gone are days when a resume looked like it was typed on a typewriter. With so many possibilities to design a unique resume with the availability of online templates and stylized options, adding personality to your resume has never been easier and more accessible without professional assistance. 

Imagine that tired recruiter that is scanning resumes the whole day, looking for relevancy and any information and features that stand out from the crowd. And then there is your resume – easy to scan, a feast for the eyes, and well-formatted for clarity. That’s exactly the effect you want to have on recruiters during your job search. 

Research the Company’s Problem and Offer a Solution

Undeniably, what most companies seek from candidates is someone who can ease their pain by providing the right solutions. Most hiring is done from a place of lack – the lack of growth, creativity, order, and effective solutions. That’s exactly where you come in. Your resume is not about you but about what you can do for your dream company. 

When you read a job description, try to identify the few main problems that this role is created to solve. Then, use your resume and cover letter to show how you can solve these specific problems. Showcase examples of past problem-solving, creativity, and ability to think outside of the box to find solutions. 

Also, don’t forget to highlight your soft skills. The cover letter is the perfect medium for this. It is a place where you can tell your story, present your uniqueness, and talk about how your problem-solving can be an asset to the company in more detail. Think of your application as a value proposition of what you can bring to the table professionally. 

Resume Tailoring Checklist

To narrow down all the tweaks that will upgrade your resume and get you multiple interviews, here is a checklist summary to follow:

• Read the job description and take notes
• Research the company
• Tweak your experiences and skills to match the job requirements
• Make sure the most relevant information is at the top of your resume
• Be sure you are using keywords found in the job description in your resume
• Proofread for typos, errors, and flow
• Ensure the layout is easy to read and designed for clarity and visual appeal
• Have someone read it over to ensure the value you would add to both the position and company is clear
• Showcase the value you brought to your past work experiences by presenting numbers, percentages, and concrete scenarios that signal growth 
• Take a week to upgrade your technical skills so that you can stand out from the crowd
• If you’re in the creative industry, ensure that your portfolio and social media channels are easy to find and access
• Is your resume tailored to the problem the company wants to solve? If it is geared toward your skills and not how you can apply those skills to add value, make sure you rephrase your resume messaging

Now that your resume is tailored to the job you’re applying for, you’ll want to add a tailored cover letter to accompany your resume. The skills and experience that best match the job requirements should be highlighted in your cover letter. This is your opportunity to tell the hiring manager why you’re the right fit for the job and why they should consider you for the next step.

If your job search has stalled and you haven’t had an interview in a while, it may be time to start tailoring your resume. Submitting a resume that is tailored to the job description and job you’re applying for will only help your chances of landing the dream job – or at least an interview. So, what are you waiting for? Start tailoring!