Cut the cliches and buzzwords to ensure your CV hits the right mark

YOU may be an energetic and dynamic strategic thinker looking to disrupt the industry, but loading a job application with buzzwords and cliches is unlikely to work in your favour.

Analysis of more than 60,000 Australian CVs by job site Adzuna reveals the most common phrase, “communication skills”, appears on almost half of resumes.

Other worn-out words include “motivated” (appearing on 23,502 of the analysed CVs), “excellent” (20,441), “problem solving” (20,088), “flexible” (16,722), “effective” (16,196), “innovative” (15,068) and “team player” (14,258).

In some cases, jobseekers may be choosing these words because they are used in the job advertisement and they hope to game automated applicant tracking systems that are potentially set to scan for them, but Adzuna Australia country manager Tejas Deshpande says jobseekers must strike a fine balance when it comes to crafting a great CV.

“Many employers now use technology to scan through CVs and look for keywords in applications to help refine lists of applicants (but) it’s important to choose your skillset and attributes wisely,” he says.

“When choosing words to describe yourself and your skillset, consider the kind of skills that are really relevant for the exact industry and job role you are applying for.”

Sullivan Consulting managing director Andrew Sullivan says “can-do approach”, “highly-skilled” and “innovative expert” are also buzzwords he comes across often.

His least-favourite phrase is “disrupting the industry”.

“Instead of saying you ‘think outside the box’, maybe list projects you have worked on and what you have actually done,” he says. “What does it actually mean?”

Sullivan, right, says some employers embrace buzzwords more than others so advises tailoring applications to the company. If jobseekers are using buzzwords as strategic keywords for automated applicant tracking systems, they are better off including them in the cover letter only.