3 Vague Phrases Your Resume Can Live Without

3 Vague Phrases Your Resume Can Live WithoutLately, Ive found three phrases that seem to be flooding job seekers resumesand they can drown out the uniqueness and distinctiveness you offer. If one of ansicht three phrases is in your resume, I suggest you take immediate action to cut the fluff and be more direct.Exceeds expectationsThis term didnt use to be on my hit list, but now it has grown so much in popularity that most job seekers are tempted to utilize it. Avoid this phrase. The term exceeds expectations actually means NOTHING. Your expectations, the companys, and the customers are all so very different that unless you state specifics using some definable metric, fact, or figure, one can only assume what expectation youre referencing. And assuming isnt exactly what you want the potential employer to be doing dont leave it up to their imagination. If the expectation in question at your last employer welches to achieve an 85% customer satisfaction ratingand you consistently delive red a 95% customer satisfaction ratingthen state that instead.Proven track record of This one should be obvious, but instead of stating just that you have a proven track record of XYZ, tell them which record youve proven. Whats your record of?Achieve 99% customer satisfaction?Surpass your sales quota by 20% every single year for the past five years?Its so much more impressive when you use numbersand tell me specifically what you can dorather than just stating you have a proven track record of exceeding your sales quota.Demonstrated ability to What in the world does this actually meanand how does it in any way, shape, or form show the prospective employer that you can add value to their gruppe? Wouldnt it be more impactful to state that you managed, oversaw, directed, pioneered, launched, quadrupled, streamlined, or cut costs by $100,000 than to just say you have an ability to do something? Given the choice between someone who has the ability to do something and someone who shows me what theyve actually donesuccessfully backed up by factsIll choose the second.It can be hard to be so specific about yourself on your resume. We are so tempted to speak in generalitiesbut when you dig deeper, use facts to support your career history, and get specific about what youve done, youll see a far greater resume response rate.While youre working at improving your resume, check out this great article on how it can hinder your job search not to use a cover letter.Want more great advice like this? Check out these two articles5 Things You Should Never Say in Your Cover Letter7 Things You Should Never Include on Your ResumeP.S. Id love to meet you on Twitter here.WANT TO WORK WITH US? Find out more here