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10 Filler Words to Remove from Your Resume and Cover Letter Now

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Remove these words from your resume and cover letter.

Summary: Get rid of wasted words and fill your resume and cover letters with words that show how qualified you are as a candidate.

Employers look over your resume in seconds. Don’t let them waste those seconds on words that don’t actually paint a picture of what kind of candidate you are. Eliminate those words that just take up space and don’t benefit you in any way. Do it now! Delete these words off your resume or cover letter and fill the spaces with more meaningful and creative words.

  1. References available upon request

Don’t make them ask, because they won’t, and will instead toss your resume aside. Give them the references so that their job of selecting you is easier.

  1. Detail-oriented

Employers are going to assume you are detail-oriented, so find a way of illustrating your attention to detail through ways that you have saved previous employers money, kept a team running on budget and on track, etc.

  1. Team player

Once again, show them how you work well with a team. Just stating it outright does not prove to them that you actually work well with a team. Give examples of how you built a strong team, supervised a team, motivated a team to achieve good results, and more.

  1. I am seeking a position/job/career

This does not show your enthusiasm for the position. Get creative and explain your enthusiasm for the job.

  1. Experienced

This word is vague and used so much that it is pretty much meaningless. Be more specific and list what you have done to give you experience.

  1. Strong work ethic

A good resume will demonstrate that you work hard.

  1. Results-oriented

Just another cliché word that is general and has no real meaning for employers. Provide quantitative examples of your work with numbers.

  1. Duties

You may have been responsible for a great number of tasks but that does not mean you did them. Provide numbers to backup what you did such as “oversaw y project with company x for seven months.” Alternative words that could be used are “implemented” or “grew.”

  1. Written communication skills

What exactly does this even mean? That you can write and know how to type an email? Give an example of how you have communicated nonverbally to lead a project or team.

  1. Hit benchmarks

You should be doing more than hitting the benchmarks, you should be bypassing them. Give examples of the benchmarks you have hit and passed to show your set your goals high.

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10 Filler Words to Remove from Your Resume and Cover Letter Now by
Authored by: Amanda Griffin