Delete These 11 Useless Words From Your CV Immediately

By Lilian Wamaitha
“The only real mistake is the one from which we learn nothing.” Henry Ford.
Ever wondered why even with what you might consider a well written CV you are yet to get that dream job?
A CV is supposed to sell your skills and expertise to the employer.
As such it should be brief in such a way that it brings out your personality best.
And before you cross that two page mark, consider deleting some of the cliché and useless statements that don’t add any value to your resume.
It might not be an easy task determining what to remove and what to keep, but that’s why this guideline was created.
In this article we will talk about a number of phrases that you should consider trimming from your CV.
Your CV can then begin to look more professional and attract the attention of employers.

Words You Should Remove From Your CV Now

1. References available upon request
This is a useless phrase that is not necessary in your CV. This is because obviously employers will ask for your referees when they need them.
The best thing to do is have your referees already indicated clearly just in case the employer wants to conduct a background check.
2. Resume, CV or curriculum vitae
The fact that you are applying for a job, should be obvious that you are attaching your CV. Putting this word at the top doesn’t really add any value.
And while you are at it, it also doesn’t help much if you are using the word CV as your file name. Save your CV with your complete name so that employers will find it easily.
For instance, you can save it as “Lilian Wamaitha CV”
“Stand Out With a Professional CV Now”
3. Responsible for or duties included
The current job market is competitive and only those who have something unique to offer get ahead.
Indicating such phrases only goes to show that you only did what you were expected to. And this is the mistake that most Kenyan job seekers make – waste valuable space outlining what they were supposed to do.
Every job comes with its own duties, what make you stand out is how you went above and beyond what you were expected to do.
Include the achievements that you made at you previous job, showing that you are someone who is valuable at any company.
4. Personal data
When applying for a job, the employer is only interested in your name, phone number and email address.
So many job seekers go to the extent of wasting valuable space by adding useless details that don’t mean much to the employer like nationality, gender, marital status and so on.
Unless the employer has asked you to state your nationality, don’t give them a reason to discriminate you, although illegal, you have no idea how often it happens.
5. Some obvious skills
Esther Kamau, a professional career coach says, “Remove obvious skills like Microsoft word, excel and other common computer application skills. These are essential skills needed for any job. By adding them you are only stating the obvious and not adding any value to your CV.”
Employers already assume that you have these skills and none of them will use them as keywords in shortlisting for any position.
Obvious skills also like communication skills also do not add anything to your CV.
6. Experienced
Stating things like “Experienced programme manager” or “Experienced accounting professional” are all ways that almost all job seekers use to describe themselves in a CV.
These words though they sound catchy, don’t really say anything about your experience in that field. You can be considered experienced in a particular field whether you have practiced for two months or ten years.
It is what accompanies that statement that matters.
Saying that you are an “Experienced public relations professional” while your job title has already indicated that you are PR person is just repetitive.
A better way to explain your experience is by going ahead and stating things like you are good with sage or any accounting software for those in the accounting industry.
7. Results driven
Recruiter Muthoni Ndegwa says, “When shortlisting I see a lot of CVs that state that these people are result driven.” Says who? Where is the evidence to support that?
She says that replacing this phrase with events in your past job that prove your drive for results is the perfect way of winning over a potential employer.
8. Passionate
Everyone says or lives under the illusion that they are passionate about what they do. In reality, this passion is just driven by a paycheck every month.
Let’s be honest, we don’t all love our jobs but quitting would mean surviving without a salary. So what do we do? Tolerate that crappy job that we hate and move on through life making everyone believe that we really do love our jobs.
Employers already know that being passionate about a job is just a cliché, so why waste that space indicating it? There is no need to force interest in your resume. You can be good at what you do but are not passionate about it. That’s the bottom line and an ugly truth that we all must accept.
9. Team player or people person
We have all been made to believe that employers value team work above everything else. While this is true, just like other clichés there is no need indicating it in your CV.
The recruiter will not believe that you are a team player just because you have indicated it.
Instead go out of your way to stand out.
You can say something like “Launched a successful campaign that attracted over 50% funding through collaboration with the marketing and communication department.”
10. Flexible
What does this even mean on your CV?
Unless you are applying for a freelance job every employer expects that you are willing to adjust if need be.
Highlight your flexibility by stating projects that you handled for your former employer. This indicates that you are not only flexible with the tasks given but you can juggle a variety of tasks all together.
Consider This >>> What Do Recruiters & Employers Look For In A CV At First Glance?
11. Hard working
This one is a major mood killer.
Everyone else is claiming how hardworking they are no doubt.
The employer will deduce that you are a hard worker by the achievements that you have made for other companies and any awards you have won in the process.

Other Cliche Statements That Should Not Be In Your CV

1. Dependable
2. Exceptional
3. Self starter
4. Dynamic
5. Asssisted
6. Selected as

There you have it. It is now time to sit down and start revising your CV. If you are worried that by deleting some of these things your CV will become shorter and not get you shortlisted, don’t beat yourself up. There is no evidence out there that indicates that longer CVs get more job offers.
Lilian is a Communication Officer at Career Point Kenya. Get in touch through lilian@www.careerpointkenya.co.ke. Follow us also on Twitter @CareerPointKe and Facebook for daily job updates, career and CV writing tips.