These are the most popular “overused buzzwords” in LinkedIn profiles in the U.S.:

1. Extensive experience
2. Innovative
3. Motivated
4. Results-oriented
5. Dynamic
6. Proven track record
7. Team player
8. Fast-paced
9. Problem solver
10. Entrepreneurial

LinkedIn also notes that popular words vary by region. (Not surprisingly!):

While members from the USA, Canada and Australia tend to emphasize their “extensive experience,” Brazilians, Indians and Spaniards identify themselves as “dynamic” professionals. Members in the UK call themselves more “motivated” and the French, the Germans, the Italians and the Dutch see themselves as “innovative.”

On the Career Trend blog, Rob Poindexter wrote about cliches, reacting to a news program, where all of the responses were trite:

Commentator:  What are your thoughts about the war in Afghanistan?
Panelist # 1:  All’s well that ends well.
Panelist # 2:  It’s not over ’til it’s over.
Panelist # 3:  One foot on a banana peel, the other in the grave.
Panelist # 4:  He who laughs last, laughs best.

Rob reminds readers not to let their resumes be a “cliche.” Absolutely good advice; you don’t want a resume that is nothing but buzzwords and devoid of quality content (like the commentators’ responses). But, is it time to do a search and destroy mission to eliminate all buzzwords from your resume and online profiles, as LinkedIn suggests?

Let’s think about it — why are these terms so popular? Because many of them describe exactly the type of person many employers want! So, take a step back and think about this before your revise your profile.

MSNBC’s career expert, Eve Tahmincioglu responded to LinkedIn’s post with a measured, and I believe appropriate answer. She asks, Are buzzwords really a bad thing?:

Admit it, you probably have one or two of these on your resume or LinkedIn profile. But is that really a bad thing? Who cares if they’re buzz words if they convey what you want?

I couldn’t agree more. Of course, if you read your profile and you list every single “cliche” without providing information that supports your claims, it’s probably time for a makeover. You need to show, not tell — focus your efforts on telling a story that is both about you and targeted to your next employer.

It’s not a good idea to “outlaw” words on resumes, even if they may be a little overused. Do I write resumes full of cliches? No, but I do target my clients’ resumes to their desired employers!

The most important thing to keep in mind is that your materials need to be as much about your employer as they are about you. Focus on their needs and make a clear case for why you have the skills and experience to accomplish their goals – and to solve their problems. Might that mean including a few buzzwords? I think so — there is a reason that buzzwords are buzzing! But, be sure your materials don’t sound like the seemingly unthinking, cliche-spewing commentators Rob mentioned in his Career Trend post.

LinkedIn suggests making your profile “more actionable,” which is a great idea, but I don’t think that simply “losing” all the buzzwords is the answer. “All things in moderation!” (I had to get at least one cliche in — but isn’t it true?)

What do you think? Do you have buzzwords in your materials? Will you be doing a search and destroy mission?

photo by autan

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OfficeTeam’s website notes:

The adage “It’s not what you say, but how you say it” holds particular weight when it comes to resumes, a recent survey shows. Eighty-four percent of executives polled said it takes just one or two typographical errors in a resume to remove a candidate from consideration for a job opening; 47 percent said a single typo can be the deciding factor.

The survey was developed by OfficeTeam, a leading staffing service specializing in the placement of highly skilled administrative professionals. It was conducted by an independent research firm and includes responses from 150 senior executives at the nation’s 1,000 largest companies.

Executives were asked, “How many typos in a resume does it take for you to decide not to consider a job candidate for a position with your company?” Their responses:

One typo……………………………………………………… 47%

Two typos ………………………………………………….. 37%

Three typos …………………………………………………. 7%

Four or more typos ………………………………………. 6%

Don’t know/no answer…………………………………… 3%

However, typos are not the only types of errors that pop up in resumes. Take a look at these, from another post about errors in resumes:

• Hope to hear from you, shorty.”
• “Have a keen eye for derail.”
• “Dear Sir or Madman.”
• “I’m attacking my resume for you to review.”
• “I am a rabid typist.”
• “My work ethics are impeachable.”
• “Nervous of steel.”
• “Following is a grief overview of my skills.”
• “GPA: 34.0
• “Graphic designer seeking no-profit career.”

I’ve written about how *impotent* it is to review your resume carefully! Click through to THIS POST with a really funny video on the subject.

In one of my very first posts for this blog, I suggested:

Don’t assume that your spell check is a good editor!  How often are words misspelled only to inadvertently form other words? You don’t want to advertise that you were distinguished as the “best manger of the year.”

Be sure to read through your resume, and have a trusted friend review it as well.  You never know when “public” may become indecent, or you’ve used “suing” instead of “using.”  The list goes on and on: their/there, and/an, faculty/facility, board/bored…

A tip to consider:  create an ”exclusion dictionary” in your Microsoft Office program.  This personalized dictionary will flag a word as misspelled (such as manger), even though the main dictionary knows it as a proper word.

Stay tuned tomorrow for more resources to help you avoid embarrassing errors on your resume!

If you need help mobilizing your networks and your job search plans, learn more about how I can help you! While you’re at it, be sure to become a fan of Keppie Careers on Facebook…I’d be thrilled to have you as part of the community!

photo by cole007

The post How (and why) you should create error-free resumes appeared first on Keppie Careers.

So, you’ve been applying for jobs online, and not getting any replies? Are you using the magic words? No, not “please” and “thank you,” although being polite certainly goes a long way in the job hunt! These magic words are the key words, or buzz words that your resume must include in order to get noticed by the online “eyes” that review resumes submitted electronically.

Click HERE to read the rest of this post on GreatPlaceJobs.com!

If you want to receive free up-to-date tips to help with your job hunt, Click here to subscribe to receive future blogs sent directly to you via email! Prefer to subscribe in a reader? Click here for a link to receive Keppie Careers’ feed sent to the reader of your choice.

Can’t figure out how to optimize your resume with key words? Need a great resume? Career search advice? Mock interview? Visit Keppie Careers online for information about our services: www.keppiecareers.com.

photo by sheeshoo

The post Magical Resume Words – The Key Words for Your Resume appeared first on Keppie Careers.

I spend as much time as possible online, reading blogs and keeping a finger on the pulse of what I call the “career space.” Lately, on LinkedIn, the “Answers” in the “resume” section is populated with questions pertaining to ageism in the job hunt.

If Father Time is catching up with you, read on for some tips to consider for your job hunt…

This week, a question on LinkedIn reads:

A friend just confessed she is facing age discrimination when looking for a new job. She is very experienced, very professional, keeps in great shape and looks around 40 years old. But she’s in her early 50’s and since the CV precedes the interview, that is what a recruiter or HR person sees even before meeting her: HER AGE.

And that is enough to get her CV rejected.

My answer:

Yes, there is ageism. No question about it….More experience typically equals more pay, and if a company can get by with a less mature, less seasoned professional, why not?

However, the fact is, your friend cannot know for sure that age is what is preventing her from landing an interview…In my experience, the resume itself is often half of the problem, not the years of experience.

If I were to advise your friend, I would also suggest that she first ask a professional to evaluate her resume. If she is sending out the same thing and not getting results, it seems like a good time to take stock.

Once the resume is top notch, I would advise that she focus on growing her network.
Everyone should know that 80% of jobs are found via networking, and not all of those networking connections are “close” connections. Web 2.0 offers so many opportunities to grow a network and to demonstrate expertise…Job seekers should take advantage of them to stand out in a crowd!

While resumes need only demonstrate the last 10 or so years of work, taking years off of degrees is a bad idea. Face it – if there isn’t a year, won’t everyone reading it just assume your friend is older than her years?

Let’s assume that ageism, not a poor resume combined with ineffective job search strategies, is the problem. I’ve written about how to use your digital footprint to make yourself look younger. There is a link in the blog to a NYT article which has a great clip from the Today Show. You may be surprised at the control that you really have when you drive your own career bus!

If you want to receive free up-to-date tips to help with your job hunt, Click here to subscribe to receive future blogs sent directly to you via email! Prefer to subscribe in a reader? Click here for a link to receive Keppie Careers’ feed sent to the reader of your choice.

Need help with your hunt? We can help you get your job hunt in gear! Visit Keppie Careers online for information about our services: www.keppiecareers.com.

photo by aloofdork

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So, you are convinced that accomplishments are important for your resume? Good! The next key step is to quantify your accomplishments. The point of your resume is to entice the reader to want to know more about you. Demonstrating how you stand out in a crowd by quantifying your accomplishments is a great way to generate interest.

When you start to quantify, think about the following categories:

• Money (especially as you saved or earned it)
• Time (more efficient, less wasted)
• Amounts (sales, customers, etc.)
• Situations (fast-paced, difficult economic environment, etc.)

What do you think is more interesting or persuasive?

Before: Conducted patient interviews and managed data collection for survey.

After: Demonstrated analytical skills and cultural sensitivity as leader of team conducting, coding and verifying 1000 patient interviews using SAS in deadline-driven environment.

Before: Met all sales quotas.

After: Only salesperson to meet 100% of quotas in down-trending economic environment. Won top award for sales closed (2008).

By contextualizing what you have to offer, you help the reader gain a clear picture of your value.

If you want to receive free up-to-date tips to help with your job hunt, Click here to subscribe to receive future blogs sent directly to you!

Not sure how to implement good resume advice? Need some help to give your job hunt a boost? Visit Keppie Careers online for information about our services, including resume writing, interview preparation and job hunt coaching: www.keppiecareers.com

photo by Paul likes pics

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Well-informed job seekers know that companies typically screen resumes using software that searches for key words. That’s why your resume should be targeted/personalized for each job. Re-writing even a little of your resume can help scanning software mark your resume as one to review further!

College Recruiter had a link to a fun tool called Wordle. It describes itself as:

“A toy for generating “word clouds” from text that you provide. The clouds give greater prominence to words that appear more frequently in the source text.”

In other words, Wordle will create a visual representation of your resume, highlighting words that it senses as more important or prominent and downplaying the ones that don’t have much impact. If you are trying to highlight yourself as a highly technical team player and your visual representation doesn’t highlight those topics, you may want to consider re-working things! In any case, this looks like a fun tool to put some spice in your job search. Just think – you can make art out of your resume!

I will do more than just make art of your resume…I’ll write it to ideal specifications so you will get noticed! www.keppiecareers.com

Wordle resume by climbnh2003

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Have you considered adding a hyperlink to your LinkedIn profile on your resume or other job-search correspondence?  If so, keep these tips in mind:

• Make sure your LinkedIn and your resume match up 100%.  Sometimes, since it’s “just LinkedIn,” job seekers are not as careful about dates and details as they would be on a resume. You don’t want any discrepancies to raise red flags.
  
• Spend as much time making your LinkedIn profile perfect as you do your resume.  Neither should have typos or careless errors.
  
• Enhance your linkedin profile.  Be sure to optimize your online materials, as many recruiters source from that pool.
  
• Be aware that potential employers use LinkedIn resources to find out about you.  Granted, this is true whether or not you offer the link, but if you have a profile and offer the link, be sure you don’t mind people following up with common connections without your knowledge.
  
• Be careful about what information you make public.  For example, if you’ve asked a lot of questions about job hunting, you may not want to make your list of questions public on your LinkedIn profile.

If you have a strong profile, solid connections to colleagues and employers and have spent time enhancing your LinkedIn image, you will be prepared to use this network as a job-hunting tool.

I can help you with your LinkedIn profile, your resume and coach you through every step of your job hunt.

The post Thinking of Adding Linkedin Link to Your Resume? appeared first on Keppie Careers.

One of my pet resume peeves is inconsistent formatting.  For example, if you have several short-term positions, you list dates as December 2007, Dec. 2007 and 12/07.  There are many opportunities for your resume to miss the mark on consistency.

If you are bolding your organization titles, bold ALL of them. Verbs should be in the past tense unless you currently work at the position.  All of your descriptions should follow the same format.  For example:

Organization Name,  Chicago, IL
Job Title, 2002 – present

ALL position descriptions should use the same abbreviated format for states.  Your next job in South Carolina shouldn’t be listed S. Carolina or South Carolina, but as the abbreviated SC.  All future references to “present” in dates should have a lower-case “p.”  (For example, if you list a current organizational affiliation.)

These points may seem insignificant, but wouldn’t it be ironic to be touting your meticulous, detail oriented abilities in your resume, while your resume demonstrates something less than meticulous?

With employers and agencies receiving so many applicants for each position, every little bit helps. Pay attention to how your resume looks and reads. Dot your “i”s and cross your “t”s.  At least you’ll know that you weren’t passed over for a silly error.

Stay tuned for more tips for creating attractive and easy-to-read resumes.

The post Being Consistent appeared first on Keppie Careers.

Don’t assume that your spell check is a good editor.  How often are words misspelled only to inadvertently form other words? You don’t want to advertise that you were distinguished as the “best manger of the year.”  (A good example for the holiday season!)

Be sure to read through your resume, and have a trusted friend review it as well.  You never know when “public” may become indecent, or you’ve used “suing” instead of “using.”  The list goes on and on: their/there, and/an, faculty/facility, board/bored…

A tip to consider:  create an “exclusion dictionary” in your Microsoft Office program.  This personalized dictionary will flag a word as misspelled (such as manger), even though the main dictionary knows it as a proper word.

Stay tuned for more tips on making your resume attractive, consistent and easy to read.

The post Error Free Resumes appeared first on Keppie Careers.