10 Killer Mistakes

Any time I see an article that points out 10 (or 9, 5 or 3) mistakes and touts it can help you avoid making said mistakes, I always bite and open the link. (Sorry if I tricked you into opening this link.)

The most-current mistake-busting article I stumbled upon has to do with resumes. Feeling confident that my resume would pass the test, I nonchalantly opened the article Liz Ryan -- a 25-year HR veteran -- wrote for the HotJobs/Yahoo Web site. And for the record, these aren't just mistakes. According to Liz, these are "10 Boilerplate Phrases That Kill Resumes."

Having been in a position to hire people, I was surprised to see some of the phrases on her list. I was even more surprised that many of these phrases reside in my own resume.

Since when are a "strong work ethic," being a "team player" and having a "proven track record for success" deal-busting death knells?

To be fair, Liz does note in her blog that the acts aren't the killers, it's not providing a human element to your resume that gets your life's work tossed in the trash. Instead of saying you are a team player, prove it with a succinct example.

Figuring that the current economy has some of you thinking about buffing up your resumes, I wanted to put these 10 killers where you could find them.

Here are the other Killer Phrases:

• Results-oriented professional
• Cross-functional teams
• More than [x] years of progressively responsible experience
• Superior (or excellent) communication skills
• Met or exceeded expectations
• Works well with all levels of staff
• Bottom-line orientation

Traci Purdum
Senior Digital Editor