What are employers and HR professionals sick of seeing on job applications?

August 29th 2019 | Posted by phil scott

What are employers and HR professionals sick of seeing on job applications?

With the influx of new jobs, making resumes stand out from the crowd can be quite a challenge, even for HR professionals who are likely to see them quite frequently.

Job-hunting often turns into a numbers game – The more CVs you send out, the more likely you are to get a callback. What could give you an edge, however, is to dispense with the run-off-the-mill techniques most applicants use.

Job search engine Adzuna went through a whopping 1.1 million CVs to find the most overused words that employers are tired of seeing on job applications.

The analysis brought into light that the most overused word found on 26% of job applications is ‘motivated,’ followed by ‘initiative,’ and ‘social.’  Further down on the list were ‘organised,’ ‘leader,’ and ‘fun,’ which was used in only 23,000 of the applications analysed.

Looking at it from an employer’s perspective, any CV that keeps use buzzwords such as ‘motivated’ may not demand attention, and will cause the employer or HR professional to skim over the application.

As Andrew Hunter, the co-founder of Adzuna, put it; job applicants need to have a delicate balance while crafting a CV.

Staying away from the repetition of clichéd keywords and phrases on their CV could be that one differentiating factor that job applicants need to land the job of their dreams. Other ways to craft a great CV include:

1. Stick to relevant information only

With the hoards of applications employers and HR professionals receive, chances are they don’t have the time to read about the participation certification you received in 8th grade.

When creating a CV, try to stick to the most recent and relevant information about yourself.

2. Customisation is key

As we mentioned before, the modern-day job-searching process is a numbers game. Most applicants tend to use the same CV for all of their applications to save time, but it could end up hurting their chances to score any position.

Customise your CV to the role that you’re applying for and demonstrate any particular skills or certification you have that makes you a great match at the company where you’ve applied.

Before you start constructing your CV, be mindful of the qualities that the organisation is looking for and do your due research into the company.

3. Profile summary

Make sure that you include a profile summary at the beginning of your CV. A profile summary usually consists of a few sentences that ‘pitch’ to the potential employer about why you would be a great addition to the organisation.

Try to rewrite your profile summary for each role that you apply for, and make sure it’s short, snappy and gets the point across immediately.

4. Don’t forget to proofread

Last, but certainly not least, proofread your CV at least three times. After the hours of hard work you’ve invested in constructing a good CV, you don’t want a single spelling mistake to be the reason why you weren’t considered for a position.

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