CareerBuilder Survey Ranks Best And Worst Words To Use In A Resume

One in six (17%) hiring managers spend 30 seconds or less, on average, reviewing resumes, according to a new Career- Builder survey. A majority, 68%, spend less than two minutes. With so little time to capture interest, even a candi date's word choice can make a difference. The nationwide sample of employers identified which commonly used resume terms are overused or cliché and which are strong additions.

The national survey was conducted online by Harris Poll on behalf of global talent recruiter CareerBuilder from November 6 to December 2, 2013, and included a representative sample of 2,201 hiring managers and human resource professionals across industries and company sizes.

“Hiring managers prefer strong action words that define specific experience, skills and accomplishments,” says Rosemary Haefner, vice president of human resources at Career- Builder. “Subjective terms and clichés are seen as negative because they don't convey real information. For instance, don't say you are 'results-driven’; show the employer your actual results.”

The Worst Resume Terms
The following terms are resume turn-offs as selected by respondents:

The Best Resume Terms
There are, however, several strong verbs and terms candidates can use to help describe their experience. The following are terms employers would like to see on a resume:

Mexican American Pro-Archive Announces Best Careers For Mexican American Professionals
The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics has listed occupations with the largest job growth for 2010 to 2020. The BLS projects the following industries as having the largest job growth during this period:

The BLS projects the following jobs likely to experience a growth in Mexican American professionals:

First-line supervisors of office/ administrative support workers:

In the education arena, the latest American Community Survey, an ongoing U.S. Census Bureau survey, shows that college and/or graduate school enrollment among Mexican Americans has continued to grow, from 16.8% in 2010 to 18.2% in 2012. This percentage is growing at a faster rate than the general population, which grew from 28.3% to 28.8%.

During the past three years, the American Community Survey has consistently showed Mexican Americans making progress in business, science, and art occupations. Their numbers moved from 16.2% in 2010 to 16.6% in 2012.

Most Employees Have Inadequate Support
Sixty-five percent of employees report that their organizations rarely or never provide career planning or development to help prepare them in their roles, according to a survey by talent mobility consulting firm Lee Hecht Harrison. “Has your organization used career planning and development to prepare employees for roles?” The results were as follows:

Kristen Leverone, senior vice president, global talent development practice leader for Lee Hecht Harrison, states, “Pressures are mounting for a hyper-efficient workforce made up of just-in-time employees who are skilled and ready to take on roles and responsibilities quickly. But, with just 16% of employees reporting they receive career-planning and development support, many employees will struggle to succeed if they lack resources to build the skills needed to perform optimally.”

Leverone reports that organizations that mobilize their workforce–effectively understanding, developing, and deploying talent in response to business needs–are 12% more likely to report revenue growth above target levels. “When companies lack insight into talent needs and fail to provide development opportunities they face significant challenges as they strive to remain competitive and grow.” she adds.

New Job Opportunities
A vast majority of North American employees plan to pursue new job opportunities in 2014, according to a poll by Right Management, the talent and career management experts within ManpowerGroup. Eighty three percent of the nearly 900 workers who participated in the online poll say they intend to actively seek a new position in the New Year.

“Engagement, loyalty, and job satisfaction should be top concerns for employers who want to keep their best talent,” says Scott Ahlstrand, Right Management’s global practice leader for employee engagement. “High employee dissatisfaction has a ripple effect that can hurt the bottom line, disrupt productivity, and damage morale. Successful companies cultivate and retain top talent by building loyalty through engagement that connects employees’ work contributions to concrete business outcomes.”

According to the poll, only 5% of employees intend to stay in their current position, while 9% indicate they may look for new opportunities in 2014 and are networking. The latest findings are consistent with results from the last four years.

“These numbers should signal a wake-up call for top management, when four out of five employees say they intend to look for employment elsewhere. Solutions to keeping the best talent on board all point to effective engagement that drives performance, satisfaction and loyalty. Employers must act now to engage top talent and prevent them from leaving for the competition,” remarks Ahlstrand.