I'm extremely creative, organised and highly numerate. Do you believe me? You shouldn't. Why? Because I haven't given you any reason to. According to LinkedIn, the adjectives above were the three most overused buzzwords found in job descriptions uploaded by members in 2011. So what's the message behind all of this? It's simple; when talking about work experience or even just in general, don't just use high impact words like creative, organised, effective, innovative, dynamic and so on, prove that they apply to you. Or in laymen terms; show, don't tell.
Instead of just throwing in cool sounding words like those mentioned above into your CV, it's better to think about qualitative or quantitative examples that confirm you have the skills desired for the role. Compare - I am an excellent communicator with a talent for writing and a keen eye for detail-, with, - I'm consistently chosen as the head speaker of the annual society conference, I've recently won the Bristol Short Story writing award and I was able to spot an error on a company balance sheet that would otherwise have led to a PR disaster-. Both examples say the exact same thing, but it is clear which one of the two is more convincing. If you're struggling to find examples which confirm the adjectives that you would like to use to describe yourself, then perhaps it's time you start thinking about using different adjectives because it's not supposed to be a difficult exercise. If those adjectives truly apply to you, then you should have lots of examples to prove it. Otherwise, get some, and make them worthwhile. Needless to say this should apply to everything and not just what you put on your CV. E.g. Cover letters and answers to competency questions. It's important to qualify all of your assertions unless you're just wasting your time.
Secondly, make sure what you're saying, or what you have written down is actually something people want to hear. Although it might sound obvious, it's not just about avoiding a negative portrayal of yourself, you also have to think about excluding points that employers are likely to take for granted. For example, no one has any interest in hiring an unmotivated, ineffective employee who is not a whiz kid at Microsoft Word. If you can't call yourself a prodigy at Microsoft Word in this day and age, then it's likely that nobody is going to think twice about hiring you. So conversely, mentioning any of these points while you are trying to promote yourself is time better spent elsewhere as such things will most likely be taken for granted.
Lastly, make sure to be specific when trying to make a point about something and don't assume that whoever you're talking to will automatically be on the same wavelength as you and therefore immediately understand what you're trying to say. For example, if a job description is looking for someone with a background in working with kids. It's not enough to say that you used to work at a primary school. You have to specify what you did at that primary school which makes you suited for the role. If it's not clarified, then how can whoever you're talking to be sure that you weren't the receptionist at said school? Or some other role that isn't directly related to working with kids. Of course there is a fine line between being specific and insulting the intelligence of who you are talking to. But that line, it's up to you to find it.
Charles, GRB Journalist
