A Lichfield recruitment agency has revealed that one in five Midland job seekers has a CV littered with “hackneyed buzzwords”.
Bell Cornwall Recruitment analysed its database of over 5,000 CVs and discovered 1,157 used the word ‘motivated’ to describe themselves, while 633 called themselves ‘creative’, and a further 202 deemed themselves ‘dynamic’.
The research supports national data recently released by professional networking site LinkedIn, detailing the top ten most overused words on job applications and CVs.
But Bell Cornwall Recruitment director Jeremy Cornwall said that although certain words are often overused, candidates should be careful not to discard the list completely.
“Employers do get frustrated with CVs littered with jargon, ‘management speak’ or these buzzwords,” he said. “However they do serve a purpose when applied properly, so candidates should ensure they are deploying them in the correct context.
“If you work in a creative industry for example, it is nearly impossible to avoid the use of ‘creative’ when you describe your previous work, your skills or your strengths. The real mistake so many people make is using these buzz words in their personal profile, often found at the top of their CV.
“I’ve seen plenty of applications where subjective and abstract words are used to describe applicants’ personalities and interests. Employers hate this – you can’t prove you are ‘a motivated individual’ and it gives them nothing to expand upon in an interview.”
