"Buzz Words" or Headlines?

There are loads of blog postings, articles and news stories regarding the use of buzz words in your résumé and other job search documents. These postings tell the job seeker that, some “Buzz Words are Bad!” Using phrases like, “team player,” “detail oriented,” “results oriented,” and “problem solver” are examples of word that are overused and need to removed from a résumé. But what if I am an excellent problem solver? What if as a QA/QC professional I have excellent attention to detail? Do I not say these things.

About a year ago, an article was published on CBS regarding Résumé Buzz Words that needed to be in your résumé. And around that same time an LinkedIn Blog posting identified ten buzz words that could hurt your job search.  Now here is where it gets confusing for job seekers: some of these words are in both lists.

If you think about what these folks are trying to say, the idea is that the job seeker needs to move beyond the cliché. However, I am a team builder and problem solver. Is that a cliché? Or is it a headline? Read this morning’s newspaper if you still get one. Or read an “on line” paper like The Patch and I defy you to find a single story without a headline.

Headlines are meant to grab the reader’s attention... so that you’ll move deeper and read the article, get the whole story. This is also what the résumé buzz words are intended to do. They get the reader to dig deeper into the résumé and read about your skills, abilities and accomplishments.

In the job interview, just like the résumé you need to catch the interviewer’s attention and then share the success stories that prove the statements you made in your résumé. I think that a Buzz Word is a cliché only when it isn’t followed up with a good, solid success story with a strong result at the end.

Yes, some buzz words are over used in résumés and in other marketing material. And some buzz words are more descriptive than others. So, if all you use are overused and cliché buzz words, and you have no concise story proving your assertion, then you need to do some work. But buzz words are important, especially when employers are using Key Word Search tools to screen your résumé and cover letter.

Use Wordle or other Word Cloud applications to see what words are most prevalent in your resume and cover letter. In fact, write out your elevator speech and run that through Wordle and see if the most common words appear on the overused list. If not then don’t worry about the words your are using, because the only bad words not to be used in a résumé are the ones George Carlin made famous years ago.

Career Changers: Consider Temp to Perm

   Career changing is difficult for those of us who have done the same thing for a long time. Recently, a friend pondered that the reason we don’t like change is because we lose the illusion that we are in control. Things are new and we don’t know our way around. This causes anxiety and stress. Changing jobs, especially careers, is indeed very stressful. Even if we hate what we are doing or have been released from our previous job, making a career change does not make most people’s top ten list of  favorite things to do.

   Put your toe in the water first before you jump into the deep end of the pool. Many companies do this. They hire people on a temporary basis and then evaluate them before offering them a full time position. The same can work for the career changer.

   As a temp, you may realize that you love the work but not the company. This is another plus for the Temp to Perm argument of career changing. You’ll quickly learn the company culture and values. If it is not a fit for you,  you’re building experience while keeping your eyes open for a better opportunity at a better company.

   The difficulty for some people is taking a lower pay as they break into a new career. Starting out as a temp can mitigate this risk. I have found that salary is more important if people don’t like or enjoy their work.  In other words, if people love what they do and who they do it with, their salary is never a problem as long as their basic expenses are covered. By starting out as a temp, the career changer can evaluate their appreciation of the job and get a feeling if they can make the salary  work in their lives.

   Finally as a temp, age, gender or other so-called limitations (excuses for not hiring a qualified candidate) go away. When employers see that your transferable skills are what make you stand out over less experienced candidates, the “limitations’ fall to the wayside. Remember that those conditions are only there because they don’t know the true value you present by looking at a resume. A real person with a positive attitude, who is producing and solving problems leaves little doubt to their ability to aid in the company’s success.

   If your pondering a change in careers think seriously about starting in a temporary job and growing from there. It’s like a long interview where you can prove yourself and evaluate the career and company at the same time. It has worked for many career changers and it can work for you.