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10 Boilerplate Phrases That Kill Resumes by: Liz Ryan

The 2009 job market is very different from job markets of the past. If you haven't job-hunted in a while, the changes in the landscape can throw you for a loop.

One of the biggest changes is the shift in what constitutes a strong resume<http://hotjobs.yahoo.com/resume>. Years ago, we could dig into the Resume Boilerplate grab-bag and pull out a phrase to fill out a sentence or bullet point on our resume. Everybody used the same boilerplate phrases, so we knew we couldn't go wrong choosing one of them -- or many -- to throw into your resume.

Things have changed. Stodgy boilerplate phrases in your resume today mark you as uncreative and "vocabulary challenged." You can make your resume<http://hotjobs.yahoo.com/resume> more compelling and human-sounding by rooting out and replacing the boring corporate-speak phrases that litter it, and replacing them with human language -- things that people like you or I would actually say.

Here are the worst 10 boilerplate phrases -- the ones to seek out and destroy in your resume as soon as possible:

- Results-oriented professional

- Cross-functional teams

- More than [x] years of progressively responsible experience

- Superior (or excellent) communication skills

- Strong work ethic

- Met or exceeded expectations

- Proven track record of success

- Works well with all levels of staff

- Team player

- Bottom-line orientation

You can do better. What about adding a human voice to your resume<http://hotjobs.yahoo.com/resume>?

Here's an example:

"I'm a Marketing Researcher who's driven by curiosity about why people buy what they do. At XYZ Industries, I used consumer surveys and online-forum analysis to uncover the reasons why consumers chose our competitors over us; our sales grew twenty percent over the next six months as a result. I'm equally at home on sales calls or analyzing data in seclusion, and up to speed on traditional and new-millennium research tools and approaches. I'm fanatical about understanding our marketplace better every day, week and month -- and have helped my employers' brands grow dramatically as a result."

You don't have to write resumes that sound like robots wrote them. A human-voiced résumé is the new black -- try it!

*Liz Ryan is a 25-year HR veteran, former Fortune 500 VP and an internationally recognized expert on careers and the new millennium workplace. Contact Liz at liz@asklizryan.com or join the Ask Liz Ryan online community at www.asklizryan/ group.

The opinions expressed in this column are solely the author's.*

*

From an employer point of view

from Business Jet Traveler Online

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Hiring a Pilot in Today's Job Market

By David A. Lombardo - April 2009

You might think that the recession and resultant glut of pilots would be a good thing if you’re in hiring mode, and in a sense it is because it means you’ll have plenty of applicants. But that can be bad news, too, because a large  field of candidates can be tough to sift through. If a pilot comes from a recently closed flight department, you may have found a winner, but study long and hard the individual who was part of a reduction. A chief pilot faced with the need to cut personnel isn’t likely to lay off his best people.

 

“The evaluation of candi dates starts even before they arrive for an interview,” said Doug Mykol, president of AirCare Solutions Group, which supplies pilots and other crew to flight departments. “Their e-mail address can tell you a lot about how they think. How can anyone expect to be taken seriously if their e-mail address is sleepy

pilot@xyz.com or pilotstud @xyz.com? I’ve actually received résumés from people with addresses like those.”

 

Mykol also took issue wi th the photos included with some résumés. “Photos are nice to put a face with a résumé,” he said, “but I’ve received a résumé with a photo of a woman on a beach in a thong and one from a pilot standing at a bar holding a beer. If their judgment is that bad for something like a résumé, do you really want them working with your executives, important clients and family?

 

“Watch candidates clos ely when they walk into your office,” Mykol added. “I take a good look at what they’re wearing and how they carry themselves. Dress codes today are far more relaxed than they were 30 years ago, but this is a job interview. It’s an important business meeting. What you see is going to be what you get. If they don’t respect you, don’t expect them to respect anyone else, either.

 

Candidates should be matu re enough to understand that people are judged by our choices, actions, dress, manner of speech and a myriad of other factors, Mykol continued. “If a candidate doesn’t get it, do you really want him or her representing your company?”

 

Jodie Brown, president of the aviat ion recruiting firm Summit Solutions, agreed with Mykol and cautioned interviewers to dig deep. “Pilots love airplanes and love to fly,” she said. “The real question is how well they play with others, such as a captain, second-in-command or cabin attendant.”

 

Brown said being a competent pilo t is just the starting point. “How does the candidate feel about trading seats with younger pilots to train them to be captain?” she asked. “How big is his or her ego? Will the candidate be competitive with other crew members or will they fit together like pieces of a puzzle? You don’t want to hire someone who doesn’t fit into your corporate culture.”

 

Another issue Brown sugg ested exploring is how a candidate sees the relationship of the flight department to the rest of the company. “Do they understand that they are an extension of the corporation and not an independent department–that they’re there to serve the company?”

 

     Interviews Are Complicated

Brown said interviewing a ca ndidate properly can be more complicated than many people realize. “We look beyond basic qualifications and try to see how committed they are,” she explained. “How do they spend their time when they’re waiting at FBOs? Do they play pool and watch TV or do they read the latest NOTAMS [hazard alerts from aviation authorities] and improve their skills? Are they self-reflective, meaning do they strive for self-improvement or do they have a difficult time receiving feedback? All of these things will come out with a professional interviewer.”

 

The major advantages of usi ng a specialized recruiting firm, according to Brown, include the fact that such firms know the network well enough to do an in-depth reference check. Also, they understand the industry enough to delve into technical and interpersonal aspects of the position and can provide a guarantee to go along with the chosen candidate.

 

     Look Broadly at Capabilities

Brown also noted the value of observing candidates’ behavior before, during and after the interview. “Do they have an ability to observe and respond to nuances in the people they encounter?” she asked. “How do they treat the receptionist? If you go to lunch, how do they treat the wait staff? How do they respond to being bombarded with questions? And be sure to feel them out about th eir flexibility. How do they feel about using older equipment? How are they with doing reports and extra assigned duties?”

 

Lars Turnquist, the retired directo r of aviation for a corporate flight department, also emphasized the need to look broadly at capabilities. “I didn’t hire pilots—I hired [future] directors of operations,” he said. “I only hired people who had the potential to be promoted.

 

“When the word gets out you’re looking for a pilot, you’re flooded with applications,” he said. “It really isn’t about money. We made it clear we paid our personnel according to the NBAA [National Business Aviatio n Association] salary survey. They came to us knowing roughly what to expect.

 

“In the interview,” Turnquist continued, “applicants would tell me how they met the qualifications for the job in terms of ratings, experience and hours. I would tell them all that was a given. Everyone I interviewed met th ose criteria, but I didn’t want someone who was just looking for a job; I wanted someone looking for a career. That caused more than a few to get a quizzical look. It was clear they didn’t have a clue as to the difference.

 

“I once interviewed a young man w ho was fresh out of college and applying for an entry-level pilot position,” Turnquist added. “During the interview, I asked him what he liked most about flying and his response was, ‘I’ll get to go to some cool places.’ I thought perhaps he hadn’t quite gotten the gist of what I was asking so I continued. ‘But what attracted you to a career as a pilot?’ He said it was because his father was an airline pilot and would pay for his education only if he went into aviation. I’d be surprised if anyone ever gave that young man a job.”  

 

Turnquist said he wanted to know how a job applicant distinguished himself. “I’d ask candidates to name three things they’d done in the previous year to make them better, more well-rounded professionals,” he recalled. “Do they go to the NBAA convention? Have they taken NBAA’s Certified Aviation Manager’s test or were they in NBAA’s Professional Development Program? Did they read professional publications or take college courses in appropriate fields? Do they really see this as a career or just a job? The individual you want to hire is the one who goes the extra mile without being asked.”

 

 

 

 

 

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The Office Skirmish: How to Avoid Round 2

By EILENE ZIMMERMAN

Published: March 12, 2010

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Chris Reed

 

A. If, after a few days, your co-worker is acting as if nothing occurred, it’s probably best to ignore the situation, says Damon Beyer, co-author of “The Right Fight” and a management consultant with Booz & Company in Houston. “If it is clear, however, that your colleague is still upset and feeling animosity toward you, it’s best to raise the issue,” he says.

Focus on your work together and on continuing to meet established time frames and deadlines, says Susan F. Benjamin, a communications strategist in Shepherdstown, W.Va., and author of “Perfect Phrases for Dealing With Difficult Situations at Work.”

Keep the conversation civil and respectful, Ms. Benjamin says: “You could say: ‘I know we had a difficult situation arise last week, but for me it’s over and I really want to focus on this project. Does that work for you too?’” After that, your conversations should establish or re-establish your respective responsibilities so you can move forward, she says.

If you want to discuss what happened, try to put yourself in the other person’s shoes, Mr. Beyer advises. You know why you were angry or defensive but may not understand the other side.

“You aren’t saying you were wrong; you’re saying ‘How could we have avoided the conflict?’” he observes. “It’s important to have a genuine interest in trying to understand what caused it to happen.”

Q. How can you address a conflict that isn’t a big blowup, but is more insidious and lasts a long time?

A. If someone’s behavior is annoying but doesn’t affect your work, confronting it directly might not be worth it, says Lisa Maxwell, a mediator with the National Conflict Resolution Center in San Diego who trains managers on how to handle workplace disputes.

“You’re not going to like everyone you work with; you only need a working relationship that is respectful,” she says. But if someone’s behavior is undercutting your performance and directly affecting your ability to get your job done, you should address it.

Mr. Beyer suggests that you get some time alone with the person and broach the topic gently, saying, for example, “In the last couple of months I feel like our relationship has changed.” Then list the behavior you’ve noticed — things like missing deadlines or avoiding you.

“Someone who is passive-aggressive will maintain that nothing is wrong, so be assertive and insist you believe things have changed and want to know what you can do to be a more effective collaborator,” Mr. Beyer says.

Listen closely, and co-workers may offer clues as to what’s bothering them. If they feel they aren’t getting enough credit for joint projects, for instance, they aren’t likely to voice it explicitly. But they might say, “You seem to be doing well for yourself because of our work together,” Mr. Beyer says. This gives you insight into what’s driving them, he says, and lets you address problems more directly.

Q. What if, despite your best efforts at reconciliation, your estranged colleague says he or she can’t work with you?

A. If you have no choice but to work with this person, you might have to ask your manager to intervene. Don’t bad-mouth your colleague — just state the facts about the situation, says Leslie Seppinni, a doctor of psychology, management consultant and crisis intervention specialist in Beverly Hills, Calif.

“Don’t say that you can’t work with this person,” Dr. Seppinni says. “Let your manager know you want the project to be successful and ask if they would be willing to try and help you and this colleague work together.”

Q. If someone at the office is yelling at you, what should you do?

A. Yelling is inappropriate and highly unprofessional, but it happens on occasion. When it does, don’t stare at the person, don’t argue and don’t walk away (unless you fear that the person may become physically abusive), Mr. Beyer says. Try to let personal accusations roll off your back, because a screaming person is not rational: “Avoid being confrontational back to them; just restate what you hear them saying.”

“If they say, ‘This project is garbage,’ you say: ‘I understand you think this project is terrible. I hear what you’re saying.’ It takes a tremendous amount of energy for someone to stay that angry, especially if the other person is calm and listening,” he said.

But if the behavior continues, your manager or H.R. department may need to become involved.

Q. Can workplace conflict be healthy?

A. Yes. It offers an opportunity to strengthen your relationship with a co-worker. Both of you gain a chance to explain what was upsetting — and to fix it, Mr. Beyer says. “You’re making this investment of time and energy, so the other person will feel you must want to work with them,” he says. “You’re not just giving up.”

E-mail: ccouch@nytimes.com.