The #1 Most Overused and Useless Resume Word — Delete It Now

Over the past 15 years I’ve read thousands upon thousands of resumes and there is one word that pops up more than any other word I’ve seen that does absolutely NOTHING for your resume or job search. The word professional is one of the most overused and useless words a resume can contain.

We are all “professionals” in the working world. No need to state on your resume that you are just like every other human. Individuality is the substance of successful resumes in today’s job market. Unfortunately, I see titles like this on resumes every day:

Administrative Professional

Customer Service Professional

Accounting Professional

Human Resources Professional

Information Technology Professional

Senior Executive Professional (Seriously? What does this even mean?)

Senior Finance Professional

Dedicated Professional

Consummate Professional

And the one I love to hate the most …Accomplished Professional

You can put any industry (or adjective) you want in front of the word professional and people think it makes for a great addition to their resume. Truth is, there isn’t a much…