Weak Messaging
Weak Messaging
From Career Tips, 2025 Volume 6, June 2025
Have you ever used any of these weak statements?
Here’s a sampling of phrases from resumes I’ve received over the past few weeks that really deserve to be struck out:
“Award-winning record”
The fact that you win awards is a good point. Opening with it in this way can make you sound conceited, or that winning awards is more important to you than actually producing the results most critical to your employer or clients. It’s more effective to bring the fact that your work won awards into your message later in the discussion.
“Proven ability to”, “Proven expertise in”, Demonstrated experience in”
Don’t tell me you have the proven ability, just show me the proof. That will be more concise and to the point. For example, instead of “proven ability to increase productivity”, why not just say “Improves productivity”?
“Accomplished … professional”
Similar to the above, just tell me what you actually accomplished. And does “professional” actually add anything? Would I otherwise think you are unprofessional?
“Results-driven”, “Deliver results”
Again, don’t tell me you are this, show me the example that proves it.
“Track record of”
I guess you’re trying to say that you’ve done this multiple times. But it’s shorter and more impactful to delete the phrase and go straight to what you accomplished.
“Significantly improved”
I guess that’s better than just “improved”, but still leaves it to me to decide how significant it is. It would be better to give an actual metric.
“Ensured adherence to laws and regulations”, “Ensuring compliance with”
Why should an employer sit up and take notice of that? It sounds like the minimum expectation of the job. This would be similar to saying “Met the goals.” Why should I be impressed with that? It would be different if it said something like “Brought company back into full compliance with laws and regulations, avoiding potential multi-million dollar fines.”
“Driven leader”, “Dynamic professional”
OK, you’re trying to communicate a quality, your drive. But is this the most impactful way to do that? Won’t most readers simply ignore that? Find a way to express your drive linked directly to a problem you solved.
“Achieve shared goals”, “Achieve successful outcomes”, “Met business goals”
These are so generic as to be meaningless.
“Assisted with / Collaborated with / Partnered with / Contributed to”
What did you actually bring to the table in these cases? These are on a par with “Member of team that…”. Even though I might be impressed with what the team produced, I’m left wondering what you actually contributed to it.
“Aimed at”
Did you actually produce the result you “aimed at”? The phrasing immediately makes me wonder.
“Expertise in written and oral communication”, “Excellent communication skills”
The first doesn’t actually say you are any good at communicating, and the second is almost universally ignored by readers. Either give me an example, make a stronger statement, or just demonstrate how good you are by what you write and say.
By the way, when you rework your messaging to substitute more impactful ways to express what you bring to the table, this will have the added benefit of proving your powerful communication skills!
What phrases would you add to the list above? Drop me a note with your suggestions.
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