The route that leads to an attractive job offer always starts – and unfortunately often ends – with your CV. It takes a busy HR director a few seconds to review your CV among a pile of others, and make a quick judgment: in those critical few seconds, only your writing skills influence his or her decision.

According to a recent survey carried out by the business language consultancy The Writer, at least half of CVs are failing to impress, due to the use of overused clichéd terms and dull phrases like team player. Despite the fact that they may seem like a good idea at the time, this study demonstrates that the use of resume buzzwords and dull phrases can take your CV from the top of the pile straight down to the trash bin.

The online poll of over 500 people revealed a list of words that bore people when reviewing CVs. The survey revealed that 57 per cent of respondents voted “team player” as the dullest phrase to use on a CV whereas 43 per cent stated that they did not like “proven track record”. Moreover, 40 per cent felt that “passionate” left them cold, whereas 50 per cent thought that other people’s CV were “ not at all” or “barely” effective. In contrast to this, 80 per cent of respondents said that their own CV was “very” or “impressively” effective. Finally, the study suggested that candidates should avoid using the following words in their CV. These are: 1. Team Player; 2. Proven track record; 3. Passionate; 4. Dynamic; 5. Motivated; 6. Proactive; 7. Enthusiastic; 8. Innovative; 9. Problem solver, and 10. Collaborative. In the light of these findings, Neil Taylor, creative director at The Writer and author of Brilliant Business Writing explained: “People fill their CVs with buzzwords to impress but it actually has the opposite effect. The people who get to the very top don’t use them; people who can cut through the waffle will stand out. So if you trained a load of people, say that. Don’t say you ‘upskilled a functional unit of direct reports’.”

“It’s also telling that so many people think their own CV is impressive despite their low opinion of the ones they read. It’s probably worth taking a hard look at your own CV again – is it really that impressive or different? Quite often it’s when people try to describe their traits that they start repeating the same old tired adjectives. Try telling a story instead that shows off your qualities. The most persuasive writing shows rather than tells. Remember, your application doesn’t have to get you the job – it has to get you an interview. So you need to sound interesting enough to meet,” Taylor maintained.

Following are some of Taylor’s tips on creating an engaging CV: Write more like you speak – everyone tells you to write CVs in the third person. Try ‘I’; it will make your writing feel much more natural, and more engaging.

Nick tricks – the tip above will make your writing really easy to read. But you can go further, and make your writing really memorable, or engaging, or distinctive. So nick some tricks from that day’s newspaper headlines (journalists have to make boring stuff interesting every day). Watch an Obama speech. Try writing a poem. Turn your introduction into a story in six words. Because if you enjoy your writing more, so will your reader.

Think about your personal brand – great brands stand for something. They have opinions, and attitude. And so do you. So if your hobby is the conservation of rare toads, drop that in. If you think the way your industry works is completely unsustainable, say so. Anything that will intrigue your reader into a conversation will pay dividends.

Be honest – few people get to the top without making a few mistakes. Be honest about them. Say what you’ve learnt. A few business bruises show you have been there, done that.

No gimmicks – no pink paper or paper aeroplanes; they’re for the kids. At this level, you stand or fall on the strength of your ideas, personality and experience.

Moreover, Corinne Mills, MD of Personal Career Management, one of UK’s leading and most informed career-coaching companies, in her book You’re Hired! CV: How to write a brilliant CV, explains that a CV works on many different levels. On the one hand you have a straightforward historical record of the candidate’s skills, qualifications and employment history, while on the other it is a carefully crafted business proposal that sets out the business case for why one should be invited for an interview. Mills goes on to say that one needs to always have an up-to-date CV at hand that positions him or her as the perfect candidate for the next role, rather than simply recording what one has done in the past. And despite the fact that CV writing looks likes it should be easy to do, in reality selling one’s skills and doing it well is much more difficult than it seems. Following are some of her tips to candidates to ensure that they maximise their potential to get their foot into the interviewers’ door.

Research

Find out as much as you can about the job you want and the employer’s requirements. Study advertisements, job descriptions, talk to recruiters or those who work in a similar role and ask their advice on what gives a candidate a competitive edge.

Match

Use the information gained from your research to help you show in your CV that you have the specific skills, experience and approach required. Ensure these key aspects are included within the first half page of your CV so the recruiter can quickly see your suitability.

Evidence

Unsubstantiated claims will not work. You need to prove you have what they need. So instead of your CV saying you have “good communication skills”, give an example of where you demonstrated this to good effect e.g. “Invited to join the sales bid team because of my ability to translate technical detail into language that the customer could understand”.

Language

Avoid long sentences and using the “I” pronoun such as “I did this...I did that....” Instead use bullet points e.g. “Led this... Created that...” this will seem much more dynamic. Never include any criticisms of others, business setbacks or failures unless you were able to turn them around.

Professional presentation

This needs to be of the highest standard with a layout that is consistent, attractive and easy to read. All spelling and grammar needs to be checked and double-checked.

Format

Avoid complex formatting on your CV like columns, tables and graphics, as this can interfere with the way your CV is stored on the recruitment database.

Audience

Tailor each CV to its audience, highlighting the things that you know will be of most interest to them. This may mean that you have a few different CVs, each tweaked to the requirements of each individual job and employer.

Finally, in an extract from her article “Career Coach,” Mills looks at the art of self-promotion arguing that many people are not used to talking positively about themselves to others and that many of them find a real sense of discomfort when it comes to selling themselves to a potential employer. For Mills, the art of self-promotion is what is needed to ensure that one gets what s/he wants in order to get on with his/her career.

Creating a winning CV should be seen as a feat of strategy that involves focus, wording, design and content selection. It is a marketing tool for your career just as a brochure is a marketing document for a product or service. Businesses put careful thought and consideration into each and every word when they draw up a marketing document and prospective job applicants should do the same in their CV. Because of this, the words you use in your CV need to be able to showcase you in a powerful way with your prospective employer and enable you to stand out from the competition. A great CV can open many doors of opportunity and it can make all the difference between being asked for an interview and being rejected out of hand.

Ms Camilleri is a researcher at the Foundation for Human Resources Development (FHRD)