When it comes to a career, everyone wants to sound smart by developing a strong vocabulary. That means, taking the time to read, learn, and write using the best words. The same goes for crafting career documents like resumes, cover letters, and social media profiles. There are some words that work well and others that should be eliminated from your language.

Overused, irrelevant words should be removed from your vocabulary if you want to appear as intelligent to a future employer (and your colleagues). Here’s a rundown of the top words that need to go, now.

Absolutely

Ok it’s one thing to add emphasis to sentences and stories, but it’s another to add this word to every response.

Awesome

Want to date yourself from the 80s? Then keep on using this word.

Very

Again, people get the point of how strong you want your sentences to sound. Use the word where it counts, but the rest of the time leave it out.

Robust

This is an overused word in the technology field, and it’s gotten to the point of being annoying at best, hilarious at the worst.

Never

As 007 says, never say never.

Stuff

You may think that by using this word that you sound hip or cool, but in reality it just makes you sound lazy because you are not giving an accurate description of what the stuff is.

Like

See, awesome above. And get with the times, man.

Honestly

Although it’s meant to emphasize that someone is being truthful, when this word is used in any sentence it implies the opposite. Just be honest and state the truth.

Literally

Similar to honestly, the word says that something is literal or the reality for something, but it’s unclear. Instead, describe the literalness of the person, place, or thing…and leave this word out.

Should/Would

When you use words like this, you are not being assertive in your speech. These words demonstrate that you lack confidence and are unsure of what you are saying.

Any profanity at all

It may seem mainstream to inject profanity or swear words into our daily speech at work, but it’s nothing short of unprofessional.

About Staffing Resources

Staffing Resources, established in 1985, is a privately held Georgia based corporation and a certified Female Business Enterprise. We provide a wide range of full- and part-time employees to businesses, associations, government and non-profit organizations in the metro Atlanta area. If you are looking to advance your career or land a new job in Atlanta, contact us today!