Strategic Direction Blog

Read this today and thought it was helpful. I agree with the author - these are all over used terms so do your best to stay away!

Here are the worst 10 boilerplate phrases –

* 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

If you are faced with having to downsize, help your team land on their feet. Here are a few things you can do to show your employees you care and have a personal interest in their future:

1. Invest in material to assist with resume/CV writing. This can be in the form of workshops, software or even books.

2. Use internal or external talent to assist with creating formats for resumes and cover letters.

3. If your company has a strict policy against providing references rethink this at least temporarily in order to give the employee the added edge duing the interview process.

Remember employees are people first and they will appreciate your added effort.

The first time I told one of my Executive clients to sharpen up his CV he thought I knew something about his employment that he didn’t. I went on to explain taking the time to review and update your CV routinely does two things:

1. Should a new opportunity arise your CV will contain the most up to date information.

2. It serves as a great way to reflect back on your accomplishments and achievements to date.

Too often we get caught up in what we haven’t done well or haven’t done at all. Setting some time aside to update your accomplishments and appreciate how far you have come can be good for the psyche and career.