Loose Words and Wasted Space on Your Resume

Space on your resume is valuable. Why waste it? There is an annoying trend on many resumes I have seen that I would like to address. It is the waste of valuable real estate on a resume with lists, bulleted or bolded, of words that are not connected to a position or an accomplishment. Sometimes they are called “Areas of Expertise.” Some resumes have lists of these words that take up much of the first page. The recruiter or hiring manager does not need a list of words; they need a list of key accomplishments under each position. You will not be invited in to be interviewed because you know key healthcare IT words, phrases or hot topics.

Here are some samples of “loose words and phrases” from resumes I have seen recently:

• Strategic IT Business Alignment
• Boardroom Presentations
• Electronic Medical Records
• Care/Case Management System
• Medicare Claims Processing
• Health Information Exchange
• Practice Management Systems
• HL7, ICD9, ICD10, PACs, CCD

ClinicalInformaticsLeadership~ MeaningfulUse~ StrategicPlanning~ ProcessImprovement~ ChangeManagement~ Patient Safety~ ProjectManagement~ EHR/CPOE

Turnarounds/Operational Restructuring~ Strategic Sourcing & Vendor Management~ Infrastructure Architecture & Optimization~ Stakeholder Engagement~ Team Leadership~ Project Management~ Change Management

Leadership/Team Building ~ Budget Control ~ Sales & Marketing Capability ~ Project Management

Instead of all these loose words and phrases taking up space on your resume, incorporate them into sentences in your professional summary paragraph at the top of your resume or within your bulleted key accomplishments under each position. Remember your reader has limited time to read your resume, so move them quickly to what you have accomplished. Instead of including so many empty words, leave some white space around your resume to make it visually attractive.