A line from a letter last week:
“In my own lab I plan to take full advantage of my acquired skills and use the XXX equipment to further investigate xxxx.”
This kind of language is braggy and at the same time, completely devoid of meaning.
Who doesn’t take advantage of acquired skills? When a person washes their dishes, are they not taking advantage of acquired skills? When you drive a car, are you not taking advantage of acquired skills?
If it is a thing that can be said of LITERALLY ALL HUMAN ENDEAVOR then it adds nothing of value to your candidacy for this job.
This is a close kin to the problem of last week’s post: stating the obvious. But here, it’s “bragging the obvious.” Don’t brag about engaging in generic human behavior! Job documents are short. Don’t squander words. Make every word count, with substance and distinctive meaning about you and your profile.
“If it is a thing that can be said of LITERALLY ALL HUMAN ENDEAVOR…”
That is the funniest thing I have read since I proof read my friend’s (fourth-year neuropsychology) laboratory report stating he ’employed’ a chin rest.
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