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Why "Hardworking" Is Nothing to Brag About

Young Professionals Advice by Topic

Why Being "Hardworking" Is Nothing to Brag About

Published August 25, 2009 @ 06:14AM PT

Young professionals with few years of work experience are often at a loss for how to talk about their skills when looking for a new job or moving to the next level in their career. That's why cover letters and resumes are filled with cliche sentences like, 'I am honest, punctual, and hardworking.' Telling your future employer that you're hardworking doesn't really add value to your application. I mean, who in this world would admit that they are not hardworking??? Maybe in the industrial days when we all working in factories and mines, it was an asset to be hardworking, because the work was physically hard. But now we're in an age where most professionals are knowledge workers, where we use our brains rather that our braun to get the job done. The term doesn't really mean anything anymore. You could be "working hard" reading emails, filing your fingernails, or checking your Facebook page for notifications and photos tagged of you.

Even in the nonprofit world, it's not about who works the hardest anymore, it's about who works the smartest and gets the right things done quickly and within budget. It's better to show potential employers what you've accomplished in the past and what you're capable of accomplishing in the future. Actions always speak louder than words.

So do yourself a favor - stop bragging about how "hardworking" you are. Stop putting that you're "willing to put in long hours" on your resume. It really means nothing to your employer except that you're willing to be miserable in your nonprofit career. If you work smart, you won't have to stay late every night.

And why would you want to?