'If a client seriously told me she was going to write 'proficient in MS Office Suite' on her resume, I’d ask her, 'Why stop there? Can you also use a knife and fork?'' 'In 2018, if you’re attempting to get a job, the presumption will be that you are computer literate,' says career consultant Carlota Zimmerman. It might even throw you out of the running. But padding your resume with 'skills' shared by everyone with an office job signals to employers that you actually don't have any skills at all.

This string of seemingly innocuous words sunk its hooks into the job seeker's lexicon years ago, and remains a resume staple to this day-and for no good reason. “Proficient in the Microsoft Office Suite.” Ask a room full of hiring managers which resume cliche is most likely to make their eyes roll back in their heads, and they’ll probably all give you the same line: