LinkedIn has released the ten most over-used work buzzwords in the UK
This week is one of the busiest in the year for UK professionals updating their LinkedIn profiles.
After a Christmas of contemplating a career overhaul, many of us will put our New Year resolutions into practice and revamp our online profiles and CVs in a bid to attract new opportunities.
But with many people sharing this mindset, competition is fierce and you need to choose your words wisely if you want to stand out. This is why LinkedIn has just revealed the top 10 most overused career buzzwords – guaranteed to turn off potential employers, and get you noticed for the wrong reasons.
Taking the top spot in this year’s list was “specialised” – a word which made it onto the profiles of nearly half a million UK professionals.
Here’s the full list:
- Specialised
- Leadership
- Experienced
- Passionate
- Strategic
- Excellent
- Focused
- Creative
- Enthusiastic
- Successful
Here are my top tips for ditching the jobseeker jargon and standing out from the crowd:
Lose the buzzwords
LinkedIn has more than 21m UK members, so if you’re looking to grab someone’s attention, words which appear on hundreds of thousands of other profiles won’t help. Avoid sweeping generalisations and jargon, which don’t do justice to your skills and achievements.
Streamline your summary
Your profile summary is one of the first things people look at, so it’s important to get it right.
Don’t shy away from adding some personality to your language – this is a great way to show your character. You want the reader to want to know more about you, so start with something punchy.
Consider voice
It’s often tempting to speak in the third person when it comes to our working lives, but this can sound impersonal and won’t draw the reader in. Instead, speak directly as you would in an interview to grab and keep the reader’s attention.
Show, don’t just tell
While language is important, bring your skills to life by uploading examples of presentations, achievements, images and other work to your profile that clearly demonstrate your capabilities.
Give it your good side
Potential employers don’t just notice your day job. Many employers find non-profit experience equally valuable so make sure you highlight everything you do outside work.
Instead of saying you’re “passionate”, show that you are by listing any voluntary experience and the issues you care about in the Voluntary Experiences and Causes section.
Join the conversation
So you want to let people know you’re “experienced”? Tell your network by publishing a post on LinkedIn – by offering your opinion on industry matters you’re positioning yourself as a thought leader and sharing your valuable knowledge.
Let others do the talking
If you want to highlight your “leadership” skills or demonstrate your “success”, alongside using alternative words, think about getting recommendations from others to prove it. Only 22 per cent of workers say they feel confident enough to talk about their professional achievements, so getting others involved is a great way to show it.
Darain Faraz works at LinkedIn.