LinkedIn told me today that 62 of my connections changed jobs in 2010. Wow! While a closer look reveals that some of my colleagues actually just updated their profiles, many did really start new jobs. The economy may be improving!
Part of the process of job hunting is dusting off the old résumé, and many of the words we use there seem to make it into our online profiles, too. So I was interested to see LinkedIn’s list of most overused buzzwords seen in profiles. In North America, “extensive experience” tops the list. Rounding out the top 10 are innovative, motivated, results-oriented, dynamic, proven track record, team player, fast-paced, problem solver and entrepreneurial.
Scoff all you like at the words, but don’t you think people use them so much because they are trying to reflect the words stuffed into job descriptions? Haven’t you seen job posts looking for a “motivated, results-oriented dynamic team player with a proven track record”?
My friend Martin Buckland is a certified professional résumé writer and a job and career transition coach, and he is among the experts who suggest job applicants check job descriptions for the words that must be in their résumés. That’s because companies often electronically scan incoming résumés, and including those key words increase the chance the document will pass electronic review.
Still, LinkedIn is right; these are buzzwords, and while you might need to use them in a job application, they don’t belong in your profile. Your profile should sound more like the things you’d say at a networking event. You know, as if you were a human being, talking to another human being. I hope you don’t mention how results-oriented you are as you hold out your hand to introduce yourself!
(Thanks to FreeDigitalPhotos.net and photographer Luigi Diamanti for the image!)
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