LinkedIn recently came out with a list of the year’s most overused professional buzzwords.
Comb through your LinkedIn page and your résumé to see if they contain the following words and phrases, which are the most used on the networking site’s 135 million profiles:
• Creative
• Effective
• Extensive experience
• Innovative
• Problem solving
• Communication skills
• Dynamic
Even if the words do accurately describe you, they’re also being used to describe millions of other people, which means you’re not likely to stand out. Could you say the same thing in a different way?
Buzzwords aren’t creative. “Use language that illustrates your unique professional accomplishments and experiences,” says LinkedIn’s Connection Director Nicole Williams.
Another suggestion from LinkedIn is to click the “Add sections” icon on your LinkedIn profile, and create new areas on your profile for certifications, awards, projects, skills, volunteer experience, even links to your Twitter posts and Amazon reading list.
— Adapted from “10 Buzzwords to Take Off Your LinkedIn Profile Now,” Katy Steinmetz, Time.
