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Creative? Brilliant - just try not to use the actual word too often... leedsn via Shutterstock
bad buzz
15 words you must stop using in your LinkedIn profile
The 2012 list of overused, useless buzzwords on the careers networking site.
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CAREERS NETWORKING SITE LinkedIn has scoured the profiles of its 187 million members and come up with a new list of overused, useless buzzwords.
These are the words that can be an instant turnoff to a recruiter who sees them over and over again because they show that you aren’t “dynamic” with great “communication skills,” but the opposite.
“You wouldn’t mention how disorganised or irresponsible you are, and their antonyms (organized, trustworthy, etc) are wasted words too,” explains LinkedIn’s Nicole Williams.
So, if you are using any of these 2012 buzzwords, fire up your LinkedIn profile right now and scrub them out. Here they are, in order of how overused they are:
- Creative
- Organisational
- Effective
- Motivated
- Extensive Experience
- Track Record
- Innovative
- Responsible
- Analytical
- Problem Solving
A few other buzzwords made the list for countries outside the United States. No matter where you live, consider ditching these from your profile, too.
- Experimental (a buzzword in Brazil)
- Multinational (a buzzword in Egypt and Indonesia)
- Specialised (a buzzword in Spain)
By the way, even though some of the buzzwords from 2011 didn’t make the Top 10 in 2012, that doesn’t mean they’ve become good words to use again. So, you’ll still want to avoid these:
- Communication skills
- Dynamic
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