Creative, motivated, and of course – passionate – if this sounds like you, great! Unfortunately, it probably sounds like everyone else, too.
On Wednesday, LinkedIn released its list of the top 10 most overused buzzwords displayed on its members’ profiles within Canada. Here they are as follows:
1. passionate
2. motivated
3. creative
4. driven
5. extensive experience
6. organizational
7. strategic
8. problem solving
9. analytical
10. communications skills
(While these were the most popular buzzwords in Canada, they were pretty much the same in the rest of the world, though the ranking of the words may differ slightly).
Like those who overstuff their résumés with boring clichés and overused descriptors of your amazing ability to be a team player, LinkedIn can be a breeding ground for overused jargon, which doesn’t truly speak to your experience. So if you’re wondering what kinds of things you should say on your LinkedIn profile, the social network had some tips.
First, your LinkedIn summary should include examples, the same way you would provide examples to showcase your skills and abilities in a job interview. If you want to show you are motivated, you should provide examples of past projects or achievements that have demonstrated your drive.
The same goes for your headline. Instead of putting something trite like your name and title, you may catch more attention with something a little more imaginative. For example, LinkedIn suggests instead of “Mary Smith: Software Engineer,” a better alternative might be “Mary Smith: Solving problems through code.” And if you’re on the job hunt, it doesn’t hurt to also put that into your headline.
For your skill set, it’s important to include a mix of what LinkedIn calls “high level skills and niche skills,” meaning you include a wide variety of the things you’re able to do. This is important, as it shows prospective employers and recruiters that you are an expert in your role, but also that you’re versatile. And putting skills on your profile is important for another reason – according to LinkedIn, users who bother to place skills on their profiles garner 13 times more views than users who don’t.
For more tips, check out LinkedIn’s blog post here.