As British workers contemplate beating the January blues with a career change or new role, LinkedIn, the world’s largest professional network, reveals the most overused buzzwords of the recruitment professionals who can help them - highlighting the adjectives that they should avoid this year if they want to stand out from the crowd.
LinkedIn analysed the profile summaries of its recruiter members to compile the list, which revealed ‘motivated’, ‘track record’ and ‘strategic’ as the top three words and phrases that recruiters use to describe themselves. ‘Passionate’ and ‘successful’ also made it into the top five.
The announcement of the list comes on the day - 21 January - when LinkedIn traditionally sees the most UK members update their profiles.
The 2016 top ten buzzwords of UK recruiters are:
- Motivated
- Track record
- Strategic
- Passionate
- Successful
- Dedicated
- Driven
- Leadership
- Enthusiastic
- Responsible
LinkedIn’s Richard George, commented: “This is the day of the year that thousands of ambitious workers put their new year resolutions into practice and start thinking about their next career step. And with 20 million professionals now on LinkedIn in the UK, recruitment professionals need to do all they can to stand out and engage with potential candidates or the next key hire.
“Social media has changed the search and hiring process, and therefore the way recruiters engage candidates. Recruiters now have a wealth of potential candidates at their fingertips, but recruitment is still about relationships. People respond better to those with a human touch, so it’s important that recruiters feel comfortable ditching the jargon and being themselves.”
LinkedIn is encouraging recruitment professionals to think about the terms and phrases they use in their profile summary, banish the buzzwords and take the time to rejuvenate their LinkedIn profile.
Here are some LinkedIn tips to make your profile work harder for you:
Use an eye-catching headline: The headline box is where recruiters can showcase who they are in just 120 characters. Make sure you use searchable key words that describe what you do and your key skills. And don’t forget to customise your LinkedIn profile URL.
Keep your summary short and sweet. The best recruiters sell themselves with impact – this is your chance to stand out from the crowd. Welcome and thank anyone following you, let them know what you do and what you’ve achieved to date.
Communicate your experience and showcase your achievements: Pictures say it better than words. But however you chose to showcase what you have done so far, make sure you do it with a warm tone and plenty of personality. Shouting about any awards you have won, professional certifications you hold and projects you have completed legitimises your skill set and gives others the chance to endorse you.
Link to a variety of content you find interesting. Recruiters have a vital role to play in terms of adding value to candidates and clients. Sharing useful, informative and engaging content shows you know what you are talking about and understand your market. Take it even further with a long-form publisher post.
Join the conversation on LinkedIn, Twitter and Instagram with #nobuzzwords.
