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LinkedIn’s top buzzwords list can help job hunters

LinkedIn’s top buzzwords list can help job hunters

By:  Rafael Ruffolo  On: 14 Dec 2010 For: ComputerWorld Canada Creator

OPINION: Find out why the top ten most popular words and phrases on LinkenIn can be a valuable list to avoid for job seekers who want to get noticed. Plus, what IT job hunters can learn from the list

If you are using the buzzwords like “extensive experience,” “innovation” or “dynamic” in your resumes, perhaps you should stop.

Those three resume clichés top the list of the most overused buzzwords among LinkedIn’s 85 million users throughout 2010. The social networking site, which released its top ten most overused words and phrases list on Tuesday, said the insights would help working professionals make better decisions on their resumes and LinkedIn pages.

For me, the list offers up ten buzzwords that you should never use if you actually want people to read your credentials without getting a headache.

In addition to the three mentioned above, the list also includes overused catchphrases like “motivated,” “team player,” “results oriented,” “fast paced,” “proven track record,” “multitasker” and “entrepreneurial.”

Along with releasing its list, LinkedIn also offered up a few tips on how users can make sure their LinkedIn profile remains effective. The tips include adding a profile page, listing more than one of your previous job titles, connecting with at least 50 trusted contacts, and customizing your LinkedIn profile to ensure it pops up at the top of Google searches.

And while the list is not geared specifically toward IT professionals, it can certainly inspire them to create better resumes and LinkedIn pages.

For IT job seekers, technical skills will always be a critical part of their professional profile.  Instead of just listing off the languages, software and platforms you can use, IT job seekers should probably supplement this with some insight into how these skills will help the business.

For instance, if you specialize in data management, you would be wise to stress the benefits of improved data quality and how it will help the business in the long run.

Rather than saying “we have a data quality problem,” IT leaders should focus on what enterprises are going to be able to do with the information once they’ve straightened out the problem. While not completely avoiding their past successes, IT people should try to be as forward thinking as possible when putting together their CVs.

One of the keys to success at any IT organizations is to have a strong relationship with the business unit. If you can demonstrate that you are ready to put things in “business terms” before you are even hired, it could definitely give you a leg up in your job search.

And most importantly, it will show you are “motivated,” “dynamic,” and “entrepreneurial.”

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Rafael Ruffolo Rafael Ruffolo was a senior writer for ComputerWorld Canada from 2006 to 2011. He was the winner of a Kenneth R. Wilson award for business journalism in 2009.

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