The LinkedIn Buzzwords You Must NOT Include on Your Profile

The LinkedIn Buzzwords You Must NOT Include on Your Profile How does your LinkedIn profile read? Is it really buzzword rich, or have you stepped away from the cliches in order to stand out from the crowd? LinkedIn have analysed a selection of LinkedIn Recruiter users summaries to compile a list of the top buzzwords that recruitment professionals have used on their LinkedIn profiles over the last year. So if  the words motivated, track record or strategic have crept their way onto your profile, you may want to think about mixing it up a bit! Though keywords will help you to appear in search results, overused buzzwords will do little for you when it comes to standing out from other users. Think outside the box and dont be afraid to show a bit of personality on your profile! Traditionally, the 21st January is the day that LinkedIn see the most UK members updating their profiles, so if thats on your To Do list today, I suggest you steer clear up some of these top buzzwords: 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.” Its not just recruiters who are guilty of this, however, other LinkedIn members are just as bad at loading their profiles with cliches. Here are some of the most commonly used buzzwords across the platform as a whole: Motivated Creative Enthusiastic Track record Passionate Successful Driven Leadership Strategic Extensive experience If youre not sure how to spruce up your LinkedIn profile for the new year, minus the jargon, here are LinkedIns top tips for optimising your profile: 1) Get noticed with your headline: You have 120 characters to showcase who you are and what you do, so make it eye  catching! Be sure to  use keywords that relate to your role and key skills, so that you appear in search results and you can also customise your LinkedIn profile URL to make it easier for people to find you. 2) Keep your summary short and sweet: Ever heard that less is more? Well this is usually the case on LinkedIn. People want to be able to scan over your LinkedIn profile quickly build a picture of who you are and what you do, so a lengthy summary may work against you, as it loses peoples attention. Keep your summary succinct and to the point, outlining your most relevant qualities, skills, experience and ambitions. Your professional self in a nutshell. 4) Showcase your  experiences and achievements: People are drawn to visuals, so make use of media on your profile where you can.  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. Bullet points work best for scan-ability. 5) Link to a variety of content you find interesting:   Gain a bit of credibility among your clients and candidates by sharing your knowledge, or new interesting information about the industry with your network. This can be written by yourself via LinkedIn publisher or an external blog; or alternatively you can curate content written by somebody else. The important thing is that it will be of interest to your audience and shows that you have a good understanding of your market. Banish The Buzzwords from LinkedIn