Recruiters Buzzword Bingo Who Wants to Play

Recruiters Buzzword Bingo Who Wants to Play Everyone enjoys playing games especially if its a welcome distraction from real work. Sadly theres no prize on offer here but if you win you  could get bragging rights all week which, lets face it, is worth more than any prize. With the start of the new year a lot of people are considering changing their job, updating their online profiles or CVs or maybe even considering overhauling their careers completely. Everybody wants to stand out and make sure their profile is more unique than the next persons but this is easier said than done. In fact, LinkedIn has just released the most overused words by the UK’s recruitment professionals on their profiles. Buzzword bingo rules Go through yours and your colleagues profiles and see how  many of the buzzwords listed below youve used. You get 10 points for every word listed below appears in the profiles and winner is the person with the lowest score. The top 10 buzzwords UK recruiters use are: 1. Specialised Now everyone claims their job is specialised but how about saying I am an expert in (thats only if you are of course, dont claim to be good at something youre not) or maybe you can use the word specialism? Ok ok, I know its not that different from specialised but it still works. 2. Leadership Leadership skills are crucial if youre in management or C-suite jobs and you would definitely want this on your profile or CV. But how about saying youre an influential manager or that you lead from the front? Try it. 3. Experienced Most recruiters want experienced candidates. I mean, theyre not going to put forward someone who has got zero experience. So the fact that youve listed a particular job on your profile already shows that you have experience in that field without having to spell it out. 4. Focussed This is a word a lot of people tend to use, but what does it actually mean? Focussed on what? Maybe you can say you are driven or dedicated? They both work equally well. 5. Strategic This basically means youre good at planning stuff or that you work in a particular way. I quite like the word tactical it also looks clever but if your job is as a strategist then I guess theres no getting away from using the word Strategic. 6. Passionate Romeo and Juliet were passionate. It doesnt quite have the same ring to it on a profile or a CV does it? Maybe you can just say you really enjoy a particular aspect of the job/role/industry you want to work in? I might even stretch to letting you say you love it. 7. Excellent Now this takes me back to the movie Bill and Teds Excellent adventure. They loved that word and it seems like a lot of you do too. I would just say you were really good at your particular skill, or maybe you can say you are exceptional or even accomplished? Just throwing these suggestions out there in case you hadnt considered them. 8. Expert Who says you are an expert? Has this been qualified? Maybe you are an expert in your field and if thats the case then feel free to use it as much as you want. 9. Generalist Now youre just showing off! No, really you are. Why dont you say how good you are at the many different things you claim to be good at? The thing is you cant be a specialist AND a generalist, so its probably just best to say what you can do instead of letting the recruiter guess that you are good at everything. 10. Successful Everybody wants to be successful especially in their career. But instead of saying you are successful, maybe you can list the number of awards youve received or been nominated for? Or maybe you can talk about how well you launched a particular project that went live? There are lots of different ways of saying you are successful without having to use that word. Thats it, your times up so who is the winner? As we know there is no real winner but knowing which overused words NOT to use on your CV or profile may just make you streets ahead of your competitor and possibly bag you that dream job. Lets buzz  the experts Lysha Holmes of Qui Recruitment: I would encourage recruiters to think elevator style pitch when it comes to writing their profile. Naff terms such as guru, champion, et al dont necessarily convey a professional image. Think about the context of your business and brand within your market. Amend your profile during the year to keep it fresh. Above all what do you want someone to think of when they read your name. James Nathan of the James Nathan Experience: The importance of a well written LinkedIn profile is vital for any professional looking to build a strong and authoritative reputation in the market and to convey a quality personal brand. We all know that first impressions count, and LinkedIn may well be someone’s first impression of you. I would encourage all recruiters to look critically at their profiles, from the viewpoint of a potential client or candidate, and make sure it encourages that person to want to connect with and contact them. Does it allow the reader to understand exactly who you help and how you can help them? Buzz word after buzz word may be easy to write, but is unlikely to achieve this goal. Stephen Chambers  of  John Lewis Partnership: When were considering candidates to join the John Lewis Partnership Resourcing team were looking for professionals who understand how to shape their own professional profile, as well as spot a strong one in others. Standing out from the crowd is part of this. Id encourage all recruiters to make sure theyre not falling into the trap of using buzzwords on their LinkedIn profiles, and being true ambassadors for their employer brand.