Dubai: Millions of people worldwide post their profiles on social media in the hope of landing the job of their dreams. While online profiles play a significant role in a job search, words need to be carefully thought of before putting them on one’s CV.
A popular site among jobseekers, LinkedIn, which has more than 300 million members from around the world, including more than one million in the UAE, recently did a study to find out what “buzzwords” people commonly use in their profiles.
The company found that in the UAE there are several most overused words on LinkedIn profiles that are guaranteed to lose the interest of would-be employers.
If you use any of such buzzwords, LinkedIn says you might just lose the chance of getting your dream job. These buzzwords are everywhere that employers are simply tired of reading them.
Among the marketing professionals, for instance, the most popular words include “creative”, “strategic” and “motivated”.
In the sales department, the favourites are “motivated”, track record” and “dynamic". In the human resources or talent sector, the most commonly used words are “strategic”, “motivated” and “organizational”.
Overused, abused
LinkedIn ranked these buzzwords and found the following as the most overused in the UAE and should be avoided, as much as possible, if you are really serious about your job search:
1. Motivated
2. Dynamic
3. Creative
4. Extensive experience
5. Track record
6. Responsible
7. Driven
8. Passionate
9. Strategic
10. Enthusiastic
Darain Faraz, LinkedIn spokesperson, says many of the phrases on the list don't really add much value to your LinkedIn profile.
"Since they are overused terms, they may have lost their impact altogether. We recommend including specific examples of your work in your profile rather than buzzwords," Faraz tells Gulf News.
"For instance, instead of saying you have 'extensive experience' in sales, note that you've worked in sales for 10 years, hit your quota the last six quarters and note specific deals you've closed."
"We recently added the ability for our members to add rich media to their profiles, so always look for opportunities to add examples of your work, such as articles, presentations and videos, to showcase your talent."
Faraz recommends some tips for updating your profile:
• Summary: Don’t just replace one buzzword with another buzzword. Instead, be specific. Cite some examples to illustrate how motivated you are. A good practice is uploading samples of your work in your summary.
• Profile photo: Don’t leave this part empty. You have more chances of getting your profile viewed if it has a photo, but make sure what you upload reflects the image you want to portray or show your best professional self.
• Headline: To get yourself noticed, it is necessary to write a strong headline. Remember that the first thing that attracts a reader when browsing a news website is the headline itself. So make sure you don’t skip this part.
