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Excellent, focused, creative: Overused LinkedIn buzzwords revealed

25 Jan 2017

LinkedIn has revealed the most overused buzzwords on Irish profiles which, if they’re truly reflective of professional capability, suggest we’re an enthusiastic, creative bunch.

Are you specialised expert with leadership qualities proven across an excellent, experienced and focused CV? Well, a passionate, hard-working, strategic, enthusiastic and creative person like you is exactly what an employer is after.

Or, rather, it’s exactly what people put on their LinkedIn profiles in search of that dream job.

The figures are actually quite revealing, with ‘specialised’ being used in 30,000 Ireland-based LinkedIn member profiles. Interestingly, last year’s most-used buzzword ‘motivated’ has fallen to 15th spot this year.

Other buzzwords that came close to reaching the top 10 list include: ‘expert’ (12th), ‘successful’ (18th) and ‘driven’ (19th).

Meanwhile, new buzzwords that emerged in 2016 to adorn LinkedIn member profiles include: ‘interdisciplinary’, ‘savvy’, ‘distinguished’, ‘thinker’, ‘entrepreneurial’ and ‘aggressive’.

It’s always a good time to polish your online profile if you’re looking to change career, or simply move up your professional ladder.

However, there could be better ways to go about it than describing oneself as anything other than individual.

LinkedIn got a bit creative with the main buzzwords this year, putting professional descriptions beside some of Ireland’s best-known historical figures.

“The one thing that all of these Irish icons have in common is that they let their work talk for them,” said Wendy Murphy, senior HR director, LinkedIn EMEA.

“This is a lesson we would encourage everyone to learn from. Bring your professional accomplishments to life by sharing samples of your work on LinkedIn, like presentations or photos from events, to demonstrate how you live these buzzwords, not merely say them.”

LinkedIn

Image: LinkedIn

LinkedIn

Image: LinkedIn

LinkedIn

Image: LinkedIn

LinkedIn

Image: LinkedIn

LinkedIn

Image: LinkedIn

LinkedIn

Image: LinkedIn

LinkedIn

Image: LinkedIn

The list of the top 10 buzzwords, released on what is usually the busiest week in January for LinkedIn profile updates in Ireland, is:

  1. Specialised
  2. Leadership
  3. Experienced
  4. Excellent
  5. Passionate
  6. Focused
  7. Hard-working
  8. Strategic
  9. Enthusiastic
  10. Creative
Gordon Hunt
By Gordon Hunt

Gordon Hunt joined Silicon Republic in October 2014 as a journalist. He spends most of his time avoiding conversations about music, appreciating even the least creative pun and rueing the day he panicked when meeting Paul McGrath. His favourite thing on the internet is the ‘Random Article’ link on Wikipedia.

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