The ten most overused buzzwords on LinkedIn

The statistics have been released by LinkedIn to correspond with 21 January, which its own data has shown is the most popular day for members of the network to update profiles and consider new career directions.

In a warning to businesses looking for candidates both at this time and throughout the year, LinkedIn stated that employers risk “failing to catch the attention of potential candidates” because of the excessive use of corporate language.

The ten most overused words on LinkedIn company pages during 2015 were:

(1) Expert

(2) Solution

(3) Leading

(4) Unique

(5) Value

(6) Vision

(7) Expertise

(8) Innovative

(9) Creative

(10) Strategic

Read more about LinkedIn:

• A look at how LinkedIn is celebrating its 12th anniversary
• LinkedIn’s first billion-dollar acquisition to link job seekers with appropriate skill courses
• Seven things all businesses should be doing on LinkedIn

Looking at the data, LinkedIn director of UK talent solutions, Chris Brown, said: “January is the busiest time of the year for LinkedIn members updating their profiles as they return from the Christmas holidays refreshed and considering new career moves.

“In order to attract the best talent, employers should be making sure their online presence reflects what makes them special as an employer and stands them apart from the competition for talent.”

To combat the use of corporate buzzwords, and help businesses achieve a more engaging profile, LinkedIn has produced three tips. Firstly, it suggests using current employees as “culture ambassadors” to put a human face to the organisation. It cited Booking.com and Diageo as two businesses which have been successful in this approach.

It also believes showing, rather than telling, an interested member about products is more effective. Sharing examples of how the company has improved a client’s business or where a team has had particular success can “bring the story to life”.

Finally, having an opinion an developing engaging content around it has proven to be effective, LinkedIn said.

LinkedIn recently hit the 20m user milestone in the UK, and now has more than 400m members around the world.

LinkedIn members in search of a new job or career could take inspiration from the approach taken by the eight people we featured in our feature pulling together CVs that garnered viral success.

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