When it comes to filling out an online resume, the summary section of a LinkedIn profile is the perfect place to show off writing skills and highlight abilities that don’t fit into other profile sections. Unfortunately, the section is most often used to emphasize qualities job seekers think employers want. Too often they end up being generic, bland, and similar.
To highlight this fact, LinkedIn has once again compiled the “Top Overused Buzzwords in LinkedIn Profiles” for 2012. Not surprisingly, the top buzzword worldwide is “Creative” for the second year in a row. Perhaps LinkedIn members will actually use their creativity to generate more unique summaries in the coming year.
What’s most interesting about LinkedIn’s top buzzwords is how different words show what members think employers want in a variety of countries around the world. In richer countries such as the U.S., Canada, Sweden, and Australia, the buzzword “Creative” suggests employees are trying to emphasize more than their credentials. In the U.K., Saudi Arabia, South Africa, and Malaysia, the top buzzword is “Motivated.” LinkedIn member in India want to be considered “Effective” and Switzerland lives up to its banking stereotype with the top buzzword “Analytical.”
Proving that they are, in fact, not creative, the top 7 buzzwords for U.S. LinkedIn members are nearly same as last year. “Motivated” has dropped a few places, though, suggesting that U.S. workers are feeling less motivated – something Zig Ziglar can no longer cure. “Responsible” and “Analytical” have entered the top 10 this year, perhaps foreshadowing what U.S. employers are now looking for in workers.
