The 10 Most Overused Buzzwords Used On Australian LinkedIn Profiles

People tend to have difficultly putting together a description of themselves in a professional context and end up using buzzwords that are so cliché that they’re probably rolling their eyes as they are writing it. Professional networking site LinkedIn has released a list of the top 10 most commonly used words that people use to describe themselves on their profiles.

Linkedin website picture from Shutterstock

I get it. It’s bloody hard to write about your achievements for potential employers to see. You feel like a vain fool as go on about your past work experiences and try to make them sound impressive. But you don’t want to undersell yourself either. Which is why so many people tend to use tired but familiar buzzwords to talk about themselves in resumes or, in this case, LinkedIn profiles.

LinkedIn scoured the profiles of its Australian users and found the 10 most used words used in them:

• #1 Passionate
• #2 Motivated
• #3 Leadership
• #4 Extensive experience
• #5 Strategic
• #6 Creative
• #7 Driven
• #8 Successful
• #9 Track Record
• #10 Dedicated

“We’re encouraging our members to steer away from clichés and show off achievements on their LinkedIn profile through photos, presentations and other work to demonstrate how they are ‘passionate’, ‘successful’ or ‘creative’ rather than use tired old buzzwords,” LinkedIn head of communications for Australia and New Zealand Shiva Kumar said in a statement.

LinkedIn has provided some tips for those who struggle to find the right words for their profiles, including using examples to demonstrate qualities you want to convey instead of using a buzzword. For example, if you want to let people know you have excellent leadership skills, talk about the last time you exhibited this quality in a work environment.

If you need more help on building the perfect LinkedIn profile, you can refer to this handy infographic which breaks it down for you step-by-step.