Expats are among the most prodigious CV writers as they move around the world seeking new posts and one favourite place to spread the word about personal talent is the LinkedIn profile.
Some job seekers regard LinkedIn so important to their career that they hire professional writers off freelance job boards to spice up their profile.
But those normally drabs people at the world’s leading professional social networking site have turned the tables by revealing the most overhyped descriptions and adjectives people stick in their profiles in a bid to prove their worth.
Looking at the list, the adjectives in LinkedIn profiles are more or less meaningless – after all what is a strategic or organizational person after all?
The other factor many profile writers do not take into account is where they are based and what employers in other countries or cultures are looking for and how they interpret a profile.
Frustrating profiles
The top key word in a LinkedIn profile is ‘responsible’ –toppling ‘creative’ from the top spot the adjective has held for the previous two years.
LinkedIn has around 260 million accounts worldwide, and the web site is obviously frustrated at the way some members write their profiles.
So much so, the site has published a list of profile writing hints:
- Don’t state the obvious – People do not describe themselves as irresponsible, ineffective or impatient, so the opposites are a given, suggests the site
- Everyone seems to describe themselves as responsible and strategic – but what does this mean?
- Some words stick to regions – The Dutch are ‘sustainable’, the British ‘enthusiastic’, Americans are ‘patient’, while Australians and New Zealanders are ‘passionate’
LinkedIn also suggests linking words to skills, writing in active language and letting others endorse skills rather than trying to extol personal virtues.
Top 10 LinkedIn Profile keywords
The top 10 clichés on LinkedIn for 2013 are:
- Responsible
- Strategic
- Creative
- Effective
- Patient
- Expert
- Organizational
- Driven
- Innovative
- Analytical
Responsible, creative, effective and analytical were also in the 2012 keyword list – but experimental, motivated. Multinational and specialized dropped out of the list.
“LinkedIn is a business tool that helps professional promote their personal brand and look for work,” said a spokesman for the web site.
“Instead of selecting overused and often meaningless words to promote themselves, we suggest members would do better trying to stand out from the rest by putting photos, videos and presentations on their profiles to show how they work.”