Wednesday, December 15, 2010

Top 10 LinkedIn Profile Cliches

Resume writers, take note! LinkedIn published a list this week of the top 10 most overused descriptions their subscribers use about themselves. The list was aggregated from more than 85 million user profiles.

Here goes:

1. Extensive experience

2. Innovative

3. Motivated

4. Results-oriented

5. Dynamic

6. Proven track record

7. Team player

8. Fast-paced

9. Problem solver

10. Entrepreneurial

Are you groaning as you read this? You may want to take a little time and go over your posted profiles, resumes and boilerplate cover letters (and no one's job is so secure that they shouldn't bother to have these materials updated periodically).

If you are using one or two of these turns of phrase, it's not the end of the world. Just be warned. It may sound like the just-right word to punch up your copy. To others, it may sound like white noise. These are great "power" descriptions. The problem is that they are so good, everyone else is using them too. Here's an idea: Take the words you like and brainstorm a list of alternatives that mean the same thing. This could be your new go-to bank of words as you dust off those profiles and resume materials.



Drew Barrymore Marley Shelton ThalĂ­a Brooke Burke Thandie Newton

No comments:

Post a Comment