
LinkedIn Says Most Overused Buzzwords Are... - danielamitay
http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20101214005059/en/LinkedIn-Overused-Buzzwords-%E2%80%9CExtensive-Experience-Innovative-Motivated%E2%80%9D
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pierrefar
I love how the first sentence after the list, the quote from LinkedIn's Chief
Data Scientist, is also 100% Buzzword Compliant: LinkedIn has a _unique
ability_ that _reveal insights_ that _help professionals_ and much more.

If this is your kind of thing, check out Buzz Whack: <http://buzzwhack.com/> .

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chrisbroadfoot
Come on, you're just paraphrasing. Here's the full quote:

 _“We have the unique ability to uncover interesting workplace trends in our
data given the high volume of people with profiles on LinkedIn,” said DJ
Patil, LinkedIn's Chief Data Scientist. "In this case, we wanted to reveal
insights that help professionals make better choices about how to position
themselves online whether they are reaching out to new clients or networking
with peers.”_

~~~
pierrefar
I picked out some over-used words and phrases. For example, how many times
have you been told by someone they have "unique abilities" and they "help
professionals"? At least with LinkedIn you can believe it, but that doesn't
mean the words aren't abused.

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CognitiveLens
There is nothing in the article that indicates anything about these phrases
being "overused" - they are simply commonplace. If there was actual data
connecting the use of these words with not being hired, we could say that
these words should be avoided, but as it is, the whole page is pushing the
unsupported assertion that popular words = overused.

That's like saying that the word 'the' is an overused buzzword in the English
language and should be avoided in order to make yourself stand out from the
crowd.

It looks like research design skills haven't quite caught up to the size of
our data sets.

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lhnz
I don't know what they're talking about... My CV currently:

I am an entrepreneurial team player that has a proven track record being an
innovative problem-solver. I have extensive experience operating in dynamic
and fast-paced environments where I am results-orientated and extremely
motivated.

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caustic
It reminds me the masterpiece "I am a Modern Man" by George Carlin --
<http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hkCR-w3AYOE>

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alexophile
These 'findings' are as obviously vacuous as the words they bemoan. I really
hope this was just an off-handed observation by Patil and not a serious
attempt at inquiry.

From LinkedIn:

 _DJ Patil’s Summary:

Diverse experiences in a wide range of domains. Strong experience in working
in ambiguity to solve complex problems. Focus on strategy, development ,
operations, and defining unique solutions. Experience in developing unique
solutions via broad partnerships. Always looking to innovate by bringing smart
people together.

Excellent track record of innovating using data & machine learning to develop
revenue generating products._

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drtse4
My favorite is "problem solver", the ones who use it carelessly in their
resumes are usually "problem creators" instead.

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phlux
That is what I have always hated about any company that has the word
"Solutions" in their name or tagline - or even list out what they do as
solutions rather than products.

Solutions implies that you're solving a problem - yet I very rarely encounter
any solutions oriented anything that can clearly and succinctly state the
problem to which they are the solution.

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splatcollision
PR Linkbait to get people to update their profiles - drives attention for
LinkedIn, drives activity for their advertising. Buzzword problems with C.V's
are not new at all. They needed all their data to figure out this?

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phlux
Great observation. Lets come up with a new list of replacement buzz jargon;

1\. Extensive experience == Seasoned

2\. Innovative == Novel

3\. Motivated == Passionate

4\. Results-oriented == Outcome focused

5\. Dynamic == Malleable / Flexible

6\. Proven track record == Successful history

7\. Team player == Social

8\. Fast-paced == Quick witted

9\. Problem solver == Tinkerer

10\. Entrepreneurial == Boot-Strapper

~~~
jonhendry
What about "squamous" and "rugose"?

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phlux
Those only apply if you are Joe Lieberman

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smackay
I always found buzzwords to be both purposeful and innocuous at the same time.
The effect seems to be to present the speaker as dynamic but at the same time
not saying anything too controversial or that can easily be refuted in normal
conversation.

I am sure there is a genuine motivation behind this form of speech - any
linguists or psychologists care to shed any light on this ?

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rabc
It seems everyone is "Entrepreneurial" nowadays.

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stevefink
It seems like 95% of the folks claiming to be "Entrepreneurial" are also
sitting in a farm of cubicles somewhere. Just saying, it has a completely
different meaning to the person who left everything they have and moved to
somewhere like the bay area or NYC with a few thousand bucks to follow his or
her dreams.

~~~
maukdaddy
Yes, because only people who have dropped everything and moved to NYC or SF
are entrepreneurs.

In fact, that's the most pretentious thing I've read all day. There are MANY
people who are entrepreneurs on the side while still supporting a family from
their cubical farm. Not everyone can "leave everything" and sleep on a couch
in SF like they're 20.

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ccoop
I am shocked that "value" or "value add" didn't appear on this list. Everyday,
I hear someone talk about how they "added value" or the need to be "value add"
and each time I hear this I throw up in my mouth a little bit. It has gotten
so out of hand that, for fun, I keep a sticky note on my desk and keep tally
of how many buzzwords get used by my colleagues each day. Some fun facts from
the sticky note:

Newest addition: "arrow in our quiver"

Most frequent sports analogy: "utility infielder"

Second most frequent sports analogy: to "tee up"

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Legion
>> Most frequent sports analogy: "utility infielder"

That's funny. If I were using sports analogies about myself or something I was
working on, I wouldn't use one that essentially means "bad hitter".

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T_S_
You are a pinch hitter. Better yet, a clutch hitter. You know, when the game
is on the line, the chips are down, and the fat lady is about to sing.

The utility infielder is used for late inning defense to protect a lead.
Versatile guy on to have on the bench, cheap and therefore hard to let go.
Definitely not a rock star though.

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csprestoninc
The same concept applies when applying for jobs.

Besides overusing cliche buzzwords (which is hard not to do), the biggest
problem I see is that applicants send the same template response to all jobs
postings. They ignore specific requests and details of the posting and simply
apply in masse:

[http://www.customsoftwarebypreston.com/job-boards-resume-
bla...](http://www.customsoftwarebypreston.com/job-boards-resume-blasts)

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Tycho
I was fully expecting 'passionate' to be no.1

I pretty much stop taking people seriously after they drop the P-bomb

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nivertech
the most I hate is "Visionary Entrepreneur"

