Does your LinkedIn profile say you are a “dynamic” and “passionate” individual having “extensive experience” in “strategic leadership” Congratulations, your profile summarizes the most common and overused words recruiters read on LinkedIn every day.
LinkedIn announced its top ten most overused words where “organization”, “passionate” and “dynamic” have topped the buzzwords chart from 2015 in India.
Indians also have extremely brilliant “leadership” skills and are “responsible,” if their LinkedIn profile is to be believed.
Interestingly, Indian professionals on LinkedIn don’t seem to flaunt their “creative” and “motivated” traits as much as their global peers across the world. Words such as “leadership,” “motivated,” and “creative” ranked much lower in the “top ten” list for India, while they emerged in the top three globally.
Steer away from using “overused clichés,” to make your profile stand out, is the message Deepa Sapatnekar, head of communications for India, LinkedIn wants to convey.
“In real-life situations, we can’t imagine using words such as ‘strategic’, ‘driven’ or as having ‘extensive experience’ to describe ourselves, so why use them in our LinkedIn profiles ” she says.
“Show; don’t tell,” is the technique, Sapatnekar suggests to hook recruiters on to your profile.
Focus on the “summary section,” she says. That is the first thing viewers notice, after your profile picture. Saying you have a “great track record” is fine, but what will really grab the short attention span of the recruiter—who has probably been scanning over hundred profiles a day— is example of how you demonstrated your skills along with real numbers of delivered result.
Include links to presentations, design work and projects you take pride in. Remember, you’ve only got five to ten seconds to impress.
Random “likes” and “shares” you hit every day on Facebook could actually be much more meaningful on LinkedIn. Publishing a post on LinkedIn or offering your opinions on industry matters portrays you’re positioning yourself as a thought leader and sharing your knowledge.
To show you are “motivated” about succeeding in your industry, join a group. Share your thoughts on news or articles to show you care about the sector and widen your network.
Members who are active in groups get 15x more profile views than members who don’t take part, the LinkedIn report says.
