Saying you’re successful does not convince us that you are – it’s your results that speak to your success loud and clear.

If you get clear results from an action, clearly you are successful, and you don’t have to use that word to tell us so. “Successful” is probably the word I most often delete from people’s resumes. The one other word I must address is “successful,” which was a new arrival to the 2018 list. My least favorite repeating word is “passionate.” If you have stated that you are “passionate” about something, consider that you might be able to convey your passion in another way, such as through examples and a tone of excitement. Just make sure that if you claim “creative” as an adjective describing yourself that you back it up with evidence. “Creative” is the name of a department and of a deliverable, not just a nice adjective, so it makes sense that it would be on the list repeatedly. Speaking of which, “strategic” is an unavoidable and essential word for anyone in a senior role. And note that “strategic leadership” scores you two buzzwords in one! Hopefully you have a qualifier with “leadership” like “strategic leadership,” “team leadership,” “thought leadership,” etc. “Leadership,” while perhaps overused, is an important skill and there aren’t a lot of other ways to say it. “Experienced” might not be as valuable unless it comes with a number of years. The same can be said about “expert” – as long as you truly have significant knowledge of an area. Your viewers on LinkedIn want to know where you “specialize” plus, your specialties serve as keywords with SEO value.

Let’s take a look at the seven most popular words from the most recent three years of LinkedIn buzzwords lists. They are important and might not be going away. While there’s an idea out there that we should avoid these “overused” words, at some point we need to accept that some of the Top 10 LinkedIn buzzwords have longevity. Sometimes words are overused because they work. Honestly, I’m on a mission to ban those phrases from resumes and LinkedIn profiles – can you help me? (If you do, you will really be helping yourself.) What Should We Make of the Top 10 LinkedIn Buzzwords? When I saw this list, I was relieved that “extensive experience” and “track record” had dropped off the list from their places the year before.

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