LinkedIn's Top 10 List of Overused Resume Words

From the Wall Street Journal By Jennifer Valentino-DeVries

You might think words like “innovative,” “dynamic” and “motivated” look good on your resume. But it seems that a lot of other people have the same idea — which is precisely why those words aren’t so great after all.

Those words are among the most overused on resumes, according to networking site LinkedIn, which analyzed the profiles of millions of U.S. users to come up with a top-10 list. Also seen too frequently: “extensive experience,” “results-oriented,” “proven track record,” “team player,” “fast-paced,” “problem solver” and “entrepreneurial.”

These terms “can appear empty to a potential employer and may do more harm than good when you include them in your profile or resume,” said Lindsey Pollak, a LinkedIn spokeswoman and an author of career books.

Ms. Pollak said people should scrap the words altogether from their resumes and profiles and instead focus on details of the job, like how many people they supervised or how much they increased sales.

The list is another effort by LinkedIn to emphasize the unique nature of its social network even as Facebook claims far more users. (LinkedIn says it has 85 million members world-wide, while Facebook has more than 500 million.)

LinkedIn is sitting on a trove of data about careers and job-seekers, something that has value even without such massive numbers. The company this fall introduced a tool called Career Explorer that uses this data to help college students chart career paths.

LinkedIn also has been trying to get its users to add more information about themselves and the companies and products they like, adding tools in an effort to become a site that professionals visit even when they aren’t job-hunting.

Readers, what do you think? What kinds of things do you like to see on a resume? And what information would you like LinkedIn or similar sites to offer?