Dubai: Research has it that recruiters spend only less than a minute reading a CV to determine whether the job applicant is the right fit for a vacancy. That means candidates need to ensure their profile stands out and makes a good impression.
However, a lot of jobseekers in the UAE are still failing to market themselves better online. An analysis by professional networking platform LinkedIn showed that a significant number of candidate profiles in the UAE need some sprucing up, as overused words continue to make their way into the summary or job description sections.
LinkedIn sifted through profiles of millions of UAE residents and found ten most overused words that don’t really mean anything to head hunters or employers. Among the buzzwords that keep showing up are ‘leadership’, ‘specialised’ and ‘expert’.
There’s a good number of professionals who are also fond of spicing up their profiles with words like ‘excellent,’ ‘strategic’ and ‘experienced.’ The other top favourites are ‘responsible,’ ‘passionate,’ ‘certified’ and ‘dynamic.’
According to LinkedIn, using such buzzwords isn’t going to help candidates land a job. “These words are so generic and overused they don’t convey anything about individual’s professional achievements and accomplishments.”
Hiring experts earlier interviewed by Gulf News had shared the same view. Annalinde Nickisch of The Thought Factory, said that the use of cliché superlatives is no longer impressing recruiters. “I’d rather see applicants present themselves in a more unique way, supported with facts of their achievements, such as targets realised, projects worked on, among others,” she said.
The problem with generic terms is that they’re vague and don’t really tell hiring managers whether the candidate is the right person for the role.
“Instead of using buzzwords like ‘strategic,’ prove it by uploading presentations or projects that bring this to life,” advised Christopher Sandford, bestselling biographer who is well accustomed to articulating others’ achievements.
“Help paint the picture of your special skills and unique background – whether that’s an image from a launch of a big campaign or the blog you write in your spare time.”
Nada Enan, senior manager for marketing and public relations at LinkedIn Middle East and North Africa, said that by using buzzwords to describe their professional accomplishments, candidates put themselves at risk of ‘blending into the background instead.’
Conveying the right message is essential, especially since recruiters have very limited time to review candidate profiles. According to an eye-tracking study by TheLadders.com, professional recruiters glance at a person’s CV for only about six seconds, on average.
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