What are the 5 most popular corporate buzzwords in job postings?

Are your job postings standing out? Probably not if you’re using corporate jargon.

More than two in five (43%) job ads in the United States contain such language, according to a report from SimpleTexting, which tracked more than 6.6 million LinkedIn job postings in the U.S. in November.

“Often, corporate jargon in job postings reduces the clarity of job descriptions, confuses job hunters, and may discourage top talent from applying to open positions,” said Dani Henion, content team lead at SimpleTexting.

The five most common corporate jargon used in job postings are: 

1. innovator – 82.06 job posts per 1,000 ads
2. dynamic – 59.28 job posts per 1,000 ads
3. team player – 36.76 job posts per 1,000 ads
4. proven track record – 31.35 job posts per 1,000 ads
5. empower – 30.71 job posts per 1,000 ads

This trend pairs with the fact that nearly one-third (32%) of Americans admit to lying on their resume, according to a 2021 survey from ResumeBuilder.com.

“In this rigorous job market, recruiters need to stand out from the competition to attract qualified applicants, in part by writing job postings that use clear, engaging, and genuine language,” said Henion.

“Sacrificing substance for ‘style’ in job ads can feel off-putting or even untrustworthy to some jobseekers. In your job postings, opt for a clear, authentic summary of roles and responsibilities targeted to your audience and leave the over-used, corporate lingo behind.”

Industries, states

The industries most guilty of using jargon are:

1. marketing – 1,027.41 job posts for every 1,000 job ads
2. finance – 946.75 job posts per 1,000 ads
3. technology – 679.29 job posts per 1,000 ads

Meanwhile, the states where applicants will most likely be recruited with corporate jargon include: 

1. Virginia – 896 job posts for every 1,000 job ads
2. Vermont – 885 job posts for every 1,000 job ads
3. North Carolina – 884 job posts for every 1,000 job ads
4. North Dakota – 868 job posts for every 1,000 job ads 
5. Illinois – 863 job posts for every 1,000 job ads

Job ads success

To help your ads succeed, HR platform Employment Hero suggests that you:

1. Keep your target audience in mind.
2. Promote your company’s culture.
3. Make the job ad easy to read.
4. Be honest in the job ad.
5. Include a salary range.
6. Offer a clear statement of benefits.

Read our Employment Hero review if it's right for your organization here.

One phrase that recruiters are adding to their job posts to make it more appealing to workers is “remote work”. The number of job postings mentioning remote work is at least three times higher in 2022 compared with data from 2019, based on a seven-day moving average as of Sept. 30 on Indeed.

Find out how does HR recruit remote employees in this article.

This follows a report that noted nearly 90% of employees prefer a role with remote options. If this is interesting to your company, learn the best way to create a remote work policy for your company.