Adzuna

What are employers looking for we hear you ask? Drum roll please…  ‘Passionate, motivated, proactive communicators who are enthusiastic, organised and have a dynamic track record of creativity and innovation.’ If that sounds like you then congratulations you’re a perfect candidate for 450,000 UK job vacancies.  Anti-climax? We think so too.

This week our Adzuna boffins surveyed 500,000 ads to find the top 10 most overused buzzwords in UK job ads. The results, we’re sorry to say, are not all that surprising.  90% of UK employers weigh their job ads down with dull, dreary and completely nondescript buzzwords.

The Official Top 10 Buzzwords in 2012

Is it not slightly ironic and even hypocritical that 20% of employers are looking for candidates with “good communication” skills when they are inadequately demonstrating this themselves? The repetitive use of generic, clichéd buzzwords reduces employers’ chances of finding top candidates and leads to ‘ad blindness’ amongst candidates who see every ad as the same. UK companies – and their HR professionals – could be doing much more to attract the brightest and most relevant candidates with more creative and better targeted job advertisements.

Accenture, The NHS and Sainsbury’s are the most jargon-tastic companies in the UK, with 95% of job ads from these companies including at least 4 of the top 10 most overused buzzwords.  This lack of astute imagination by employers is to blame for the tidal wave of identical and repetitive CVs, cover letters and professional profiles.  Jobseekers are simply mirroring what is asked of them.

Adzuna Samurais can also reveal a new wave of language being used by companies in the UK to lure in industry specialists and top talent.  There are currently 596 UK employers looking for “Gurus”, over 70 seeking “Ninjas” and even one employer looking for a “Jedi”. Tech giants Google, Apple and Facebook appear to be leading the charge on these new stylistic superlatives, with more than 100 job ads from these companies making our top 10 wacky list, while restaurant chain Nando’s only accepts candidates of “Legendary” status.  If you fancy yourself as a “Rockstar” Executive you could be paid on average £50,000 p.a, double average earnings, while “Superhero” and ”Wizard” earn slightly more mortal salaries of £29 and £31k, much closer to the national average.

The Top 10 Wackiest Buzzwords

So whats the lesson to be learnt here? We think employers need completely reevaluate their approach to advertising and start practicing what they preach.  Rather than demanding an ‘innovative’ ‘problem-solver’ with ‘good communication’ skills and a ‘proven track record’; try saying how candidates should be innovative, what problems need solving and what kind of experience will really impress.

It’s not crazy to suggest that describing the perfect candidate will increase chances of actually finding them, and with a lot less leg work.  Advertisers who can strike a vein of originality with their prose can definitely stand out from the noise in such a competitive job market. Employers should eliminate the guesswork and jargon-tastic job descriptions, cut to the chase and simply say what they want.  We also reckon this, in turn, will improve the quality of applicants, CVs and cover letters.

For those of you looking for a new job; think carefully about what skills and qualities you have and try searching for them.  We’d love to hear what you find and if you find the Marks to your Spencer, the Ben to your Jerry.