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Career Advice

'Work hard, play hard?' 10 buzzwords applicants hate to see in job postings

March 1, 2023

Career Advice

'Work hard, play hard?' 10 buzzwords applicants hate to see in job postings

March 1, 2023

Photo by Sigmund on Unsplash

From "putting a pin in it" to "circling back," over a quarter of employees report hearing corporate buzzwords multiple times a day, according to e-learning platform Preply. The site recently surveyed 1,002 working professionals and asked them about their perceptions of office buzzwords, including whether these would impact their willingness to apply for a job.

The study found that 43% of Americans say it made no difference in how they perceived their prospective employer, but 55% viewed buzzwords in job postings negatively. Only 2% said it makes the job appealing, and not a single respondent said jargon makes them very eager to apply.

Much of the distrust, the study found, comes from companies' over-eagerness to sound inviting. For example, "like a family" came in as the number one corporate expression that applicants disliked reading in a job posting. Because while a close knit workplace environment is something every employee is in search of, it's not an assessment they trust employers to make themselves.

Applicants are sensitive to the stress of their potential new job being alluded to as a "fast-paced environment" or a "hustle," which both ranked relatively high on the list. Seemingly fun and playful terms like "work hard, play hard" or "entrepreneurial spirit" don't appeal to workers either, both making the top ten.

Worried about how many may have been included in recent job postings? See what other words made Preply's list:

“Like a family”

“Fast-paced environment”

“Rockstar”

“Guru”

“Ninja”

“Hustle”

“Work hard, play hard”

“Get your foot in the door”

“Highly motivated”

“Entrepreneurial spirit”

Read the full report here

Could the language you're using in job postings be behind low recruitment rates? It's possible.
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