Professionals in Saudi Arabia are highlighting skills and experience over personal strengths, according to new data. HYPERLINK “http:\/\/www.linkedin.com” \\h LinkedIn, the world\u2019s largest professional network, analysed the most popular words in member profiles worldwide in 2017 and revealed the word \u2018successful\u2019, \u2018dynamic\u2019 and \u2018certified\u2019 has dropped out of the top 10 this year in KSA compared with last year\u2019s top 10 list. In contrast \u2018motivated\u2019 and \u2018focused\u2019 have entered the list for the first time. <\/p>\n
LinkedIn\u2019s 2017 Top 10 KSA Buzzwords are:<\/p>\n
Experienced<\/p>\n
Skilled<\/p>\n
Specialize<\/p>\n
Leadership<\/p>\n
Expert<\/p>\n
Motivated<\/p>\n
Responsible<\/p>\n
Excellent<\/p>\n
Focused<\/p>\n
Strategic<\/p>\n
To help understand the change in language, and other findings in the data, LinkedIn partnered with clinical psychologist, Dr. Saliha Afridi from The LightHouse Center for Wellbeing, to explain what this means for the modern-day jobseeker.<\/p>\n
LinkedIn\u2019s data shows a movement away from highlighting particular personal strengths such as \u2018successful\u2019 and \u2018driven\u2019; towards skills and abilities that can be more specifically categorized. Dr. Saliha Afridi comments, \u201cThe words from 2017 are an equal mix of performance related \u2018hard skills\u2019, as well as mindset related \u2018soft skills\u2019. This region is developing at a rapid pace, and governments and companies are looking for individuals who are not only strategic, experienced, and skilled but also are motivated, responsible and possess leadership qualities. This is not a mix of \u2018nice to have \u201d qualities but rather \u2018critical must haves\u2019 for businesses to succeed. \u201c<\/p>\n
\u2018Expert\u2019 re-enters the top ten in 2016 while \u2018specialized\u2019 topped the list in both 2016 and 2017, as professionals look to verify their expertise. \u201cThis region is looking for the top talent- people who are experts in their fields. They use the term in a broader sense to include individuals who not only have the right degree, but also the years of experience before they are hired. As an emerging market, companies have to cover a lot of ground in a short amount of time and having experts on the team reduces the time, money, and energy resources they have to spend on developing individuals for a particular position.\u201d <\/p>\n
The Buzzwords data also reveals an increased use of \u2018leadership\u2019 in recent years, jumping in at number one in 2015\u2019s list and maintaining a presence in the top five ever since. Dr. Saliha Afridi explains, \u201cBecause of the pace of change, micro-managing is not an option. Companies are looking for individuals who are self-driven, motivated, possess all the qualities of a good leader.\u201d <\/p>\n
Nada Enan, Senior Manager, Marketing & PR, LinkedIn MENA, said: \u201cFor many, a job is no longer for life; we continually look to move on, evolve ourselves and strive for new and better opportunities. This results in a language of optimisation; people \u2018skill up\u2019 and badge this on their profiles. With recruiters using keywords to identify the perfect candidates, we\u2019re encouraging members to ensure they\u2019re using the right words to land their dream job. There has never been a better time to ensure the words you choose are selling you as powerfully as they would do in an interview.\u201d<\/p>\n
To help members improve their profiles and stand out to recruiters LinkedIn has the following advice:<\/p>\n
Take pride in your online appearance. Help your ideal employer find you by ensuring your LinkedIn profile is complete and sells you in the best possible way, starting with the language you use. If you consider yourself a \u2018specialist\u2019, why not show this by tailoring your profile accordingly? List relevant skills which have been built up through your work experience. <\/p>\n
Show character. While the words you choose say a lot about you, it\u2019s also important to strike a professional tone; be assertive and direct when talking about your achievements. Don\u2019t shy away from adding some personality to your language though \u2013 this is a great way to show your character.<\/p>\n
Words don\u2019t need to do all the talking. Instead of saying you\u2019re \u2018creative\u2019, why not show recruiters by including presentations, video, design work and projects you take pride in? Remember, in a sea of potential candidates you want to stand out from the crowd; you\u2019ve only got five to ten seconds to impress a potential employer.<\/p>\n
Be active. It\u2019s not just about what\u2019s on your profile, proactivity is key when it comes to networking. Follow organisations that inspire you, or that you\u2019d love to work for, make new connections, join groups and participate in discussions. This keeps your profile active and shows recruiters that you\u2019re plugged in to what\u2019s happening in your industry.<\/p>\n
Voice your opinion. If you are an \u2018expert\u2019 on a given topic, why not tell the world by publishing a post on LinkedIn? By offering your opinions on industry matters, it demonstrates that you are knowledgeable and well informed.<\/p>\n
Join the conversation at #LinkedInBuzzwords.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Professionals in Saudi Arabia are highlighting skills and experience over personal strengths, according to new data. HYPERLINK “http:\/\/www.linkedin.com” \\h LinkedIn, the world\u2019s largest professional network, analysed the most popular words in member profiles worldwide in 2017 and revealed the word \u2018successful\u2019, \u2018dynamic\u2019 and \u2018certified\u2019 has dropped out of the top 10 this year in KSA […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":7382,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-noindex":"","_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","_pr_autopilot_social_copy":"","_yoast_wpseo_opengraph_title":"","_yoast_wpseo_opengraph_description":"","_yoast_wpseo_opengraph_image":"","_yoast_wpseo_opengraph_image_id":0,"_yoast_wpseo_twitter_title":"","_yoast_wpseo_twitter_description":"","_yoast_wpseo_twitter_image":"","_yoast_wpseo_twitter_image_id":0,"_yoast_wpseo_primary_category":0,"_extra_hide_author_box":"1","_extra_featured_post":"","_partner_post_id":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[396],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-7383","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-social-media","et-has-post-format-content","et_post_format-et-post-format-standard"],"yoast_head":"\n