The tech industry has seen an increase in many ways over the past few years. From the number of jobs to the number of developers, and especially the tools those developers use, it has all become more in-demand. A reliance on technology has emerged within the last decade. This has led to technological advancements. However, those advancements—combined with the ever-growing desire to have the latest technology—mean more job postings are needed.
Companies looking for skilled developers, particularly within the area of software development, have been posting jobs to keep up with supply and demand. Unfortunately, there are many postings that receive little to no applicants. Part of that could be due to the use of buzzwords.
Buzzwords are words are phrases typically specific to an industry or company. They may be trendy for a period of time, though that could change quickly. In fact, more often than not, job postings use out-of-date buzzwords, which could turn away potential applicants.
Why Companies Should Remove Buzzwords
- Makes the Posting ‘Blend in With the Crowd’
Since buzzwords are common by definition, it means the majority of job postings are using them. Those words can quickly become invisible after job seekers see them several times. This renders buzzwords useless to a large degree. The post itself may likely also become just another posting that doesn’t grab the interest of candidates. Avoiding the trendy words will have the opposite effect of ‘blending in with the crowd’, which is what every hiring manager or recruiter should want.
- Words Specific to a Company Might Not Make Sense
Company-specific buzzwords, even to an experienced software developer, may not make sense to anyone outside of the business. This can mirror the effect of the previous point by becoming invisible because a candidate will ignore it. It could also have another effect and simply confuse the candidate. If those kinds of buzzwords make any part of the job posting unclear, it’s more likely that potential applicants will move on to the next posting.
- Popular Words Equal Common Postings
Candidates will read the job posting’s title before anything else. For titles using buzzwords, that is a sign the posting may use them as well. Buzzwords in the title are often overused already, which makes the post seem general and uninteresting. Choosing buzzword-free, job- or company-specific, and intriguing titles is the best way to grab potential candidates’ attention. The content of the posting should be able to do the rest.
Conclusion
As with any type of text, words that are used repeatedly will end up being as if they were never there. Words like ‘the’, ‘said’, and even ‘and’, are general words but, in the tech industry, they could be things such as ‘growth’, ‘exciting’, and ‘motivated’. Whether buzzwords are in the title or the content of the job posting, each posting should be unique and tailored to the job advertised. Be creative, showing potential applicants what kind of atmosphere they could expect to work in if they were hired!
