Saying that you speak Spanish on your résumé, when all you know are a few phrases (poorly pronounced), would often be a disqualifying lie. Just imagine if someone shifted your interview into a different language on the spot — you'd have a hard time bouncing back from that.
Language-fouls aren't only committed by job seekers, however. Textio recently mined the search terms of over 250 million job listings to find the most common corporate jargon clichés by state, and the consequences of using unnecessary corporate jargon.
Some of the phrases are familiar and only slightly cringe-worthy. "Win-win," a favorite in Florida, is almost a staple in our lexicon; and "goes the extra mile," a quality highly sought out in Maine, is a fair (even if occasionally vague) request from employers. I know that I'm guilty of using some of these phrases myself, and have tried to catch myself. For example, "reach out," which is popular in South Dakota, can simply be swapped for "contact" — which is clear, simple, and direct.
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Others corporate jargon offenders, however, make my skin crawl. "Learnings" is like a nasty, wet whisper in the ear from a cat-caller. And, as a New Yorker, I find it embarrassing that "herding cats" would be used so often outside of discussions about trap-and-release programs. Finally, Oregon, "revolutioneering" sounds like a phrase resurrected from the era of westward expansion in the 19th century. Let's leave it there.
I'll concede that "magic happens" (a phrase that's very popular in Hawaii) sounds kind of cute — although I can't quite take it seriously as a rallying cry. As for "eye of the tiger"? Maybe people in Michigan just really like Rocky or '80s rock?
Lest overuse of confusing jargon be written off as a silly, but harmless filler, Textio also researched the impact of seeing certain phrases on job seekers' interest in those positions. The company found that job posts with the phrase "overachiever" filled 3.6x as slowly as those without it, "value-add" took 2.6x as long, and "buy-in" took twice as long. In the recruiting process, it seems like job recruiters and job hunters would be most effective by being honest and clear.
Here's the full list of jargon, by state, below:
Alabama: value add
Alaska: corporate values
Arkansas: driven results
Arizona: build synergy
California: tee up
Colorado: change driver
Connecticut: leverage expertise
Delaware: exhibits good judgement
Florida: win-win outcome
Georgia: hit your numbers
Hawaii: magic happens
Iowa: exit strategy
Idaho: achieve alignment
Illinois: be action-oriented
Indiana: fire in the belly
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Kansas: identify opportunity
Kentucky: possess strength
Louisiana: synergize
Massachusetts: thought leaders
Maryland: corporate alignment
Maine: goes the extra mile
Michigan: eye of the tiger
Minnesota: face time
Mississippi: bring to the table
Missouri: company value
Montana: strategic initiative
Nebraska: overachiever
Nevada: increase productivity
New Hampshire: manage escalation
New Jersey: in our DNA
New Mexico: close the loop
New York: herd cats
North Carolina: good practice
North Dakota: drives change
Ohio: out of the park
Oklahoma: bleeding edge
Oregon: revolutioneering
Pennsylvania: message alignment
Rhode Island: push the envelope
South Carolina: buy in
South Dakota: reach out to you
Tennessee: touch base
Texas: statement of duties
Utah: learnings
Vermont: KPIs
Virginia: not intimidated
Washington: through the roof
Washington, D.C.: shift the paradigm
West Virginia: off the floor
Wisconsin: blaze the trail
Wyoming: strategic communications