Read enough help-wanted advertisements, and you'll soon realize that they all basically sound the same. Jargon like "detail-oriented" and "self-starter" is so overused that the positions advertised begin to sound unremarkable: part of the expected landscape of hunting for a job.
But if you stop and think about what all of these buzzwords are signaling, you'll realize how much information you just might miss if you fail to read between the lines. First of all, when employers fall back on the same old jargon to advertise positions, it could very well be that they actually have no idea what they are looking for. They just know they have a spot to fill.
"Jargon is our way to grow lazier decision making in corporate cultures," says Kevin Fleming, owner of Grey Matters, a neuroscience-based executive development and coaching firm based in Jackson Hole and Tulsa. "We use these words to cover up something. It could also be a way to hide some ambivalence."
For instance, an employer may ask for two qualities that seem to conflict -- such as "entrepreneurial" and "team player" -- because the hiring manager and the human resources director have different ideas about what the position requires. Or, the employer may simply have unrealistic expectations of all the qualities that a single individual could possess.
"The hiring managers are thinking about the ideal person. 'If I could get everything I wanted on my Christmas wish list, what would I put on that list?'" says Kathryn Ullrich, a recruiter based in Silicon Valley and author of Getting to the Top: Strategies for Career Success. "They'll take the best attributes of the five best people they have."
Or perhaps, confusing jargon suggests that the company has an ill-defined mission or strategy. "Most people have no idea what the development plans really are; they don't know where they're going," says Fleming.
With that in mind, we've asked Fleming, Ullrich and other career experts to help us decode the most commonly used jargon in job ads, often the same buzzwords that fill up resumes.
Detail-oriented. "Watch out for control freaks," Fleming warns. Unless the position involves detail at its core -- like a forensic accountant or administrative assistant -- this phrase hints that your every move will be scrutinized and second-guessed.
Team player. It may sound innocuous, but be wary that this innocuous phrase really means that you'll take whatever the bosses dish out, "for the team." "Team player is code phrase for someone who will allow us to do whatever we want to you," Fleming explains.
Fast-paced work environment. This means that the employer wants high productivity at all costs and you'll be fielding a steady flow of emergencies. "Fast paced means you're going to work more hours than we're paying you," interprets Ullrich. Some industries, such as journalism or communications, are truly fast paced, but you should already know that going into those fields. "Fast-paced work environment means it's a little bit of a crazy office," says Kate Giannini, senior recruitment manager at Edelman Public Relations in San Francisco.
