If you’re applying for a new position, you know that many tech companies love to sprinkle their job postings with lots of trendy buzzwords. During interviews with recruiters and HR staffers, those terms also come up again and again. As much as you might distain the overuse of some words, they will continue to crop up; you might as well know which ones are the most popular, and adjust your application materials (and interview answers) accordingly. Textio, a Seattle-based startup, recently decided to analyze 500,000 tech job postings to see which buzzwords occurred most often. (The company builds language-analysis software, so that sort of study is good publicity.) In terms of terms, the biggest gainers over the past year included:
- Artificial intelligence
- Real-time data
- High availability
- Robust and scalable
- Inclusive
Those top two seem logical—a rising number of tech firms really are exploring machine learning and other aspects of artificial intelligence. In a similar vein, “real-time data” is a pithy way of saying that firms want tech professionals who can effectively analyze the latest information pouring into their databases—not exactly a new need. The popularity of “high availability,” as well as “robust and scalable,” hints at companies’ need for tech pros who can build stable platforms that grow quickly. Textio offered a theory for “inclusive” ranking so highly: “The diversity conversation looms large in tech, so it’s not surprising that job ad language reflects it.” In fact, “inclusive” has begun to replace “diverse” within job postings, the company continued: “Over the last six months, many forward-thinking tech companies have replaced
diverse with
inclusive in the broad workplace culture statements that have themselves begun to replace conventional equal opportunity statements.” The biggest “losers” among buzzwords included:
- Big Data
- Virtual team
- Troubleshooting
- Subject matter expert
- Drug-free workplace
Today’s hot buzzwords will inevitably fade in popularity. What will next year bring?
