Avoid Internal Jargon on Your Resume

If I’m reviewing your resume and it’s full of internal lingo, I’m stuck guessing what you actually did. So many resumes are packed with project names and acronyms that only make sense inside your company. Not to a recruiter. Not to a hiring manager at another organization. Examples I see all the time: • “Led the XYP initiative for Q2 deliverables” • “Owned the ABCD workflow optimization” • “Partnered with the LMN team to drive synergies” How to fix it: ✅Translate internal jargon into plain results “Led a cross-functional project that reduced month end close by 2 days” ✅Focus on outcomes, not internal process names ✅Write your resume as if the reader has no internal context Your resume should tell a story that anyone in your industry can follow. A recruiter should be able to read your resume and instantly answer three things: - What did you do? -  Why did it matter? - What was the result? #CareerAdvice #Hiring #Recruiting #JobSearch ♻️ If you found this helpful, repost for your network. 📌 Follow me for more job search advice

✈️ Let’s Talk Resume Jargon!  An Aviation Recruiter's Perspective... 👩💻 When writing your resume, remember that the person reviewing it may not have an extensive aviation background. Many recruiters/hiring managers are newer to the industry, haven’t flown, or might not have worked in operational roles. That means heavy aviation jargon or acronyms could leave them scratching their heads instead of appreciating your qualifications. Here are some examples of aviation-specific terms for pilots and flight attendants and how they can be clarified on a resume: ❌ Ops Specs ✔️ "Operational Specifications as outlined in FAA-approved company documents" ❌ FACTS Trained ✔️ "Completed training with FACTS (Flight Attendant and Crew Training Solutions) in emergency procedures, safety protocols, and corporate aviation standards" ❌ EFIS, FMS, or RNAV experience ✔️ "Experience with advanced avionics systems, including Electronic Flight Instrument Systems, Flight Management Systems, and Area Navigation (RNAV)" ❌ TAA or G1000 proficiency ✔️ "Proficient in Technically Advanced Aircraft systems, including Garmin G1000 avionics suite" ❌ CRM-focused training and operations  ✔️ "Conducted Crew Resource Management training to enhance communication and decision-making in multi-crew environments" ❌ PAX  ✔️ "Passengers"  ❌ Preflight Checks  ✔️ "Conducted preflight safety equipment inspections and cabin readiness assessments" ❌ TSA and IROPS Procedures  ✔️ "Trained in Transportation Security Administration (TSA) protocols and Irregular Operations (IROPS) handling" 🌟Pro Tip: Have a non-aviation friend review your resume. If they ask questions about terms or acronyms, that’s your cue to consider fine-tuning the wording. The goal is to make your skills and achievements accessible and professional, ensuring nothing gets lost in translation. As I drove to our local FBO the other day to pick up my husband, my grandson asked me what "FBO" stood for...I had to remember that I talk acronyms so often that I sometimes have to take a few moments to remember what the acronyms stand for! 😎 #PilotJobs #AviationJobs #AviationIndustry #JobSeekers #FlightAttendants

I've rebuilt resumes for engineers coming out of ExxonMobil, Chevron, Shell, and ConocoPhillips for a LONG time. 😊 The biggest mistake they all make is the same one. They write their resume for the company they came from, not the one they're trying to get into. Here's what I mean: ExxonMobil alumni tend to write in process language. Everything is systematic, structured, multi-phase. That reads well inside Exxon. Outside, it sounds slow and committee-driven. Chevron alumni lean heavy on internal terminology. "OE focal point," "base business," "BSI." Recruiters outside Chevron have no idea what that means (and they're not going to look it up). Shell alumni write in matrix language. Lots of stakeholder alignment and cross-functional collaboration. The work is strong, but it reads like nobody actually made a decision. ConocoPhillips alumni usually translate the best because Conoco already pushes asset-level ownership language. The scope is clearer on paper. Here's how to fix it regardless of where you're coming from: ➤ Go through your bullets and circle every internal acronym or company-specific term. Replace each one with plain language tied to an outcome. ➤ For every responsibility you list, ask: would a hiring manager at a PE-backed Permian operator know what this means? If not, rewrite it. ➤ Add one line per role that shows what changed because of your work. A well drilled, a cost reduced, a decision made. That's what translates across companies. None of this is about being a bad engineer or having weak experience. It's just that nobody teaches you how to translate your work when you leave a place like Exxon or Chevron. You wrote for the people around you for years, and that language made sense inside the company / org. Outside of it, recruiters are guessing at what you actually did. Fix the translation problem and the calls usually follow. #oilgas #oilandgas #oilandgasindustry #chevron #exxonmobil

Your best resume bullet can still be invisible. 🔎 Because companies do not search your internal language: A bullet can be true, impressive, and still miss the market. That happens when your resume uses the language of your company instead of the language of the job you want. Your internal project name does not matter. Your team's nickname for the workflow does not matter. The phrase your manager used in a quarterly review probably does not matter. The recruiter is looking for fit. The hiring manager is looking for proof. Your resume has to translate both. Use the Market Translation Test: 1️⃣ Name the business problem Do not lead with the internal initiative name. Lead with what the work solved. ❌ Before: "Owned Project Falcon rollout" ✅ After: "Launched new onboarding workflow that reduced customer setup time" 2️⃣ Replace company shorthand with market language If the phrase only makes sense inside your company, rewrite it. ❌ Before: "Managed QBR enablement for pod leads" ✅ After: "Built quarterly reporting process for cross-functional team leads" 3️⃣ Put the strongest proof where people can see it A great result buried in bullet four is not doing enough work. ❌ Before: "Supported reporting updates for leadership" ✅ After: "Cut executive reporting prep time 30% by rebuilding weekly dashboard inputs" The goal is not to sound more corporate. It is to make your value easier to recognize. Remember: your resume should show the 10% of you that is 100% relevant to the role. If the job description says "customer onboarding," do not hide behind your company's internal name for the program. Translate the work. Make the fit obvious. Then let the proof do its job. Turn hidden work into visible resume proof: https://lnkd.in/gJSNk4FN 👍 To let me know you want more content like this. ♻️ Reshare to help someone make their strongest proof easier to see. 🔔 Follow me for more job search & resume tips.

So… you’ve left Amazon. Or you’re planning to. First comes the adjustment. Then comes the rebrand. And no, I don’t mean slapping “Ex-Amazon” at the top of your LinkedIn headline and calling it a day. If you want to stand out, your LinkedIn profile needs to translate, not just list. Here’s how to get it right: • Ditch the internal titles. L6? L7? Snr PM? Most people outside have no idea what that means. Use industry-standard language. • Cut the acronyms. DSP, ROC, SCOT, TOM, FC launch, DOR metrics… sounds impressive. Means nothing to 95% of recruiters. Spell it out or scrap it. • Tell your story, not your structure. You managed a £75m supply chain programme across 6 countries. Say that. Not “owned SCOT process across EU6 FCs”. • Add context. “Launched new sites” is good. “Launched 3 new fulfilment centres, reducing delivery times by 30% across Northern Europe” is better. • Show scale, but make it relatable. Most companies can’t imagine the size of Amazon’s operations. Focus on outcomes, not just outputs. • Make it human. You’re more than a machine that drove metrics. Talk about collaboration, leadership, turning things around. That’s what gets you hired. Your Amazon experience is impressive. But only if people actually understand what it means. Translate it. Frame it. Own it.

If you can’t explain your project to a colleague, family member or friend without their eyes glazing over, your key messages aren’t ready yet. We’ve all been there—trying to explain a complex change or a new strategy using words like "synergy," "optimisation," or "paradigm shift." The truth? Corporate jargon is a safety blanket. It feels professional, but it actually creates distance. It makes you sound pompous (or like you’re hiding something). My golden rule: Ditch the jargon for "BBQ language." Write as though you’re explaining it to a mate at a BBQ (riveting conversation, really): - Keep it human - Keep it simple. - Focus on the "So What" for them, not for the business. When you simplify the language, you increase the trust. What’s the worst piece of corporate jargon you’ve seen lately? Drop it in the comments (bonus points for a "BBQ language" translation!). [Image description: Yellow tile with black headline text that reads: Don't use corporate jargon as your safety blanket. Below is a three-panel Dilbert cartoon. Three characters are sitting at a meeting room table. The leader says: Let's schedule a scenario-based roundtable discussion about our enterprise project management. We'll use our infrastructure survey tool to architect a risk-based tiering system. Dilbert replies: That almost meant something. His colleague says: I'm tempted to stop acting randomly.]

Words that kill your resume. You think they make you sound impressive. They actually make you sound like everyone else. I've reviewed thousands of resumes from the HR side. And these words show up on almost every single one: • Hardworking • Team player • Detail-oriented • Results-driven • Self-starter • Go-getter • Proactive • Motivated • Innovative • Problem solver • Fast learner Here's the problem: they mean nothing without proof. Every candidate says they're hardworking. But what did you actually do? 𝗪𝗵𝘆 𝗧𝗵𝗲𝘀𝗲 𝗪𝗼𝗿𝗱𝘀 𝗛𝘂𝗿𝘁 𝗬𝗼𝘂: • Recruiters have seen them a thousand times • They don't tell anyone what you actually accomplished • They take up space where real achievements should be 𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗧𝗼 𝗗𝗼 𝗜𝗻𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗮𝗱: Don't say "results-driven." Show the results. • Instead of "hardworking" → "Led a team through a 6-week product launch while managing 3 other projects" • Instead of "problem solver" → "Identified a bottleneck in the onboarding process that reduced new hire ramp-up time by 30%" • Instead of "team player" → "Collaborated with 4 departments to launch a cross-functional initiative that increased revenue by $200K" Let your accomplishments speak. Not empty adjectives. 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗕𝗼𝘁𝘁𝗼𝗺 𝗟𝗶𝗻𝗲: If you can swap your description with any other candidate's, it's not specific enough. Your resume should prove who you are. Not just claim it. What buzzword do you see the most on resumes? #ResumeWriting #JobSearch #CareerAdvice I've helped over a 1000 professionals fix their resumes that were getting ignored. If your resume isn't getting callbacks, DM me "RESUME" and I'll take a look.

To every service member about to transition to the civilian workforce: Your LinkedIn “About” section is not a performance evaluation. If your About section starts with something like: “Dedicated and proven professional leader with over 18 years of diverse management, planning, and operational experience…” Stop. Delete it. All of it. Nobody is impressed by that language. Nobody remembers it. Nobody hires from it. That paragraph reads like: -An NCOER bullet written by a committee -A résumé from 2006 -Someone trying very hard to sound important without saying anything Civilians do not hire adjectives. They hire clarity. Your About section should answer three simple questions, in plain English: Who are you now? Not your rank. Not your MOS history. Who you are in the civilian workforce. What do you actually do? Not “leadership” or “operations.” What problems do you solve. What work do you perform. Who do you do it for? Teams, companies, industries, missions. That’s it. This: “Integrity, ethics, flexibility, sound communication…” Means nothing without context. Everyone claims it. No one can verify it. Instead of listing traits, show outcomes. Instead of titles, describe value. Instead of trying to impress, try to be understood. Here is a better approach: “I help X solve Y by doing Z. I bring experience from [relevant context]. I am looking to apply that skill set in [specific type of role].” Simple. Human. Hireable. You already did the hard part in uniform. Do not lose momentum by hiding behind generic language. Say who you are. Say what you do. Say it like a person, not a report. #MilitaryTransition #VeteranTransition #VeteranCareers #VeteranEmployment #HireVeterans #VeteransInBusiness #FromUniformToIndustry #SkillBridge #DoDTransition #MilitaryLife #PostMilitaryLife #CareerTransition #LinkedInTips #JobSearchTips #CareerAdvice #ProfessionalBranding #PersonalBrand #ResumeTips #LinkedInProfile #Hiring #Recruiting #TalentAcquisition #Leadership #Operations #ProjectManagement #ClarityOverBuzzwords #NoBSCareers #VeteranLeadership #SecondCareer #CivilianCareers #WorkforceDevelopment

"Oh, people in my profession know what that means". That's something I hear a lot from my resume clients. But guess who's not in your profession. The recruiter. The vast, vast, vast majority of recruiters are not subject matter experts. They've never done your job before. Sure, they may know some things about your profession due to conversations with the hiring manager. But there's a very good chance they've never done your job before. Which is why your resume needs to be written in a way that can be understood by anyone. In other words, understood by someone who's never done your job before. Scrub the jargon. Scrub the acronyms. Have someone outside of your profession read your resume to see if they understand it. Simplify, simplify, simplify. --------- 🔄 Found value in this post? Then share it with others! ----------

You're crushing it at your job. Projects get delivered. Stakeholders are happy. Your manager gives you glowing reviews. But when someone asks what you do, you sound like you're reading from an employee handbook. "I optimize cross-functional workflows and drive strategic initiatives to enhance operational efficiency." That's why recruiters scroll past your profile. And why networking conversations fizzle out after 30 seconds. The problem isn't your performance. It's your translation. You're fluent in internal language but failing at external translation. Internal language describes what you do within your company's ecosystem. External language explains the value you create for any organization. Master this translation, and opportunities start finding you. 𝗛𝗲𝗿𝗲'𝘀 𝗵𝗼𝘄 𝗶𝘁 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗸𝘀: Internal: "I manage the Q3 roadmap review process" External: "I help engineering teams ship 27% faster by eliminating decision bottlenecks" Internal: "I coordinate stakeholder alignment across departments" External: "I turn conflicting priorities into unified strategies that actually get executed" Internal: "I analyze customer feedback and usage data" External: "I identify the patterns that prevent companies from building features nobody wants" See the difference? One describes your job. The other explains your impact. When you speak in external language, three things happen immediately: ▶ People understand your value without context ▶ Your expertise becomes portable across any industry   ▶ Decision-makers start thinking "We need someone who can do that" This is how professional authority builds. Not through posting daily or attending networking events. Through articulating your work in ways that make people lean forward and ask "How did you do that?" The professionals who master this translation don't chase opportunities. Opportunities chase them. Because when you can clearly explain the value you create, that value becomes undeniable. Try this: Pick one project you completed recently. Write how you'd describe it to your current team. Then rewrite it as the impact you delivered. The second version is your professional authority talking. ⸻ ➕ Follow Nathan Pearce for more insights. ♻️ Repost to help others