Part 1: How prevalent is jargon in graduate job adverts?

Studies have shown that buzzwords and jargon in job adverts have an alienating effect on graduates and other young applicants with little to no experience of a workplace and work-exclusive language. Yet, we see it everywhere. But what is the true scale of the problem in America?

At some point, we’ve all come across words and phrases we didn’t understand – whether it was code-like acronyms, technical babble, or business buzzwords. Jargon can be found everywhere, but multiple studies also shine a light on the problems it can cause.

Jargon has been found to be off-putting in areas such as science and politics – with one 2020 study published in the Journal of Language and Social Psychology showing that jargon can make people feel less intelligent and excluded from an important topic that’s riddled with needlessly technical terms. A 2010 study in the Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin showed that using lots of jargon and technical terms can make people think you’re lying – not ideal if you work in an industry such as advertising, where language is dependent on persuading and selling products and businesses.

On the job market, confusing jargon-filled ads can turn off potential applicants, especially those aged 16-24 – the typical entry- and graduate-level range. Research carried out by Business in the Community revealed that 66% of young applicants didn’t understand job ads full of jargon and didn’t feel they should apply as a result.

But just how prevalent is the issue on the US job market? To find out, online design and publishing tool Canva analyzed thousands of job ads for some of the most popular and most confusing ‘business terms’ and ‘candidate descriptions’. 

Some of the buzzwords and phrases included in the analysis were ‘make hay’, ‘open the kimono’ and ‘peel the onion’, but also more ordinary and overused phrases such as ‘action-oriented’, ‘ninja’ and ‘laser focused’. For instance, the study highlighted how ‘team player’ was the most commonly used jargon phrase in all job ads (not just in graduate-level ones) – unless you’re a freelancer or independently operating your own business, isn’t being a team player a given when working in any environment?      

28% of graduate job ads in the US contain jargon

Calculated from an analysis of 6.3 million online job descriptions posted in the United States, Canva found that over a quarter (28%) contained jargon and were potentially off-putting to targeted candidates.

There’s no real benefit to using jargon in job ads. Multiple studies have shown that it puts applicants off from applying because they don’t understand it, particularly those in the 16-24 age group and those from disadvantaged backgrounds. As a result, many suitable candidates for a job won’t ever apply because of a badly worded advert.

Which US states are most guilty of using jargon in graduate job ads?

Canva’s study further found that Washington is the US states most guilty of using complicated jargon in job ads aimed at graduates. Per 1,000 job ads based in Washington, 343 contained a jargon word or phrase.

Ranking	Location	Per 1,000 Job Ads
1	Washington	343
2	California	339
3	Colorado	321
4	Utah	316
5	Idaho	302
6	Oregon	301
6	Massachusetts	301
6	Delaware	301
9	Florida	297
10	Texas	294
10	Connecticut	294
10	New York	294
10	Louisiana	294

Washington is naturally the home to The University of Washington in Seattle, a hugely popular college, especially for tech studies. Other big college states, such as California, Massachusetts and Florida also feature in the top 10 ranking. 

Furthermore, the study revealed the most distinctive jargon used in Washington, which was ‘cloud first’, meaning that the state uses that particular phrase more than the national average. 

Which industries are most guilty of using jargon in graduate job ads?

In the US, the study found that job ads in finance and business aimed at graduates proportionally contained more jargon than any other industry. 331 ads per 1,000 contained a jargon word or phrase. Marketing, IT and Real Estate were further culprits. 

Ranking	Industry	Per 1,000 job ads
1	Finance and Business	331
2	Marketing	267
3	Information Technology	246
4	Real Estate	164
5	Politics	156
6	Human Resources	154
7	Media	121
8	Charity	93
9	Leisure, Travel, Tourism	92
10	Health	78

–This is the first of two articles in this series discussing jargon in job adverts. Click here for the second article in this series.