If you can't use it in Scrabble, you can't use it on your resume

I have a few pet peeves in my life. Ok, several actually, but only one that will make me stop sourcing, scream, and then run over here and actually write an entire blog post about it.

Maybe it's just me. Maybe I've read too much Lynne Truss. Maybe I just need to get over myself and get with the program.

But I can't. I love language and expression and to see this one sin OVER AND OVER again is enough to drive me crazy. Which admittedly is a very short trip (I am a recruiter after all!).

So Melissa, what is it? What has you so riled up that you've already wasted about three hundred characters?

Made.Up.Words.

These are words that I find on resumes that simply do not exist.

The words that drove me to this today: SOLUTIONING and IDEATION.

Seriously? These are not words. It's not even jargon! Do you think you sound smarter when you make up stuff like this? The worst offenders of this are newly minted 25 year old MBAs. These words usually come after the line "possess business acumen". And don't get me started on THAT one....

Alas, I think I'm alone here. And I know I will finally succumb to the pressures of these made up words eventually. I used to call, or email, but now I "reach out". I shouldn't misunderestimate the power of a living language.

And so you know, hitting the post button, while looking at the little red squiggle under those words, makes my heart die a little....

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Comment by Melissa Zentgraf on November 16, 2011 at 12:01pm: And to answer your question: Yes. I called the guy anyway. I feel so dirty.

Comment by Bill Schultz on November 16, 2011 at 12:59pm: LOL, love it. You should join the Bullsh*t Bingo Club

http://bullshitbingo.net/cards/bullshit/

Being in Software, I get new Acronyms thrown at me daily- Sometimes 3 in a sentence- as well as the things you speak of like ideation and efforting (which i use myself actually). To tell you the truth, it's intriguing when someone takes a word and uses it in a different way that makes sense.

But when they are just trying to validate all the bank they spent on the MBA program, it's annoying.

Comment by Sandra McCartt on November 16, 2011 at 2:29pm: Oh you are not alone. The new MBA jargon-bargain makes me feel like i am talking to the little prince who was not happy until he could speak in a code all his own. Using nouns as verbs may be living language but my fervent hope is that some of these trendy little darlins will learn the proper use of your and you're before they impress me with their action nouns.

I got one on the phone last week who went on and on with a series of wacky words until i stopped him and said, "I'm really sorry we are not MBAing this week." It got very quiet.

Comment by Robert Wright on November 17, 2011 at 6:10am: Oh so true Melissa. I like new words and I'm happy to see examples such as "bromance" and "cougar" enter our lexicon. However that's because they work... but an abomination like "solutioning" is so inelegant and reflects a lazy mind.

Comment by Melissa Zentgraf on November 17, 2011 at 10:17am: @Bill: I do a lot of IT as well, so I feel like I have my "Acronym of the Day". I finally made a cheat sheet, which now is more like a cheat booklet, to help me sort some of those things out. And I love the BS Bingo! :)

@Robert: That's it! That's why it bugs me! It's the laziness of expression. Whew. Now I can sleep at night. :)

Comment by Melissa Zentgraf on November 17, 2011 at 10:17am: @Bill: I do a lot of IT as well, so I feel like I have my "Acronym of the Day". I finally made a cheat sheet, which now is more like a cheat booklet, to help me sort some of those things out. And I love the BS Bingo! :)

@Robert: That's it! That's why it bugs me! It's the laziness of expression. Whew. Now I can sleep at night. :)

Comment by Ian Schoen on November 17, 2011 at 12:01pm: I have seen "ideation" on resumes in the past, and my initial reaction was similar - I thought it was a word that did not exist. But I looked it up back then, and again today.
Per Merriam Webster, which I have understood to be a legitimate source on the English language, it exists: http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/ideation?show=0&t=132...

We can learn something new every day.

Comment by Melissa Zentgraf on November 17, 2011 at 1:22pm: @Ian: I was told by a few of my physician friends that yes, ideation is a word, even if a red squiggle appears under it as I type. But, as your example shows from the dictionary, it is used in a mental health setting, and not in a positive way. Thus proving to me that you are crazy if you use it on a resume. :)

Here's hoping it doesn't post twice again....