We’ve all been there. You are standing with colleagues grabbing coffee or in the conference room waiting for a meeting to start when someone mentions a phrase you’ve never heard of. Trying to play it off, you nod your head in agreement, blindly chiming in with something like, “Totally, I’m thinking about recareering in a few months myself.” Meanwhile, you’re racking your brain to think of what “recareering” means and wondering if you used it correctly in that sentence.
No need to be embarrassed. We’ve got just the cheat sheet. Bookmark this page of the buzzwords and phrases that everyone is throwing around these days.
1. Elevator Pitch n. A quick way to communicate your purpose, talents, and the mark you’d like to make on the world. Compelling and to the point, elevator pitches aim to pique someone’s interest and entice them to want to learn more about you.
Use It in a Sentence: In addition to listing past jobs, Leslie realized that the most important element of an elevator pitch is knowing how to convey her strengths in a succinct way.
2. Culture Fitn./v. 1. To express or exhibit the values, behavior, and attitude that complement a company’s current organization 2. hiring someone who fits within a company’s specific atmosphere. The purpose of the majority of interview questions asked during a job interview is to assess a candidate’s cultural fit. It’s increasingly becoming as important as the applicant’s skill level in determining whether an offer will be made.
Use It in a Sentence: Venture capital firm Kleiner Perkins accused former employee Ellen Pao of not being a good culture fit for the company, prompting her termination.
3. Career Brandingv. 1. Marketing yourself in a professional setting 2. Tactfully painting a picture of your career accomplishments, talents, and skills to convey aptitude, leadership skills, and expertise. A resume, cover letter, portfolio, social media, and manner of presenting yourself are tools of career branding.
Use It in a Sentence: Alexis scrubbed her Facebook of photos from college to kick start the process of career branding before she launched a blog about life as a Millennial mom.
4. Side Hustlen. A way to make extra money by taking on a second (or third) job in your spare time. Whether driving for a ridesharing service or pursuing a true passion like wedding photography on the weekends, a side hustle is a chance to explore other talents without quitting your day job.
Use It in a Sentence: Before becoming a reality TV star, Kim Kardashian worked in retail and had a lucrative side hustle in which she sold her celebrity friends’ clothing on eBay.
5. Recareering v. To change one’s career, usually late in life. Not just a job change, but a move to a completely different career path with the goal of increasing money, position and influence.
Use It in a Sentence: Laid off from his job in finance, Paul considered recareering into the solar power field after reading an article about the hiring boom in California.
6. Thinking Talents n. Instinctive ways of thinking. They set you apart from the crowd, and will help you excel at work and find a career you’re passionate about. Do you want to know yours?
Use it in a Sentence: My thinking talents are all procedural and analytical. What are your thinking talents and how do ours compare?
Have you heard any phrases you didn’t know recently? Share with us in the comments below.
This post was originally published on Levo League by Amy Elisa Jackson
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