The most popular corporate jargon by state

Suzanne Lucas

Arizonans build synergy while Californians tee up, and Floridians look for a win-win outcome. What do companies in your state look for?

We love to use business jargon, even though 88 percent of Americans have only pretended to understand jargon spouted by a co-worker. However, apparently, we don't use the same jargon in every state. Textio looked through over a million job postings and pulled out the jargon most popular in each state.

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In addition, they found that jargon filled job postings actually took longer to fill--three times as long as a job description that stayed away from the jargon. So, use this as a caution to keep these phrases out of your job postings when you are hiring.

Here's the most often used jargon in each state:

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  • Alabama -- Value add

  • Alaska -- Corporate values

  • Arkansas-- Driven results

  • Arizona--Build synergy

  • California -- Tee Up

  • Colorado -- Change driver

  • Connecticut -- Leverage expertise

  • Delaware -- Exhibits good judgement

  • Florida -- Win-win outcome

  • Georgia -- Hit your numbers

  • Hawaii -- Magic Happens

  • Iowa -- Exit strategy

  • Idaho -- Achieve alignment

  • Illinois -- Be action-oriented

  • Indiana -- Fire in the belly

  • Kansas -- Identify opportunity

  • Kentucky -- Possess strength

  • Louisiana -- Synergize

  • Massachusetts -- Thought leaders

  • Maryland -- Corporate alignment

  • Maine -- Goes the extra mile

  • Michigan-- Eye of the tiger

  • Minnesota -- Face time

  • Mississippi -- Bring to the table

  • Missouri -- Company value

  • Montana -- Strategic initiative

  • Nebraska -- Overachiever

  • Nevada -- Increase productivity

  • New Hampshire -- Manage escalation

  • New Jersey -- In our DNA

  • New Mexico -- Close the loop

  • New York -- Herd cats

  • North Carolina -- Good practice

  • North Dakota- Drives change

  • Ohio -- Out of the park

  • Oklahoma -- Bleeding edge

  • Oregon -- Revolutioneering

  • Pennsylvania -- Message alignment

  • Rhode Island -- Push the envelope

  • South Carolina -- Buy in

  • South Dakota -- Reach out to you

  • Tennessee -- Touch base

  • Texas -- Statement of duties

  • Utah -- Learnings

  • Vermont -- KPIs

  • Virginia -- Not intimidated

  • Washington -- Through the roof

  • Washington DC -- Shift the paradigm

  • West Virginia -- Off the floor

  • Wisconsin -- Blaze the trail

  • Wyoming -- Strategic communications

So, if you're having trouble filling your positions, take a look at your job descriptions. Go ahead and blaze that trail, shift that paradigm, and close that loop by pulling out the jargon and say what you mean. Although, I have to support New York's cat herding jargon, because, let's face it, a lot of HR jobs are exactly like herding cats.

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