“Results-Oriented” Professional – What Does That Mean, Really?

I happened to be perusing LinkedIn a few hours ago, updating some things on my profile. I naturally spent a little bit of time looking at my Network updates. Came across something interesting. An old colleague (we’ll be autonomous to protect the guilty) changed her “title”; to “results-oriented _____ professional” who is “extremely motivated”.

I believe there should be some sort of class for people that handles how they market themselves and their own brand. Because, no matter what company you work for, increasingly today people have their own brands that are at least as important as where they work.

Here is my problem with the old “results-oriented professional” qualifier: 1) it is cliche (and, as if people that don’t use that description could care less about results – I don’t think so); 2) if you have to overtly say something, it implies weakness about your past results to an employer. In other words, I would immediately question that person’s past results. It is kind of like an old colleague of mine who used to talk about how much he/she worked. There’s some semblance of insecurity when you have to say something that cliche. Results-oriented? Plus, it is more often than not subjective; 3) One final comment about the “extremely motivated”: same goes; work ethic and motivation would be the first things I’d question if this is the headline descriptor for someone.

I just believe that people need to pay more attention to their own description which pertain to their own personal brand. The one thing people will always have is their own branding. Your own branding withstands jobs and career stops – why is it not more carefully thought about?