If you’re searching for jobs online, it’s inevitable that you’ll see abbreviations like “Sr.” for “Senior” and well-known industry-specific acronyms like “RN” for “Registered Nurse.” You may have even come across some job titles or descriptions where you have no idea what they mean.
One job I came across that made me want to find a translator to explain it to me: E83 Specifications Writer II. The job description wasn’t much more help and included “This position reports to the supervisor of SNVY, A4W RPPY Valves and Technical Publications.” Anyone else need help with that?
To the employers out there: Keep it simple. Our “Best Practice” advice is to use a job title that would appear on a person’s business card. What are the chances that a job seeker will apply to the job if they can’t understand the job description or even the title? By using the language job seekers use while performing their job searches (full, unabbreviated words), your jobs have a higher likelihood of appearing in search results.
To the job seekers out there: If you know of well known abbreviations or acronyms related to the job you are looking for, it’s helpful to include them in your search. So for example, if you’re looking for Vice President jobs, go ahead and search for “'Vice President’ OR VP” to maximize the number of results.
Not surprisingly, many of the common abbreviations/acronyms are from industries with high amounts of jargon, such as Healthcare. The top 5 most frequently searched abbreviations/acronyms include:
- LPN – Licensed Practical Nurse
- CNA – Certified Nursing Assistant
- RN – Registered Nurse
- HVAC – Heating, Ventilating and Air Conditioning
- LVN – Licensed Vocational Nurse
And now for some fun! Points to anyone who can guess what these mean:
PA –
EA –
DBA –
CRM –
PLS –
AIA –
