From 'synergy' to 'incentivize,' here are the most annoying buzzwords people can't seem to let die in every US state

Shayanne Gal/Business Insider

Buzzwords turn up time and time again in job listings.

• Buzzwords like "synergy" and "think outside the box" turn up time and time again in job listings.
• But some buzzwords are especially popular in certain US states, AdView found.
• In an experiment looking at hundreds of thousands of job listings, AdView found that Virginia listings were more likely to include the phrase "laser-focused," and "work hard, play hard" was a popular phrase in Alabama, among other findings.

Are you a dynamic blue-sky thinker who's hungry for success and can think outside the box?

You might not identify that way, but buzzwords like those are examples of the type of language you'll see in job listings across the US.

As it turns out, certain buzzwords are more popular in specific parts of the country. AdView recently analyzed hundreds of thousands of job listings on Indeed.com and found which buzzwords are more likely to turn up in every US state.

The experiment revealed that Alabama job listings were most likely to include the phrase "work hard, play hard," and listings in Virginia were most likely to seek "laser-focused" candidates.

Read more: The same words that make a job irresistible in one city can scare away applicants in others

Alaska and North Dakota listings were the most likely to recruit "wizards," AdView found, while recruiters in Hawaii seemed to prefer the word "ninja." Meanwhile, the dreaded corporate-speak "synergy" was disproportionately popular in two states - Georgia and Indiana.

The results follow research done by Textio, a startup that analyzes language performance to improve hiring. Earlier this year, Textio found that certain words like "synergy," "fast-paced," and "cool," when used in job listings, attracted top candidates in certain cities better than others.