"Gourmet Cook" are two words that will never be used to describe my mother. To describe her cooking as bland would be an understatement. The only seasoning you could find in her pantry is salt. As I became an adult and began to appreciate great food I delved into the endless epicurean delights the world has to offer. Condiments like hot sauces and Sriracha and seasons like cayenne and curry are now some of my favorites. I love the flavors that that the world's seasonings bring to food. Food is where the word "season" belongs; not in your resume or LinkedIn profile.

All too often, the first thing a job seeker wants a hiring manager to know is how many years' of experience they have; that they are "seasoned." A search for the keyword "seasoned" in my LinkedIn network turned up close to 300,000 people who've used it in their LinkedIn profiles. When recruiters and hiring manages see "seasoned" what they actually see is "OLD."

To grab the attention of a recruiter or hiring manager, focus their attention to the problems you solve for organizations and your areas of expertise, not how many years you've been working. Do you help companies accelerate sales and profit growth? Streamline operations and reduce costs? Run more efficiently? Say so and tell them how. After reading your resume or profile you want the reader to be excited and wanting more; kind of like I felt after that dish of Red Curry Chicken I had the other night.