Career Advice Podcasts & Job Seeker Network

The Essential Resume Tool: KEYWORDS

Keywords are an essential piece to a well-written resume. Why? Because they are the words that describe what you do. They also let the reader know immediately whether or not you are a potential candidate for them.

Keywords are “buzz” words or industry specific jargon that communicates a message about your qualifications, accomplishments, credentials or responsibilities. They are action-driven and demonstrate your value to the company.

Each keyword has a message attached to it. For example: Operations Leadership message is– process performance improvements, operational compliance, cost reductions, safety implementation, etc. They help tell the story in conjunction with action verbs (created, developed, launched, delivered…) to pack more of a punch and keep the reader interested.

With companies receiving thousands of resumes per job opening, they have come to rely on keyword-searchable databases to weed out candidates that don’t fit the position and save the candidates that do. These machines are programmed with certain keywords and receive “hits” for resumes that match the data. Keywords are also being used on job boards and professional networks like LinkedIn. Hiring managers can go to LinkedIn and type in “Pharmaceutical Sales Representative” and if you have those words in your resume, you become a match.

Keywords can be used throughout the resume. You can add them to your career summary at the top, or in your job description, and within your accomplishments to bring out your strengths. Here is an example of keywords within a career summary. I added bold so you could tell which ones they are:

“Dynamic executive leadership career of diverse organizations with a rich mix of finance, operations, internal/external processes, sales and business development. Intimate knowledge of financial processes, accounting practices, operating results and profitability. Expert in executing team-driven process improvements to increase revenue growth, operational efficiency, and overall profitability.”

See how keywords are peppered throughout? This resume will be able to stand up against company keyword machines.

Take a close look at your resume and make sure it is keyword-saturated. If you need help with keywords, go to Amazon and buy a book of keywords. Definitely worth the money.

Tags: keywords, buzz, on, resume, resumes, services, words, writing

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Comment by Erin Kennedy, CPRW, CERW on July 4, 2009 at 9:27am: Wow! You had a not so great experience, didn't you? The trainer sounds like doesn't have much insight into the "careers" industry. Plagiarizing is never a good thing and could get you fired the minute you are 'found out'.

I agree. HR folks should be able to screen each applicant themselves without the use of a "keyword scanner". However, the sad fact is that when they are getting hundreds of resumes a day they delegate the job of searching for the "perfect candidate" to a machine.

I think cover letters are VERY necessary. It is a candidate's introduction to the HR person of who they are and what they can do for the company. I don't care what anyone says-- I still wouldn't send out a resume without a cover letter. Wouldn't do it. Wouldn't take the chance of being passed over because I DIDN'T sent one.

I think some people, like the trainer in your case, are just uneducated. It's too bad that he is leading workshops. A lot of folks are going to find out the hard way that he was wrong.

Thanks for your comment.

Erin

Comment by Akeda-Green on July 4, 2009 at 8:17am: I attended a 'Resume Righting' workshop at our local unemployment office a few months ago just to see how others conduct training classes. As a career adviser, I was dismayed when the trainer stated that career developers, advisors, consultants are not needed. He suggested to the class to download any resume and claim it as yours. He also stated that cover letters are never read by HR, so, he suggested, just 'steal' any of the thousands of sample cover letters and just put your name on it. It won't be read anyway. I almost screamed when he said it was alright to plagerize!! The very next day, the unemployment office was sponsoring a job fair. It was sad and funny when more than half the class showed up with the same cover letter and similar resumes. None of the people that I spoke with were invited to interview. I understand when HR receives work requests from the department heads, they indeed look for the 'key words' only and not necessarily read the entire letter word for word. But department heads have to read each line carefully and with much thought!! They are looking for someone who will best match with the culture, values, and other factors that will make that candidate a part of the team-- a team that will last! I believe cover letters are necessary because, if done correctly, this is the candidate's first introduction to explain who he is and what he can do to solve company problems. In this changing workforce, what is the importance of cover letters? What is the importance of career consultants? Is the field just overrun with laid-off recruiters, HR managers, non-profit placement coordinators, and case managers, all looking to start new careers?

Comment by Erin Kennedy, CPRW, CERW on June 29, 2009 at 3:16pm: Hi Joe!

Yes, I do! I love Wendy Enelow's, "Best Keywords for Resumes, Cover Letters and Interviews". It has keywords for just about all industry positions. You can thumb through the chapters until you get to the one you want. I saw them at Amazon. Love mine.

Erin

Comment by Joe Lavelle on June 29, 2009 at 3:03pm: Great post Erin! I have often wondered why my resume did not get me an interview for positions for which I thought I was a perfect match. Do you, or any of your readers, have specific keyword book recommendations. Thanks! -jrl