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Creating a Keyword-Optimized Resume

March 30, 2009 / njresumeservice / resume content, resume writing
26

Given the glut of applicants and dearth of available positions, a job hunter must take pains to create job-seeking documents that enable him to gain the proverbial competitive edge.  The proper use of keywords in resumes and cover letters dramatically enhances their potential for review by employers and recruiters; thereby, enabling their submitters to receive serious consideration as viable, desirable job candidates.

Keywords are words, phrases, or acronyms that clearly signal one’s qualifications with respect to a certain position and/or industry.  Due to the high volume of resumes posted online, a great number of employers utilize talent acquisition management (TAM) systems to search, identify, and rank job seekers by virtue of keywords contained in their resumes and cover letters.

Keywords appear in a variety of forms, all of which are necessary to optimize career opportunities.  These forms constitute job titles (Sales Director, Accountant, Teacher of Mathematics, Certified Medical Assistant, Development Coordinator), job functions and skills (market analysis, setting and monitoring of sales goals, new product launches, reconciliation of accounts payable and accounts receivable, financial statement preparation, curriculum development, lesson planning and implementation, knowledge transfer, patient monitoring, administration of medications, donor identification, coordination of fund-raising events), education, licensure or certification relevant to the field (CLU, CNA, CPA, Series 6, Bachelor of Arts in Nursing), and pertinent or industry-specific acronyms (such as cGMP’s, ISO-9002, CAD, and IMC).

The first step in the employer’s selection process is to scan resumes and cover letters into electronic applicant-tracking systems, where they are then searched and ranked in accordance with user-established parameters for identifying keywords.  Hiring managers will determine the keywords that are mandatory, and these determinations are often as subjective as they are relevant.  The documents that contain the largest number of appropriate keywords will achieve higher rankings, and elevated rankings equate to broader opportunities for interviews.  Therefore, if you are a job seeker, pepper your career documents liberally with suitable keywords, including terms that are interchangeable or synonymous.

If your resume contains a summary of qualifications or professional profile as its opening salvo, be certain to include keywords in this section as well as throughout the resume and letter of introduction.  Should your resume not contain such a section, you would be wise to consider the inclusion of a keyword summary.  This type of summary should contain variations on your keywords (i.e., M.S. as well as Master of Science degree, spreadsheet software as well as Microsoft Excel), thus maximizing your chances for face-to-face dialogues with employers.

When selecting the keywords to insert into your resume and cover letter, be judicious.  Consider which words, terms, and acronyms will be most meaningful to employers in terms of specific positions and industries.  Use complete words/titles as well as abbreviations (i.e., LCSW as well as Licensed Clinical Social Worker), and vary the keywords to the greatest possible extent, capitalizing upon synonyms to weight your material toward an elevated ranking.  If necessary, include a keyword summary, and do not ignore the importance of a cover letter, whose presence and format provides greater opportunities for the insertion of additional critical keywords.

Finally, bear in mind the format of your document.  If attaching your file(s) to an email message, it is usually acceptable to send them as Microsoft Word documents.  However, if you will be posting your material via online boards, you will need a plain text or ASCII file.  “Plain text” is self-explanatory as it contains no formatting, only text.  In other words, the document should not have boldfacing, italics, underlines, bullets, or indents.

As the hiring process continues to evolve via the increasing use and reliance on technology, job seekers must adapt.  By creating keyword-rich resumes and cover letters, job applicants can optimize their documents for ranking by TAM software in much the same way as webmasters employ search engine optimization (SEO) techniques to enhance the ranking and visibility of their websites.

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