The art and science of resume keywords

Struggling to get noticed by employers? Your resume most likely does not carry the right keywords. Use the wrong keywords and your resume will be rejected from your dream job. In the modern job market, keywords are the one crucial factor that ensures that your resume gets through initial screening and lands in the hands of an interested hiring manager.

What are resume keywords?

When talking about resumes, keywords are certain buzzwords that are related to the job title, industry, or profession that you are applying for. They can be nouns or action verbs. However, the nouns are more important since they are the ones being used by employers to feed the ATS to filter candidates. Action verbs are important for a resume when a hiring manager is reading it after the initial screening stages.

What is the use of keywords?

When you add the right keywords to your resume and apply for a job, the ATS of the employer scans your resume in search of a particular set of keywords predefined by the employer. When you submit a resume to an employer, they use their ATS to electronically scan the document. The ATS matches the keywords on your resume with the keywords that are fed to it. If you have the right keywords, your resume will be ranked higher. If not, there is a chance that your resume will be overlooked.

How should you use keywords?

When you spot a job description that you really like, you should scan it for keywords. You can highlight the keywords you spot. This will help you notice how often they pop up within the job description. Then, when you are writing your resume, use these keywords to describe your qualifications. You shouldn’t forget the cover letter when adding keywords. Both your resume and cover letter should display the right keywords. On your resume, you can sprinkle them throughout the summary, work experience, key skills, and additional resume sections.

How can you optimize your job searching material with keywords?

As we mentioned before, you should use the right keywords to describe your experience in your job searching materials. One way to ensure that your resume gets the attention it deserves is to incorporate keywords when talking about your achievements and accomplishments. Some ATSs are trained to search for keywords in context. You can also use keywords when writing your cover letter, thank you note, networking communications, and LinkedIn profile. When it comes to your LinkedIn profile, you should add keywords to the headline, summary, skills, and work experience sections.

What keywords should you use on a resume when there’s no job description?

Let’s say that you are writing a resume that isn’t tailored for a job description. You should still use relevant keywords to describe your qualifications. When you are writing a resume without a job description, you should still have a target job title. You should use keywords that are relevant to your target job title, industry, and profession when creating the resume. To spot the right keywords, visit an online job board and read a few job descriptions for your target title. You will notice a pattern of hard skills, educational qualifications, and other qualifications repeated across them. These are the keywords you should add to your resume.