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Additional Resources

Get Your Resume Selected by Using Keywords

(Back to Resume Index)

Most employment agencies and large companies today use databases to quickly and efficiently match job openings with qualified job-seekers Since all resumes, once submitted, are standardized and screening is carried out wholly on the basis of content, it becomes extremely important for a job searcher to use text-based or scannable industry- or job-specific resumes by incorporating keywords and phrases related to the specific position applied for. The general rule is to have a resume containing 25-35 keywords that relate to the job or industry. These keywords can be job-specific skills, technological terms, technical expertise, job titles, certifications, names of products and services, industry buzzwords and jargon, types of degrees, names of colleges, company names, and even area codes (for narrowing down searches geographically). Awards you've won and names of professional organizations to which you belong can even be used as keywords.  Keywords are the nouns that explain to hiring managers what things you performed the actions on.

Below is a list of sample keywords and key phrases relevant to particular career fields.

Keywords Within a Job Description-see keywords that are highlighted

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Using job announcements to your advantage can make a huge difference in the number of interviews you attend. Take the following classified ad as an example:

ACCOUNT CLERK WANTED. Candidate is expected to handle general ledger accounts, process disbursements, AND collect from a business and consumer client base. Educational requirements: A.S. in Accounting or related financial field. Candidate should possess experience with governmental laws and regulations.

Keywords include:
A.S., Accounting
Client Base
Disbursements
General Ledger
Governmental Laws and Regulations

Since the hiring company is searching for someone with these skills, a candidate would be wise to place these words prominently, yet not blatantly, within their resume. Offset your new keywords with complementary skills, qualifications and experience, and consider using different word variations. Let's say, for example, you work with general ledgers. It's common in the "accounting world" to list is as an acronym: GL. Using different word variations can also add visual appeal, because acronyms, numbers, percentages, and dollar amounts draw attention when mixed into a full-text document.

Take a look at the below sample resume statements. Make note of the keywords and key phrases mentioned throughout the text:
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KEY ACCOUNT & SALES PROFESSIONAL
Top Sales Recognition / Account & Business Development / Strategic Sales

High-impact sales and account professional who has worked with Fortune 1000 companies. Conduct aggressive sales and marketing tactics to B2B and B2C clients with a track record of significantly increasing revenues. Technical know-how to conduct software presentations, address platform functions and usability features, troubleshoot, and oversee the sales cycle.

Keywords include:
Aggressive Marketing
B2B and B2C Clients
Fortune 1000 Companies
Marketing Tactics
Platform Functions
Revenue Increases
Sales Cycle
Software Presentations
Strategic Sales
Top Sales Recognition
Usability Features
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Systems administrator with in-depth engineering, management, and interface experience, including extensive technological and user support functions with high-profile customers. Integrated within cross-functional technology teams to ensure continuous database updates and equipment functionality and availability. History of performing administrative duties at multiple locations while utilizing internal and external personnel. Expertise at a glance…

Systems Engineering – security, integration, implementation, configuration, and methodologies

Business Process Management – scheduling, budget allocating, manpower, and troubleshooting

Support – presentations, user and training assistance, layman’s terms (regardless of area), operations logistics, technical analysis, apply new technologies and up-to-the-minute concepts

Project management – projects ranged from $300,000 to $1.5 million; management team networking, installation, assistance, database administration, field support, systems development, and project lifecycle

Software / Database – Ingres Databases and Computervision CAD/CAM: user support, system administration, installation, projects, and instruction

Keywords include:
Rather than strategically placing industry-related “buzzwords” within the body of the summary, this candidate opted to include words within an easy-to-see, bulleted listing. The list allows the reader to see various skills and abilities “at a glance,” rather than scanning throughout the document. Remember, your resume will have a pitiful amount of time to make the hiring manager react.

The candidate also opted to emphasize upon a large number of keywords due his career field. The IT field demands extensive knowledge within varying areas of hardware, software, networking, interfacing, project management, and technical analysis; therefore, mentioning all aspects of this experience is important to the candidate being called for an interview.

The software that allows scanners to read your paper resume and turn it into an electronic resume is able to do just that. Resumix, one of the most widely used applicant tracking systems, reads the grammar of noun, verb, and adjective combinations and extracts the information for placement on the form that will become your entry in a resume database. Its expert system extraction engine uses a knowledge base of more than 120,000 rules and over ten million resume terms. It even knows the difference between Harvard Graphics (a computer software program) and Harvard (the university) by its placement on the page and its relationship to the header that precedes it (Computer Skills or Education). Aren't computers amazing?

Because of this complicated logic, and because companies and hiring managers have the ability to personalize the search criteria for each job opening, it is impossible to give you a concrete list of the thousands of possible keywords that could be used to search for any one job.

For instance, in one high-tech company I interviewed, a keyword search included the following criteria from two different hiring managers for the same job title:

Financial Analyst / Senior Accountant

REQUIRED
BS in finance or accounting with 4 years of experience or
MBA in related field with 2 years of relevant experience
certified public accountant
forecasting
REQUIRED
BS in finance or accounting with 4 years of experience or
MBA in related field with 2 years of relevant experience
accounting
financial reporting
financial statement
Excel

DESIRED
accounting
financial
trend analysis
financial statement
results analysis
trends
strategic planning
develop trends
financial modeling
personal computer
microcomputers
DCF
presentation skills
team player
DESIRED
ability
customer
new business
financial analysis
financial
forecasting
process improvement
policy development
business policies
PowerPoint
Microsoft Word
analytical ability
______________________________________________________________________


You can see why it is so difficult to give definitive lists of keywords and concepts. However, it is possible to give you samples of actual keyword searches used by recruiters I have interviewed to give you some ideas. Let me emphasize again that you should list only experience you actually have gained.
Do not include these keywords in your résumé just because they are listed here.

Business Manager (Central Archive Management)

REQUIRED
BS in engineering or computer science
10 years of related engineering and/or manufacturing experience
strategic planning
network
product management
program management
DESIRED
business plan
line management
pricing
team player
CAM
marketing
product strategy
vendor
general management
OEM
profit and loss
__________________________________________________________________

Business Operations Specialist

REQUIRED
bachelor's degree
4 years of related experience
production schedule
project planning
DESIRED
ability to implement
CList
data analysis
off-shift
team player
automation
ability to plan
customer interaction
VM, CMS, JCL
REXX, UNIX
MVS
analytical ability
customer interface
network
skills analysis
automatic tools
___________________________________________________________

Senior Software Engineer

REQUIRED
BS/MS in engineering, computer science or closely related field
8 to 9 years of experience
DESIRED
C++
customer
hiring/firing
prototype
structured design
code development
DASD
methodology
real time
supervision
communication skills
experiment design
problem solving
software design
testing
____________________________________________________________

Secretary

REQUIRED
high school education or
equivalent
5 years of experience
typing skill of 55–60 wpm
interpersonal skills
oral communication
DESIRED
administrative assistance
clerical
data analysis
file maintenance
material repair
PowerPoint
project planning
reports
screen calls
troubleshoot
answer phones
communication skills
document distribution
mail sorting
Microsoft Word
presentation
publication
schedule calendar
secretarial
appointments
confidential
edit
material
policies and procedures
problem solving
records management
schedule conference
telephone interview