If you’re sick of hearing about keywords, join the club. For anyone job searching, it is time-consuming and not easy to do. But keywords and phrases are essential! Applicant tracking systems are used by large and small companies alike. These software systems search and parse your resume for information that matches the job description. For better or worse, they determine which resumes human resources staff review in detail.
So, what does this mean for you? You absolutely must use keywords. If you don’t have typical keywords from your industry or profession in your resume, you probably won’t be looked at closely for any opportunity. You need to put some additional work into your resume to make sure you are not overlooked for jobs you are more than qualified for. Read on to learn step by step how to identify and use the right keywords.
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1. If you don’t already have a job description that intrigues you, go to Indeed, Glassdoor or other career site and type in the job title you’re interested in to find a posting. Copy the entire job description.
2. Next, use a site like Wordle.com or Wordclouds.com, which create word clouds from text. Paste the job description into the empty text box, and hit “go” or “apply.” It will generate a cluster of words. Words that are larger in the cloud are those that appear more frequently in the job description. Therefore, the cloud shows you what phrases and words are most important. You can print or save the word cloud. Now you know which skills and qualifications you need to highlight in your job application. But how do you do it?
3. Make a list of the most important keywords. Then, wherever possible, come up with an example or two of a project where you’ve demonstrated each skill. For example, is “presentations” a prominent word? Think about presentations you’ve given at work, school or while volunteering.
Then ask yourself questions to get specific and focused on the purpose of the work, or results: What was the topic? How many people did you present to? Did it lead to positive feedback or outcomes?
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4. Write a bullet that answers those questions in your resume — and bonus — you can use it on LinkedIn, too. If you have more you want to say about that skill beyond one to two lines of a bullet (try not to go beyond that as a bullet is meant to be concise), use additional experiences in your cover letter to supplement the information in your resume, if you feel the information is important. You can also include more information on LinkedIn as it provides more space for such detail.
5. Continue to derive bullets by following steps three and four for each of the large words appearing in your word cloud. Voila! You have an effective, thoughtful resume with keywords! If you are applying for similar positions in different companies, you probably won’t need several versions of your resume. You will simply want to tailor the career summary, which is the lead in to your resume.
When you become a keyword expert, you may not even need to use a word cloud producer. Simply focus on the section of the job description that says “minimum required qualifications” or “job requirements,” etc. and pull out all key skills listed there to match against your background. Ask yourself questions about each skill like those in step three.
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Don’t forget to use keywords logically. If you slap a few keywords across your resume just to get them on there and hope it will get you through the ATS, you may get to step two of the job application but you’re not going to make it passed that human reader. To use them correctly, come up with specific examples of your work that support the main keywords and phrases in a job announcement. This is storytelling. Show that you have the skill by describing the specific, relevant work you did. Weave the exact word or phrase they’re looking for into your narrative. This is an effective way to demonstrate to the employer that you’re the right person for the job and that you deserve an interview.
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How to Play the Job Search Keyword Game originally appeared on usnews.com
