Resume keywords. They’re critical if you want to your resume to be “findable” in a database. A former recruiter explains why, and offers real world examples of resume keywords.
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Not that long ago (pre 2005), companies relied mostly on human eyes to scan resumes and serve as preliminary screeners. Candidates in the know could wow those humans eyes with action verbs alone, like “Spearheaded blah blah blah…,” and “Formulated this and that…,” and “Administered yada yada…”.

Those were the days. A simpler time. Ten cent Coca-Colas and Leave It To Beaver come to mind. Jump cut to the present. The internet has changed everything and companies are now awash in resumes. To cut through the clutter and lend some sense of order to the candidate selection process, corporations today have to digitize the resumes of job seekers, warehouse those resumes in databases, and employ specialized software to search those databases to identify prospective candidates for position vacancies. What do those programs search for? Primarily what was spearheaded, what was formulated and what was administered. While action verbs are still important, the focus has shifted to the nouns. Welcome to the age of keywords – nouns (largely) that relate to the action performed.

Resume Keywords – Some Real World Examples

In the following examples pulled from various professions, the action verbs should be fairly obvious. Their associated keyword nouns are presented bold for example purposes.

– Designed and implemented JIT inventory control system.
– Managed successful product launch of a brand generating first-year sales of $6.7 million.
– Developed program to ensure compliance with manufacturing execution system.
– Designed interactive voice response system tailoring customer service to clients’ unique needs.
– Developed and presented diversity training modules.
– Exceeded targeted ROI (return on investment) by 65%.
– Designed and implemented customer needs assessment, increasing account retention rate by 35%.
– Established oversees vendor partnerships.

Keywords, Buzzwords and Jargon, Say What?

Definitions, please. Keywords are most often industry-specific jargon or buzzwords. A keyword can be a single word, or a phrase. Jargon is technical terminology used by people working in a common profession or industry. A buzzword is jargon that has broken free of it’s industry and has begun to see use in wider society.

As a side note, buzzwords are sometimes saddled with negative associations. Buzzwords are sometimes appropriated by nonspecialists with the intent to impress listeners without having a real grasp of the terminology. Not good. Don’t be caught using words you have no business using. Be aware of the fact that you will need to be able to back up your use of buzzwords/keywords on your resume. Most likely in an interview – assuming your resume gets you that far.

Resume Keywords – You’re Findable With Them

The bottom line is this: keywords are a necessity on today’s resumes. Without keywords, your resume won’t get picked up by the automated database scanners, and you become the invisible candidate. Learn the relevant keywords for your particular industry and make sure they fit you well. Then slip them strategically throughout your resume.

Be findable. Be hired.

Author Bio: David Alan Carter is a former recruiter. Writing for the website http://www.TopResumeServices.com Carter has put together Resume Service Reviews of the Web’s most popular writers, reviewing quality, spelling out their pricing, and giving each a star ranking. Note: Carter’s “Top Pick” are Professional Resume Writers who actually guarantee interviews.

Category: Writing
Keywords: resume,resume_keywords