Creating a resume can be a labor-intensive experience. You need to summarize what you've done and what you're capable of doing in the most effective way possible. Expensive paper and flawless printing
often bear little influence in today's world of resume databases. What does matter, though, are the words you choose. In fact, the terminology you use on your resume can help determine whether or not you'll get called in for that first interview.
Since most large companies use electronic resume databases in their candidate search process, it's important to understand how they work in order to get the most out of them.
Keywords are the backbone of most resume databases - recruiters can sort through thousands of resumes by searching for certain words.
"Keywords are important because many employers use some type of applicant management software," says Dionne Muhammad, president and CEO of Celebrity Personal Assistants, Inc. in Atlanta. "Keywords are entered into the system and a list of resumes with matching keywords is generated. To ensure that you make the list, your resume must contain the keywords that were searched."
So what keywords will they be searching for? You can get an idea by doing a little research.
"A great way to determine the buzzwords generally searched for by a particular industry is to peruse job openings on career Web sites and also the Web sites of the types of companies you are interested in working for," says Muhammad. "Read the job descriptions carefully to see which skills and credentials are in demand. Pay attention to buzzwords that you can incorporate into your resume."
Kevin Donlin, owner of Guaranteed Resumes in Edina, Minn., also stresses the importance of keywords.
"You can't predict what they'll search for, so try to use all possible combinations of keywords that describe the job you seek," he says. "Because if your resume doesn't pop up in a search because you used the wrong keywords, you won't be called for interviews."
Anyone new to the job market may have trouble coming up with keywords for a resume. An easy solution is to identify past accomplishments and use keywords that describe those accomplishments. You can then pair those accomplishments with the position.
The keywords you use should indicate your value to the company.
"It's challenging to prove your worth in a single word," says Sara Gold, a Chicago based career coach. "But you have to summarize your strengths. That's what it's all about."
