Tapping the Power of Keywords to Enhance Your Resume's Effectiveness

by Katharine Hansen, Ph.D.
Note: This article is a preview of a chapter from the book, Words to Get Hired By: The Jobseeker's Quintessential Lexicon of Powerful Words and Phrases for Resumes and Cover Letters, the first e-book published by Quintessential Careers Press.

 

Imagine there was a way to encode your resume with magical words that would virtually ensure that employers would be interested in interviewing you. But the catch is that there's a different set of magic words for every job, and you have no way of knowing what the words are.

 

Such is more or less the situation in job-hunting today, which increasingly revolves around the mysterious world of keywords. Employers' use and eventual dependence on keywords to find the job candidates they want to interview has come about in recent years because of technology. Inundated by resumes from job-seekers, employers have increasingly relied on digitizing job-seeker resumes, placing those resumes in keyword-searchable databases, and using software to search those databases for specific keywords that relate to job vacancies. Most Fortune 1000 companies, in fact, and many smaller companies now use these technologies. In addition, many employers search the databases of third-party job-posting like Naukri.com or Monster.com and resume-posting boards on the Internet.

 

The bottom line is that if you apply for a job with a company that searches databases for keywords, and your resume doesn't have the keywords the company seeks for the person who fills that job, you are pretty much dead in the water.

 

Now, we suggested that job-seekers have no way of knowing what the words are that employers are looking for when they search resume databases. That's true to some extent. But job-seekers have information and a number of tools at their disposal that can help them make educated guesses as to which keywords the employer is looking for. This article and its sidebars describe some of those tools and tell you how and where to use the keywords you come up with on your resume and beyond.

 

So, how can we figure out what the magic words are?

 

First, we know that in the vast majority of cases, they are nouns. Job-seekers have long been taught to emphasize action verbs in their job-search correspondence, and that advice is still valid. But the "what" that you performed the action in relation to is now just as important. In the following examples, the underlined nouns are the keywords that relate to the action indicated by the verbs:

 

• Conducted cross-functional management for initial and follow-up contact.

• Coordinated marketing campaigns and special events.

• Managed customer database, product updates, and upgrades.

• Functioned in project-management role.

• Oversaw procurement, allocation, distribution control, stock levels, and cost compilation/analysis.

 

And what kind of nouns are sought? Those that relate to the skills and experience the employer is looking for in a candidate. More specifically, keywords can be precise "hard" skills -- job-specific/profession- specific/industry-specific skills, technological terms and descriptions of technical expertise (including hardware and software in which you are proficient), job titles, certifications, names of products and services, industry buzzwords and jargon, types of degrees, names of colleges, company names, terms that tend to impress, such as "Fortune 500," 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.

 

The prevailing wisdom for several years was that you should front-load your resume with a laundry list of keywords -- a keyword summary with no context -- because supposedly database search software would search no more than the first 100 words of your document. If that 100-word limitation was ever true, it doesn't seem to be anymore, and job-seekers are now advised to use keywords throughout the resume.

 

It still makes some sense to front-load the resume with keywords, however, partly to ensure you get as many as possible into the document, and partly for the phase of resume review in which humans will actually screen your resume (after the initial screening by the search software) and may be attracted to keywords that appear early in the document.

 

But, while some career experts still advise a bare-bones spewing of keywords labeled "Keyword Summary," a more accepted approach is to sprinkle keywords liberally throughout a section early in the resume labeled "Summary of Qualifications," "Professional Profile," or simply "Profile." Instead of a mere list of words, the summary or profile section presents keywords in context, more fully describing the activities and accomplishments in which the keywords surfaced in your work. This contextual collection of keywords that describes your professional self in a nutshell will certainly hold the interest of human readers better than a list of words will. Ideally, keywords are tied to accomplishments rather than job duties, so a good way to make the leap from keyword to a nice, contextual bullet point to include in a profile section is to take each keyword you've identified as critical to the job and list an accomplishment that tells how you've used the skill represented by that keyword. For example:

 

• Solid team-building skills, demonstrated by assembling Starwood's marketing team from the ground up to service Starwood International's 7,700 hotels worldwide.

• Savvy in e-commerce marketing concepts, having participated in design of two company Web sites, and conducted a symposia series to instruct hotel executives in the value of Internet marketing.

 

Keywords should also appear in the rest of your resume beyond the profile or summary section. Most applicant-search software not only looks for keywords but also ranks them on a weighted basis according to the importance of the word to the job criteria, with some keywords considered mandatory and others that are merely desirable. The keywords can also be weighted and your resume ranked according to how many times mandatory words appear in your resume. If your document contains no mandatory keywords, the keyword search obviously will overlook your resume. Those with the greatest "keyword density" will be chosen for the next round of screening, this time by a human. Generally, the more specific a keyword is to a particular job or industry, the more heavily it will be weighted. Skills that apply to many jobs and industries tend to be less weighty.

 

Since you also don't know the exact form of a keyword that the employer will use as a search criterion, it makes sense to also use synonyms, various forms of your keywords, and both the spelled-out and acronym versions of common terms. For example, use both "manager" and "management;" try both CRM and Customer Relationship Management.

 

And remember that humans can make certain assumptions that computers can't. A commonly cited example is the concept of "cold-calling." People who read the phrase "cold-calling" in your resume will know you were in sales. But unless "cold-calling" is a specific keyword the employer is seeking in the database search, search software seeking "sales" experience may not find your resume.

 

To determine the keyword health of your current resume, highlight all the words in it that, based on your research of ideal positions in your field, would probably be considered keywords. Electronic resume guru Rebecca Smith says a good goal to shoot for is 25-35 keywords, so if you have fewer than that currently, try to beef up every section of your resume with keywords, varying the forms of the words you choose.

 

Indeed, a Feb. 2002 study by the Career Masters Institute notes that resumes that aren't focused on a job's specific requirements aren't competitive. Does that really mean you need to create a separate resume for every job you apply for? Yes and no. It's probably not practical or realistic to totally revamp your resume for every opening. But you can tweak elements such as your objective statement and professional profile, thus adjusting some of your more important keywords for each job you apply to. Customizing your resume when completing online resume forms at job boards also makes sense.

 

Ideas for identifying Resume Keywords:

• Look for job descriptions in books and job-description websites.

• Visit the meetings and Web sites of professional associations in your field to look and listen for current buzzwords.

• If you are working with a recruiter or headhunter, that person can be an excellent source of keyword tips.

• Visit company Web sites.

• Imagine you were writing an ad or job description for the type of job you seek; what keywords would you use?

• Research and incorporate into your keywords the company culture and values of employers you are targeting. Note especially the company's mission statement and look for ways to quote it in your resume and/or cover letter.

• Scrutinize news stories in trade magazines relevant to your work. Read cutting-edge magazines, such as Fast Company.

• Join online discussion groups and chat rooms that relate to your field and observe the words professionals are using in their discussions.

• Read annual reports from the companies you'd like to work for.

• Talk with employees working at companies you want to work for and listen for the jargon and buzzwords that your interviewees use in talking about the company and its jobs.

• Talk to human resources professionals.

• Use Web search engines, such as Google and Yahoo, to search for job descriptions.

• Consult online dictionaries and encyclopedias.

• Visit online specialty sites defining acronyms and technical jargon.

 

More keyword tips and cautions:

• Columnist Joyce Lain Kennedy notes that some applicant software programs can't index resumes in MS Word. But you have to have your resume indexed if you want its keywords to be searched. Thus, the importance of keywords supports the necessity of having both a print version of your resume and a text version that you can simply paste into an e-mail message. Some employers don't want to take the extra step of opening the print version of your resume that you've sent as an e-mail attachment, and others won't do so for fear of viruses.

• If you post your resume on Internet job boards, be sure to avoid emphasizing keywords that relate to jobs you don't want. If you have jobs in your employment history that are unrelated to what you want to do next, go easy on loading the descriptions of those jobs with keywords. Otherwise, your resume will pop up in searches for your old career and not necessarily your new one.

• Don't forget about "soft skills," such as interpersonal and communications skills that relate to many types of jobs. These soft skills tend to be the ones that are transferable and applicable across various jobs/careers, as well as desirable personality traits. Below are nice list of nouns and adjectives that represent a sort of "second tier" of keywords, the first tier being the hard skills that relate very specifically to the job you seek.

  Here’ a list from which you can chose your pick.
   

  Achievement oriented Ability to Delegate Aggressive work Analytical Ability Competitive, Competencies Collaborative Demanding responsibility Enthusiastic Flexible High Energy Follow Through Leadership Mutli-task oriented Organisational skills Presentation Skills Rigrous Self-driven Team building

  Accustomed to heavy work Adaptable Ability to Implement Accurate Communication Skills Dependable Deadline driven Ethics Goal oriented Innovative Leadership Open Communication Problem Solving Results Oriented Self Accountable Supportive Takes Initiative

  Ability to Plan Ability to Train Assertive Budget-driven Conceptual Ability Detail-oriented Extensive Experience Industrious Motivated Open Minded Persuasive Resourcefulness Setting priorities Risk taking Self Managing Self-driven Team task minded

• Some job boards, such as Naukri.com, have a feature that enables you to see how many times the resume you've posted has been searched. If your resume hasn't been searched very many times, odds are that you lack the right keywords for the kinds of jobs you want.

• Keep running lists of keywords so that anytime you come across a word that's not on your resume but that employers might use as a search parameter, you'll be ready.

• If you've published your resume on your own Web page, keywords can boost that version, too, since employers may use search "bots" and search engines to scour the Internet for candidates that meet their criteria.

• Use keywords in your cover letters, too. Many employers don't scan cover letters or include them in resume databases, but some do. And keywords in cover letters can be important for attracting the "human scanner." If you're answering an ad, tying specific words in your cover letter as closely as possible to the actual wording of the ad you're responding to can be a huge plus.

 

Researching Keywords in Employment Ads

by Katharine Hansen, Ph.D.

 

The method that career experts most commonly suggest for identifying the keywords that an employer is likely to seek in any given job search involves scrutinizing employment ads to see what keywords are prominently or repeatedly mentioned in association with a given job title. The ads can come from anywhere -- newspapers, Internet job boards, company Web sites, trade publications, or internal company job postings.

 

Experts say to find anywhere from three to 20 ads for the same position at various companies. Go through each one and highlight or underline the words and phrases that seem as though they could be the keywords used in the employer's search criteria. After you've analyzed several ads this way, make a list of the keywords common to all ads. Those are the keywords that have the best chance of being successfully sought out by the employer's search software.

 

• Look for the words that appear early in an ad or job description; the first keywords mentioned are likely the most important.

• Just as workers are advised to dress to emulate those in positions to which they want to be promoted, look at ads and job descriptions for the job that is "one level above" the job you are targeting at that firm, and add some of those "next-level" keywords to the ones that come from your current level. Recruiting guru Darrell Gurney gives a good example of how to use next-level keywords in your resume: If an ad mentions a keyword for which you don't have the associated experience/expertise, use the keyword in your objective statement to indicate that you want to be using that experience in your next job. "You are a financial analyst, and your past experience does not include work in Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) or 10K reporting, but you do want to move into this area," Gurney writes. "In the ‘Objective' on your resume and in your cover letter, be sure to state these skills as areas of interest. Example: Objective: To secure a growth-oriented position as a Senior Financial Analyst with a focus on SEC and 10K reporting.

• Look at ads and job descriptions for competitor firms that are "one step up" from your target firm. "Because most firms try to emulate the practices of their 'superior' competitors,' Sullivan writes, "showing that you have the skills required by that competitor will generally give you a competitive advantage."

• Peruse the job descriptions and want ads of any jobs in the same job "family" as the one you're targeting to identify patterns of words that the employer uses repeatedly.

• After scrutinizing ads, identifying keywords from them, and loading them into your resume, test your resume by comparing it to ads you want to target. If your resume doesn't include more than 50 percent of the keywords in an ad, Sullivan exhorts, don't expect an interview.

 

Here, we offer two examples from popular jobs, pharmaceutical sales rep and project manager, for which we frequently prepare resumes for clients.

 

Pharmaceutical sales rep ads:

Ad #1, Pharmaceutical Sales Rep

--Works with District Sales Manager to assess territory sales performance and market trends.
--Works with Pharmaceutical Sales Specialists, as appropriate, to coordinate selling efforts.
--Works with deployed marketing operations and Medical Information Scientist personnel to develop customized programs/materials for the therapeutic areas and territory.
--Works with Regional Account Directors to maximize impact of managed care pull through activities.

--Functions independently with a high degree of sales proficiency.
--Ensures a strong working knowledge of product portfolio; passing all required tests.
--Applies learned product knowledge to accomplish sales objectives.
--Clearly understands the Strategic Targeting Plan and works to meet and exceed reach and frequency goals.
--Ensures sales forecasts and assigned budgets meet or exceed therapeutic and territory expectations.
--Develops an aggressive strategy for implementing the Strategic Targeting Plan following formulary approval and following through on strategy with recognizable increases of sales in territory.
--Works with District Sales Manager to assess sales performance and market trends; suggests and implements appropriate actions to enhance performance.
--Provides special education programs to physicians and office staff members.
--Provides timely and competent administrative management of work hours, sales call data, customer objectives, communication responses, synchronization, sample, and expense reporting.
--Seeks out team building opportunities in order to communicate effectively and transfer information with supervisor and peers.
--Reviews, implements, and practices all company policies.
--Works within a frame work of company cultural attributes.

Qualifications -- Bachelor's Degree
--Demonstrated sales and communication abilities
--Valid drivers license and safe driving record
-- Computer office suite literacy at an intermediate level
-- Previous outside sales experience
--Excellent interpersonal, organizational and time management skills

 

Ad #2: Pharmaceutical Sales Representative

Job Description: Represents company and company products in an assigned geographical territory in a complex, dynamic business environment. Primary responsibility of the Professional Representative is to effectively promote company products through a needs-based selling approach. Representatives provide accurate information to physicians and other health care personnel so products will be prescribed when indicated. Management of the territory business is conducted in concert with other territory team members, specialty representatives, hospital representatives and other business resources. Progressive promotion to Senior or Executive Professional Representative may occur through demonstration of sustained high performance and leadership.

Skills: Sales experience/persuasion skills, Communication, Leadership, Planning & Organization, Self-motivation & initiative. Ability to understand and convey complex information

Degree Level Required: Bachelor's Degree.
Major Preferred: Sciences, Business, Healthcare Fields.

 

Ad #3: Pharmaceutical Sales

As a Pharmaceutical Sales Representative you will:
--Sell our pharmaceutical products in a prescribed manner to physicians, retail pharmacies, and other members of the health care industry.
--Develop local business plan to increase market share by outlining tactics, activities and resources.
--Demonstrate thorough knowledge of pharmaceutical products, competitor products and product objectives.
--Utilize customer-focused selling techniques, continually assessing the knowledge of the customer and strategy to maintain high customer intimacy and customer knowledge of products.
--Maintain current, approved protocol and promotional materials to be included in sales presentation.
--Actively seek and display knowledge of key customers in territory.
--Develop and deliver informative sales presentations based on customer needs.
--Develop creative sales strategies to reach 'hard-to-see' doctors/'hard-to-work' accounts.
--Work collectively with other consultants in arranging speakers, displays and special programs.
--Positively impact sales in territory.

Job Requirements:
--1+ years of relevant outside sales experience
-- BS degree or higher
-- Science/Pharmaceutical background/experience preferred
--Strong communication and negotiation skills
--Candidate should have moderate knowledge of the pharmaceutical market and pharmaceutical products.

OK, let's see what keywords we came up with from the three ads:

• customized programs/materials for the therapeutic areas

• sales proficiency

• knowledge of product portfolio

• sales objectives

• strategic targeting plan

• assigned budgets

• aggressive strategy

• special education programs to physicians and office staff members

• administrative management

• team building opportunities

• communicate effectively

• bachelor's degree

• sales and communication abilities

• computer literacy

• previous outside sales experience

• interpersonal skills

• organizational skills

• time management skills

• provide accurate information to physicians and other health care personnel

• in concert with other territory team members

• sustained high performance

• leadership

• sales experience/persuasion skills

• communication

• leadership

• planning

• organization

• self-motivation

• initiative

• ability to understand and convey complex information

• bachelor's degree

• sciences, business, healthcare fields

• local business plan

• increase market share

• thorough knowledge of pharmaceutical products, competitor products and product objectives

• customer-focused selling techniques

• knowledge of key customers in territory

• informative sales presentations

• customer needs

• creative sales strategies

• relevant outside sales experience

• BS degree

• science/pharmaceutical background

• communication skills

• negotiation skills

• knowledge of the pharmaceutical market and pharmaceutical products

So, if we wanted to identify keywords that would probably work for most pharmaceutical sales rep jobs, we might narrow the list down to:

• sales proficiency; aggressive, creative sales strategies; sales abilities

• team building, teamwork

• communicate effectively

• bachelor's degree

• previous outside sales experience

• interpersonal skills

• organizational skills

• persuasion skills

• self-motivation

• initiative

• ability to understand and convey complex information

• customer-focused selling techniques

• informative sales presentations

• customer needs

 

Here's how we might fashion those keywords into a concise, contextualized resume Professional Profile section that front-loads the resume with keywords, yet also attracts the human reader. Is it cheesy to use the exact words from ads in your resume? Nope. The more the words match, the more likely you will be to get interviews.

 

Professional Profile:

• Goal-oriented sales professional with bachelor's degree in science field, and outside sales experience, proven sales proficiency, and expertise in aggressive, creative sales strategies.

• Enthusiastic, knowledge-hungry self-starter, eager to meet challenges and quickly assimilate knowledge of pharmaceutical market, customers, as well as pharmaceutical and competitor products.

• Results-driven achiever with strong organizational skills and the self-motivation and initiative to increase market share.

• Solid communicator with exceptional ability to deliver complex information in persuasive, informative sales presentations and education programs.

• Customer-focused closer with unsurpassed interpersonal and teamwork skills, along with ability to address customer needs.

 

Project manager ads:

 

Ad #1: Senior IT Project Manager

The Senior IT Project Manager must be able to oversee large, complex projects, control and understand the business environment and work product, and evaluate technical specifications. Key responsibilities include directing and evaluating project vision and strategy, accountability for project completion and team management, defining and driving project deliverables, and facilitating development and operations project teams.

The Senior IT Project Manager will be responsible for defining, creating, and maintaining a project plan, managing day-to-day client communication, allocating resources, and maintaining team productivity and morale in high-pressure situations. Candidates must have IT expertise, a Bachelor's degree in management, engineering, computer science, business or similar field, 4+ years in professional services or consulting, 2-4 years of managerial experience, as well as the ability to manage multidisciplinary projects with 10+ people.

 

Ad #2: Project Manager

Our firm has a Project Manager position opening in its Professional Services group.

Duties/Responsibilities:
--Work with the prospective professional services customer to define the scope of work and provide it to the customer for approval.
-- Identify the external resources and if appropriate, internal resources with the necessary skills to develop a detailed Statement of Work.
--Manage the Professional Services team to execute on and complete the deliverables called out in the Statement of Work. --Manage the client relationship.

Qualifications:
--Demonstrated management, leadership, communication, motivational and influencing skills.
--Must have a thorough understanding of the software development process, preferably from a system (hardware/software) perspective.
--Must have a proven record of managing software/hardware system integration projects/programs.
--Must feel comfortable in a leadership role in a matrix management environment.
--Must be able to effectively communicate verbally and written with individual contributors, management, executive staff, as well as with the customer.
--Demonstrated commitment to quality.
-- Problem solver with the ability to provide primary problem diagnosis and coordinate resolution.

Skills/Experience:
--Direct experience in a project management role is a must.
-- Experience in computer industry product development in a technical contributing role.
--Actual software development experience.
--Background must include responsibility for, and accomplishment of, delivering integrated products to market.

Education:
-- B.S or higher.

 

Ad #3: Project Manager

Reporting to the head of B2B and Global Products, candidate will be an integral member of a dynamic team.

RESPONSIBILITIES:
-- Strategic Planning -- we'll rely on your expertise to drive business opportunity, tracking eCommerce trends and technologies; evaluating their relevance to the organization and proposing courses of action
-- Key technology partner to internal business colleagues to jointly manage the deployment of technology to meet global markets and internal customer needs, and to ensure that products and services are brought to market quickly to enhance revenue growth
-- New Product Development -- impact success by working with business partners to envision and define new product offerings
-- Technical Development and Operations -- overall management of development prioritization, sizing, development, and implementation; as well as production planning and monitoring of the B2B systems
--Oversee day-to-day work of a development manager and team
-- Alliance Relationships -- support the analysis, negotiation, due diligence, and maintenance of the on-going relationship with our alliances and partnerships

REQUIRED SKILLS:
-- Bachelor's or Master's in Computer Science or equivalent experience
-- Extensive experience working in an organization using complex technology including management experience in a complex, multi-platform development and processing environment
--A successful record of leadership development and implementation of creative strategies and innovative solutions in response to dynamic business and customer needs, with particular emphasis on eCommerce and WWW experience
-- Ability to effectively deal with business and technology senior management on a global basis
-- Excellence in partnering with internal and external customers, using strong negotiation and persuasion skills to achieve business objectives

 

Again, isolating keywords and key phrases:

• oversee large, complex projects

• understand the business environment and work product

• evaluate technical specifications

• project vision and strategy

• project completion

• team management

• project deliverables

• development and operations project teams

• project plan

• client communication

• allocating resources

• team productivity and morale in high-pressure situations

• IT expertise

• bachelor's degree in management, engineering, computer science, business or similar field

• professional services or consulting

• managerial experience

• ability to manage multidisciplinary projects with 10+ people

• scope of work

• identify the external resources

• client relationship skills

• management skills

• leadership skills

• communication skills

• motivational skills

• influencing skills

• software development process

• proven record of managing software/hardware system integration projects/programs

• leadership role

• matrix management environment

• communicate verbally and written

• commitment to quality

• problem solver

• experience in a project management role

• experience in computer industry product development in a technical contributing role

• software development experience

• delivering integrated products to market

• BS or higher in an engineering

• strategic planning

• key technology partner to internal business colleagues

• deployment of technology to meet global markets and internal customer needs

• products and services are brought to market quickly to enhance revenue growth

• new product development

• envision and define new product offerings

• technical development and operations

• management of development prioritization, sizing, development, and implementation; as well as production planning and monitoring of the b2b systems

• alliance relationships

• bachelor's or master's in computer science

• extensive experience working in an organization using complex technology management experience in a complex, multi-platform development and processing environment

• successful record of leadership development

• implementation of creative strategies and innovative solutions

• ability to effectively deal with business and technology senior management on a global basis

• excellence in partnering with internal and external customers

• strong negotiation skills

• persuasion skills

And again, narrowing down the list to a set of keywords that might work for multiple project-manager jobs:

• oversee large, complex projects

• project vision and strategy; strategic planning; implementation of creative strategies and innovative solutions

• project completion

• managerial experience/skills; leadership skills; motivational and influencing skills; ability to manage multidisciplinary projects with 10+ people; team management and development; team productivity and morale in high-pressure situations; successful record of leadership development

• project deliverables; delivering integrated products to market; products and services are brought to market quickly to enhance revenue growth

• project plan; scope of work

• client communication and client relationship skills; excellence in partnering with internal and external customers

• IT expertise; software development process; key technology partner to internal business colleagues; deployment of technology to meet global markets and internal customer needs; extensive experience working in an organization using complex technology management experience in a complex, multi-platform development and processing environment; proven record of managing software/hardware system integration projects/programs

• bachelor's degree in management, engineering, computer science, business or similar field

• communication, negotiation, persuasion skills

• commitment to quality

• problem solver

And, again, crafting many of those keywords into a resume profile section, with the idea that any keywords not used in profile would be used in the balance of the resume:

Professional Profile

• Results-driven project-management professional with significant and progressive experience and expertise in such project-management concepts as project plan, project completion, scope, costing, scheduling, risk management, contract negotiations, planning and tracking, quality, and change management throughout the project life cycle.

• Creative and strategic visionary with the savvy to ensure that project deliverables are quickly brought to market.

• Strong team leader with the proven managerial experience/skills to lead multidisciplinary teams and ensure productivity and morale in high-pressure situations; successful record of leadership development.

• Technical guru experienced in the software development process, deployment of technology to meet global markets and internal customer needs, as well as complex technology management and integration in a multi-platform development and processing environment.

• Competent problem-solver with exceptional commitment to quality, and communication, negotiation, and persuasion skills.