Every curriculum vitae, resume or cover letter should contain resume keywords that shows employers you have the abilities and work skills to match their employment requirements. Because resume keywords are so important factor in the employment search, it’s necessary to discuss what keywords users should use and how to use them, to standing out from the crowd.
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How to introduce Keywords in your Resume
The resume keywords refer to those words that describe your work experience, professional knowledge, technical skills, companies you’ve worked for, careers, degrees, universities attended, licensure, abilities, education, awards & affiliations.
Resume Keywords Examples
The following sections shows keywords extracted from advertised job descriptions by our users, a United States-based executive job-hunters professional profiles. These examples should help allay any fears about coming up with a magic potion of keywords.
Form action verbs to nouns
The next Before and After resume excerpts illustrate the conversion from action verbs to noun-based keywords.
Before
After
Extensive component-level troubleshooting, repair, maintenance, and monitoring of advanced supercomputers, massively parallel processing computers, mainframes, PCs, Macs, Sun workstations, and UNIX-based workstations for National Energy Research Supercomputer Center (NERSC).
Advanced skills in UNIX and network system administration support, scriptwriting, electronic testing equipment, diagnostic testing, videoconference services, SMTP-based e-mail, TCP/IP protocol, LAN/WAN, and browser usage.
Where to Find Keywords
Wouldn’t it be nice if you could turn to a book and find all the keywords to ensure that your resume turns up on the top of the candidate list? This aspect of keyword loading can give rise to anxiety in some job seekers. “Do I have the right keywords? How can I know what keywords to use? Does someone have a magical shortlist?”
Above we cover how to find information for your job description. These same resources are your library for keywords. For simplicity, we’ll outline those resources here and then review some helpful resources for list resume keywords.
Resources for Keywords
- Your professional association: read its newsletter, attend meetings and conferences regularly, and network outside those meetings with colleagues and mentors.
- Your company’s formal job description of your position.
- Check employment descriptions from your targeted business
- Informational interviews or research with other industry contacts.
- Recruiter job orders.
- Current “how to” resume books with sample resumes from your profession.
- Check advertisements in newspapers, periodicals, classifieds, blogs and websites.
Without question, involvement in your industry’s professional association is the number-one method to stay up-to-date on keywords. Workers who refrain from involvement in professional associations are obsolete from the day they don’t connect.
How to Position Keywords
Software and search engines will quickly find keywords regardless of where you place them on your resume. Even if you were to bury keywords at the bottom of a resume, the computer would still find them. Of the recruiters and HR professionals interviewed, all indicate that the placement of keywords does not matter in the data-mining process. Nonetheless, it stands to reason that if keywords are the golden lure to gain employer interest, they should be displayed prominently. Human eyes will be sifting through your material, and they will appreciate the positioning and presentation of key material.
For the paper resumes, review the vital situation on the visual focus of the page. Remember the two-inch band that falls approximately two inches from the top of the page. On online resumes, the focal point of the page, as far as visual effect, falls inside the main screen that the viewer sees. In light of that, make certain to place resume keywords within the first 20 to 24 lines that show up on a PC screen.
For paper resumes, review the vital situation on the “visual focus of the page”: the 2-inch band that falls around 2 creeps from the highest point of the page. On online resumes, the focal point of the page, as far as visual effect, falls inside the main screen that the viewer sees. In light of that, make certain to place catchphrases inside the initial 20 to 24 lines that show up on a PC screen.
Resume Keywords that appear under the first employment entry will also spark employer interest. Our keywords for resume are an indicator of a fast match, meaning the candidate has recent, relevant experience and can be placed quickly. If this is the case, you may want to forgo a summary section or use a light hand on it. The result is that your first employment entry will rise into that all-important first screen.
Position Keywords to Improve Your Professionalism
As few as a dozen keywords may be all that some employers will use to search you out, whereas others might elect to do more elaborate searches. Employers can search by position, function, skill set, date received, name, degree, major, and so on.
Recruiting researchers often conduct several preliminary searches for each position, using different combinations of the keywords listed. In other words, not all of the keywords are used at the same time, enabling the researchers to find as many candidates as possible on the first round of resume mining. Once a candidate is spotted, he or she can be tracked for placement and notified of subsequent opportunities in the days, months, and years to come.
Examples to use resume keywords by profession
Position: National Account Executive
Advertised Description
Fantastic opportunity for a National Account Executive with Fortune 200 company selling computer solutions for the retail marketplace. Responsibilities will include managing and selling new and existing accounts and building strong relationships in the industry. Qualified candidates will possess a bachelor’s degree or equivalent experience selling computer solutions or other capital products to the retail industry, as well as a proven track record of successful selling to the director level, taking a consultative sales approach. Unlimited earning potential with a benefits package second to none. Respond quickly! Position available in San Francisco, CA. Compensation: $80,000–$100,000.
Resume Keywords used in search
- Sales
- Account executive
- Bachelor’s
- Computer solution sales
- Hardware or software sales
Position: Information Technology Professional
Advertised description
Seeking qualified professional in the Information Technology industry with experience utilizing UNIX, Windows, PowerBuilder, and/or Oracle for a full-time career opportunity. Great opportunity to work with cutting-edge technology and multiple environments. Position available in Philadelphia, PA. Compensation: $40,000–$80,000.
Resume Keywords used in search
- UNIX
- Windows
- PowerBuilder
- Oracle
Position: Technical Architect/Project Manager
Advertised description:
Fantastic opportunity with one of the premier organizations in the world. Presently looking for strong technical people who have a firm grasp on the architecture of an Enterprise Solution. Candidates must possess strong experience in the design, implementation, and execution of architecture for large-scale distributed systems. Experience in design and programming in C, C++, Java, Visual Basic, PowerBuilder, Windows NT, and UNIX (a combination of some is acceptable). In addition, an ability to travel. If you feel you are qualified and you have a desire to have unlimited earning potential with one of the elite organizations in the world, act now!
Resume Keywords used in search
- C
- C++
- Java
- Visual Basic
- PowerBuilder
- Windows NT
- UNIX
Position: Intellectual Property Attorney
Advertised description: High-profile multi-office boutique law firm looking for Intellectual Property Attorney for Litigation Group. Ideal candidate should have actual litigation experience with depositions. Trial experience a plus. Four to 7 years’ experience with solid credentials (Min 3.0/4.0 GPA). Undergraduate in EE or Mechanical preferred. Position available in Chicago, IL. Compensation: OPEN.
Resume Keywords used in search
- Attorney
- JD
- Depositions
- litigation
- Intellectual property
Position: IP Partner
Advertised description: Prominent international law firm seeks a 2- to 7-year Associate with an antitrust practice for the Washington, DC, office. Experience within the Antitrust discipline can be in any business or health care area. Solid credentials a must.
Resume Keywords used in search
- Attorney
- JD
- Antitrust
- Partner
Position: Senior Estimator
Advertised description: Industry-leading, commercial contractor/construction corporation seeks Senior Estimator for a Jacksonville, FL-based position. Qualified candidate: Considerable experience in construction industry construction-estimation, preferably with multiunit, apartment, condo, or multifamily background. Compensation: Highly competitive salary/bonus…. Attractive benefits package…. Relocation reimbursement for right candidate.
Resume Keywords used in search
- Contractor
- Construction
- Estimator
- Construction-estimator
Position: Junior Project Architect
Advertised description: Industry-leading construction, engineering, and design firm seeks qualified Architects for Jacksonville, FL-based positions…. Qualified candidates: Commercial/Industrial architectural experience (at least 5 years)…. Requisite degree, certificates, licenses, and/or registrations that are applicable…. Excellent career opportunity with a progressive industry leader…. Highly competitive salary/bonus…. Attractive benefits plan.
Resume Keywords used in search
- Construction
- Engineering
- Architect
- Commercial
- Industrial
Position: Japanese Translator
Advertised description: Large manufacturer is looking for a Technical Japanese Translator/Interpreter for a long-term contract-to-permanent position. You will be in charge of translating engineering documents and correspondence from Japanese to English and vice versa. You will also be in charge of interpreting for Japanese management and taking calls from Japan. Must be able to read and write a minimum of 2000 Kanji. Must be very fluent in both Japanese and English. Must have at least one year of translating experience, preferably with technical translation.
Resume Keywords used in search
- Translator
- Interpreter
- Kanji
- Technical
Position: Consultant
Advertised description: Exceptional opportunity with one of the most successful global organizations. Qualified candidates must possess 3 years’-plus experience in one or more of the following: instructional design, multimedia, organizational design/restructure organizational behavior, business process re-engineering, or human resources. In addition, candidates must be self-motivated with exceptional organizational, written, and oral skills. Realize your potential: apply today!
Resume Keywords used in search
- Instructional design
- Multimedia
- Organizational design/restructure
- Organizational behavior
- Reengineering
- Human resources