How to Best Amass Resume Keywords
We’ve worried for decades about computer automation taking away the need for us humans in our jobs. Now AI (Artificial Intelligence) is the gatekeeper to our getting the jobs.
The process for finding and applying for jobs has radically changed over the years.
In today’s age of computers and automation, career and job seekers can search for and find jobs all over the world simply by typing in a few key words. And, just as key words have been adapted to become “keywords” in the world of search engines and search engine optimization, the process for sorting through resumes and job applications has been streamlined and adapted to include the use of technology when selecting potential position and employment matches and determining who may be worth interviewing.
In the same way that search engines use keywords to determine the best match for your search criteria, software uses keywords found in resumes and job applications to weed through applicants and candidates for companies and organizations looking to fill specific positions.
Currently, approximately 75 percent of employers and 98.8 percent of Fortune 500 companies use an applicant tracking system (ATS) or recruiting management system (RMS) to streamline the recruitment and hiring process.1
According to SSR, 70% of large companies and 20% of small and mid-sized businesses use applicant tracking systems (ATS). Workforce PayHub reports that approximately 89% of companies with greater than 500 employees use applicant tracking systems (ATS), and about one in three small and medium-sized companies also use it.2
75% of recruiters use an ATS or another tech-driven recruiting tool to review applicants and report a positive impact to the recruiting and candidate selection processes.3
Today, job applicants don’t just need to be skilled in their craft and know how to write a professional resume; they need to know how to best use keywords to get noticed for the job they want. Without mastering this skill, applicant’s resumes aren’t likely to even make it in front of a human for consideration.
I spent over 15 years in corporate management and leadership roles where I was responsible for every aspect of the recruiting, hiring, and onboarding process.
Tips & Advice:
1. Regardless of the company or position for which you are applying or the method you are using to apply, create your resume as if it is going to be processed by software, not a person.
Employees receive hundreds of resumes with every job they post and more & more are using software to initially screen and weed out candidates and applicants.
2. I work with business owners every day and I can say, without reservation, that every employer and recruiter has a set of primary job skills and functions, candidate attributes, and qualifications and traits hard-coded in their heads for each and every position they are looking to fill.
These skills, functions, attributes, qualifications, and traits are ultimately the keywords you want in your resume and placed optimally.
3. Optimal Placement of Keywords:
The #1 way to ensure your resume will be picked up by the software (and thus, the recruiter) is to place the most powerful keywords as early as possible in your resume.
The most ideal way to do this, while also preserving the professional appearance and integrity of your resume, is to include a brief (but powerful!) summary paragraph at the head of your resume. The earlier in your resume these prime keywords appear, the better the end result for you.
4. Choosing the Right Keywords and Formatting Your Summary Paragraph for Optimal Results:
Step One: Review the job post and highlight the most obviously important and critical requirements and qualification noted in the post.
Step Two: Make a bullet list of those qualities, skills, and qualifications that you possess which are relevant to those you’ve highlighted in the job posting.
Step Three: Focus your summary paragraph squarely on those points and those points only. Take the keywords (from your bullet points) and create a brief paragraph about yourself with them.
Note: This is a win-win for you, as software and humans alike will be drawn to keywords which appear early on in your resume when scanning it for potential candidacy.
5. That’s not all though!
While it is imperative that you have the most desirable and powerful keywords at the head of your resume, your resume also needs to contain some keyword quantity and frequency, as well.
Therefore, when listing your past and current career or job experience, as well as those skills and qualifications not included in your summary paragraph, you will want to insert and include those same initial keywords again, wherever they logically and reasonably apply.
Follow these guidelines and if you truly are a good match for the position, it will show… to software and humans alike!