Q. How important are keywords on the resume?
Q. How important are keywords on the resume?
Most companies don’t have sophisticated resume software to search resumes. Large companies may have this, but most Orange County companies are small and therefore don’t have the software. The issue is with job boards. For companies that search online resume databases, having the right keywords is important. If you are going to post your resume, you should make sure you know the best keywords that will bring up your resume. Often it is title, industry, some functional keywords such as sales, marketing, employee benefits, accounting and so on. I would also include some of the commonly used terms in the function, B2B sales, RFP/RFQ, focus groups, SEC reporting, SAP software, international marketing, social media expert, etc.
One way I have found to identify your best keywords is to ask others what keywords they would use if they were looking for a person in your field. Collect these and embed the ones most often mentioned in your resume.
You can download a free 8-Point Job Search Plan Self-Assessment that will help you evaluate exactly what you need to do to improve your search. CLICK HERE to download.
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Join our LinkedIn Job Search Networking group. Over 4,200 people have joined. CLICK HERE to join.
We realize that not everyone will agree with these answers and that is healthy. So if you don’t agree, or wish to comment, we encourage you to do so. Just click the link below.
Brad Remillard
Tags: Resume, resume key words, Resume Keyword Search, Resume Mistakes, Resume style, Resume Techniques, Resume Writing, Resumes
Resume | bradremillard July 26, 2011
About the Author
Brad Remillard is a founding Partner of IMPACT Hiring Solutions, co-author of "You're NOT the Person I Hired", and "This is NOT the Position I Accepted". Brad is an award-winning international speaker, retained executive recruiter, and expert on hiring and retaining top talent, and executive job search.
