Resume Examples of Good Keyword Usage

If you are listing your resume online, it is important that you use the right keywords to attract the attention of potential employers. Keywords are the words and phrases that employers use to locate qualified applicants and you can even find resume examples that show good keyword usage. This important characteristic of online resume submission should not be overlooked.

How to Find the Right Resume Keywords

There’s nothing to worry about even if you are not familiar with keywords or how a search really works on the internet. You don’t have to know all the reasons why; however, you should know the most common keywords associated with the industry you want to work in. Finding these keywords is actually easier than you might think. Take a look at the job opening advertisement. You will probably find at least four keywords that speak specifically of what skills and qualifications the company is looking for in an employee. Recent job ads online in your field will also help you. Look for words that reappear throughout the advertisements. You can also find resume examples for your industry that will target specific keywords.

You will want to find at least four keywords for your industry, but twelve is much better. Look for both, general as well as specific keywords. General keywords might be attorney or lawyer. Specific keywords would include product liability lawyer or wrongful death attorney. Both phrases and single words are appropriate. The most keywords you can place in your resume, the better chance of your resume showing up in an online resume database search for qualified candidates. A good resume example will include numerous keywords specifically designed for this purpose.

Where to Put the Keywords on Your Resume

It’s best to sprinkle the keywords throughout your resume; however, you may also want to include a “Summary of Qualifications,” “Professional Summary,” or simply “Skills” towards the top of your resume. Some resume examples will help you with formatting these sections. If you are looking for your first job, then the first two will probably not apply to your resume. However, you can list your skills, as well as a few keywords in your “Objective” statement.

When listing your skills and qualifications, be sure to include such things as software programs, equipment training, or some industry jargon. While you do not want to use any wording that might be considered “slang,” some of those acronyms common in your field are certainly what employers will search for. This is especially true if the field is quite narrow. Look for resume examples that target your specific industry, or better yet, your specific job, to better understand how keyword placement affects your resume.

In Closing

Keywords are very important when you submit your resume online. In fact, some companies may only hire based upon the results of a keyword search. The resume examples online will help you with formatting and placement. By creating a resume that is “keyword friendly,” you can significantly increase your chances of getting an interview. However, it is important to note that you don’t to include keywords that don’t have a thing to do with your qualifications or skills. Employers will see right through that.

A Good Example Of Resume Keywords Usage

The term ‘keywords’ is one that you will often see on the internet in various contexts, and even some of those people who are familiar with the usual usage of the term on the internet might be surprised to find it used in the context of resume writing. Keywords are simply words or phrases that have more meaning and importance than other words, because they are used to describe relatively complex concepts, and all that meaning is contained within a single word. Keywords are thus powerful tools to convey specific concepts and meanings, making them invaluable in the context of a resume. A good example of resume keywords usage can be found on the CareerRush website in the resume examples section, within the professional resume example in particular.

The CareerRush website is also a good example of resume sample resources, with an entire page dedicated to listing the various resume samples available for download from the website. You will discover further that each of these resume samples is a good example of resume keywords usage. Once you learn how to make proper use of keywords in your resume, you will be able to greatly increase the impact that your resume will have on your interviewer when he or she picks up your resume and looks at it for the first time.

The very first thing to remember when it comes to a good example of resume keywords usage is that keywords are almost always specific to a particular industry or type of job. This specificity can sometimes run rather deep, and it might not be adequate to identify your intended job industry as being ‘engineering’, but ‘electrical engineering’ instead. This will serve to properly identify the niche industry in which you intend to land a job in, and will make the task of using the appropriate keywords much easier.

Where To Use Keywords

One question that is often asked is where exactly keywords should be used. The truth of the matter is that there is no hard and fast rule concerning the placement of keywords in your resume. A good rule of thumb to follow, however, is that keywords have the most impact when they are used in places of prominence.

Most resumes, for example, will begin with personal details and information. Following right after that is usually the section containing the description of the position being applied for, and a short summary on your suitability for the job. Inserting keywords directly after this portion of your resume would be an excellent example of resume keywords usage. Your interviewer will see the keywords right after reading about why you think you are suitable for the job at hand, and your use of the proper keywords will reinforce the impression that you really are highly suited to fill the position that you are applying for.

Finally, a good example of resume keywords usage would be to use keywords that are relevant to the job opening. You hardly want to be too academic with your keywords, so much so that even your interviewer does not know what you are referring to. Instead, limit your usage of keywords to those that are common enough in the industry that any person in a company operating in that industry would know them.

Resume Keywords by Industry (Refer to Keywords in Pink)

Example:

Click Here to Learn More About The Resume Above

 

Tip: Have You Distributed Your Resume to the thousands of Niche Job Boards with Beyond Yet?

How To Ensure That Recruiters Find Your Uploaded Resume

With advances in technology, more and more people are coming to discover the sheer power of the tools that are widely available on the internet. There are tools to help you in almost every aspect of your daily life, from online shopping helpers to resume builders and databases. If you are looking for a job, then online resume builders and databases are perfect to help you in your search for a suitable career. You need only know the right way to craft your uploaded resume such that it will attract the attention of the right recruiters.

What is an Online Resume Builder?

An online resume builder is a simple yet powerful tool that will help you in crafting your resume. It consists of a series of forms that you fill in with all your personal details including employment information, achievements and educational qualifications. Once you have done that, the resume builder will automatically compile and format a complete resume for you, which is stored online on the website’s servers. Many websites also offer services where your completed and uploaded resume will be made available to recruiters who regularly trawl resume databases in order to find prospective employees.

There are certain tips and tricks to using online resume builders and databases however, in order to ensure that your uploaded resume is noticed by recruiters. These tips and tricks will help your resume stand out among the hundreds of thousands of resumes that are stored on resume databases.

Making Your Uploaded Resume Stand Out

The first thing you need to do is to make your resume specific to the industry and type of job that you wish to work in. This is because most websites sort resumes according to the industries that they are targeted at. This makes it much easier for recruiters to sift through the many hundreds of resumes contained on a single database.

You can make it even easier for them to find your resume by making your resume as industry-specific as possible. The best way to do this is to use industry-specific terms throughout your resume. Every industry has its own jargon, with terms that are not known to people operating outside the industry and that are not used in everyday life. These are terms that recruiters will be on the lookout for, because they identify prospective employees who are interested in the particular industries which the recruiters come from.

A good resume objective is another way to ensure that your resume draws the notice of recruiters. Most recruiters simply cannot afford to take the time to read through each and every uploaded resume they come across, so they skim through the resumes and only stop when one catches their eye. Thus you need to make it easy for your resume to catch the eye of recruiters. A good way to do that is to state your employment goals in a resume objective that you put right at the front of your resume. This gives recruiters a quick summary of what you are looking for in a job and how you might contribute to a potential employer’s company.

By following these tips, your uploaded resume is sure to catch the eye of many a recruiter and you will be able to land that job you are dreaming of in no time.

Making a Recruiter Search Friendly Resume

When Was The Last Time You Updated Your Resume?

When was the last time you updated your resume? If you are like most people, chances are you would only have updated your resume when you last sought out new employment. However, this could be a crucial mistake!  You should update your resume on a regular basis regardless of whether or not you are currently employed or seeking out a job. There are numerous reasons for this.

First and foremost, you never know when an opportunity could prevent itself to you wherein you may consider leaving your current place of employment in order to move to another company that offers higher pay and benefits. Several of these opportunities could present themselves so quickly that you wouldn’t even have time to update your resume. This is why you always need to be sure that your resume is updated; if and when any opportunity presents itself you will be completely ready to throw your resume in the ring and obtain the new employment opportunity that you desire.

Secondly, many companies that promote from within will require you to resubmit your resume when you are being considered for a promotion. You need to make sure that your resume includes your current position and the job skills that you have learned since being employed with this company. Consider that many promotions happen at the “speed of light.” Therefore, if you can provide your current employer with an updated resume immediately, you may be setting yourself ahead of your competition. This shows your employers that you are ready for anything that is thrown at you without any down time.

Other Reasons Why Updating Your Resume Is So Important

Seriously ask yourself this question: when was the last time you updated your resume? If a great deal of time has passed by since the last time you updated your resume you may run into some very common problems when you first sit down to update your resume. For example, let’s say that you have been employed by four different companies in three years. Let’s also say that you haven’t updated your resume during this time but you are anxious to apply for a new job.

Most people will face the common problem of not remembering or being able to recall all the facts from their previous employers. This may include addresses, phone numbers and even supervisors. This means you will have to go back and waste your time doing pointless research in order to obtain the information and facts that you need in order to ensure that your resume is completely accurate. Along with this common information most people struggle with remembering their dates of employment with companies which they have worked for.

However, you could easily avoid all of these problems by simply updating your resume every few months and not just when you are applying for a new job. When you take on this constant attitude of updating you are less likely to forget important facts and will have a more accurate and complete resume than other people around you.

Remember, you never know when a better job or career opportunity may present itself to you! Therefore, you must always be prepared to present an accurate and honest resume to these potential employers at the “drop of a hat.”

If you’ve asked yourself: when was the last time you updated your resume, and you can’t come up with an answer, chances are that you need to sit down and get busy making the updates now!

More Resume Writing Tips

Read Your Resume (Spell Checker is not Enough)

Read your resume, spell checker is not enough! The problem is that oftentimes, people who craft their resumes will not focus on the editing of their resumes. This will generally result in poorly crafted resumes that are shoddy and ineffective. You can be sure that a resume that is filled with spelling and grammar mistakes will thwart any chance you have of being employed. The same can be said when it comes to sentences or sections that don’t make sense due to the manner in which they are worded. 

With that in mind, you cannot simply use spell checker on your favorite document writing program and expect for your resume to be perfect! You must go the extra mile in order to ensure that your resume is as professional and effective as it should be. This way you can present yourself to your future employers in a professional manner that truly reflects your skills and work effort.

If you fail to correct your resume of common mistakes a potential employer may believe that you are not a thorough individual. They may believe that this may reflect on your general work if they were to hire you. Therefore, they may simply pass up on you and choose someone else who is less qualified but who has no or limited mistakes on their resume.

No matter how skilled you are for the position which you are applying for, you must be sure that your resume is 100% grammatically correct and free of spelling errors.

What Can I Use Apart From Spell Checker To Assist Me In This Task?

There are numerous ways that you can go about ensuring that your resume is free of common spelling and grammar mistakes. As stated before: read your resume, spell checker is not enough! Most mistakes can simply be found when you read your resume back to yourself.  Most experts will tell you to actually read your resume out loud. When you read your resume out loud, slowly, you can generally catch common spelling and grammar mistakes. If you have to stop and read over a sentence or section more than once, then chances are that you need to apply a few corrections or small changes in order to make that section flow better.

This can’t be stressed enough: read your resume, spell checker is not enough! You have to be aware that all spell checker programs are not 100% accurate. They make suggestions and changes that may not be correct. If you use an automatic spell check program with changing capabilities it could completely change the meaning of a sentence of your resume. This could have detrimental consequences when it comes to being effective at assisting you in gaining the employment you desire.

Finally, take this entire process one step further and ask a friend or business acquaintance to read over your resume for you! They may be able to find other mistakes that you may have missed on your own. This will give you added protection and peace of mind that your resume is truly free of spelling and grammar mistakes.

More Resume Writing Tips

How To Properly Use Industry Keywords In Your Resume

You need to look at your resume in a manipulative manner. The purpose of your resume is to gain employment by getting noticed by potential employers. With that in mind you need to work your resume in such a way that it operates as a personal infomercial that truly sales you to the potential employer. One of the easiest ways to take this idea to the next level is to use industry keywords. When you use industry keywords you will truly be able to reach your employers on a powerful and effective level that will truly cater to their personal needs.

Consider this, when an employer is looking through resumes of potential employees they are doing so in a selfish manner. They are looking at each resume to determine your worth and value to them. They honestly don’t “care about you.” They simply want to see what it is that you have that will truly benefit them in a great way. If they don’t see this in your resume and they don’t see a purpose or role or need that you would fill in their company, then chances are that they will never call on you.

How Does The Use Of Industry Keywords Improve My Employment Chances?

There are certain words and phrases that have been embedded in your employers minds. These are general words that speak to them when they consider their company. When you begin to use these words it will signal something in the employer’s mind that will lead them to believe that you are on the same page as them. Though these are not subliminal words, they work in much the same way. When you use these words, they truly grab the attention of the employer who may be reading your resume.

When you use industry keywords, you will need to make them specific to the type of company that you are seeking out employment through. For instance, if you are attempting to gain employment at a computer company that deals with technology and software, then you need to target a few well chosen relevant keywords such as: software, computers, and technology.  Some of these words may already be in your resume. Therefore, much of the work will already be done for you. However, you need to make sure that there types of words are used all throughout your resume in order to maintain a potential employers attention throughout your resume.

Other Ways In Which Companies Use Industry Keywords

Many companies will actually run all resumes they receive through a computer system that actually searches for industry specific keywords. If your resume fails to be flagged for such words the chances of you gaining employment through that company are slim to none. With that in mind you can truly see the dire importance in using industry keywords in your resume.  In some cases they are absolutely necessary to ensure your success.

It should also be noted that you can take advantage of many free online keyword utilities that will assist you in determining which keywords are used by specific industries.

See Resume Keyword Examples

Resume Writing Tips: Quantifying Your Achievements

Resume Writing TipsFocusing on your achievements in your resume as opposed to focusing on your responsibilities is a great way to set your resume apart from others.  Most people will simply list all the responsibilities which they had while serving at other companies in other positions. However, if you want to truly captivate those potential employers who may happen upon your resume, then you should consider turning these responsibilities into achievements. 

A general responsibility would be as follows: “I oversaw staff.” An achievement would be “25 staff directly reported to me.” This shows that your previous place of employment trusted you with the supervising of 25 employees. This is an achievement as opposed to a responsibility. If you generally used the phrase “I oversaw staff,” you would lead the reader of your resume to wonder how many staff you oversaw. Was it one? Five? Ten? 

When revealing your achievements in your resume, you should quantify them. You should use numbers wherever possible in order to show a potential employer your true worth in numbers. If you were a general cashier who was never over or under in your end of the night count by five cents, you should let the employer know that most employers were short upwards of “X” amount of dollars every month. This will show a potential employer that by choosing you they would save their company money due to your experience with maintaining a cash draw with a low loss.

With the use of numbers you can truly turn your experience and responsibilities into achievements that will truly captivate and encourage an employer to contact you to fill their vacant position.  Remember, your resume is your selling point. Your resume is a written commercial of yourself. Present your achievements in order to truly captivate and to encourage your audience to choose you over all others.

How Can I Successfully Quantify All My Achievements In My Resume?

First off, you should be aware that it may not be possible for you to quantify every achievement that you place on your resume. You should only quantify your achievements where they best fit in naturally. The best way to begin doing this is to simply look at each of your achievements and see if you can think of a simple way to attach a numeric value to them. If you are unable to, move on to the next one. Within a few minutes you should very clearly be able to determine which responsibilities or achievements you can turn into numeric listings.

Another thing you should consider is seeking out resume examples online.  By looking at these resume examples and examining the achievements that other people have listed you may be able to discover creative ways in which you can provide a numeric value to your own achievements. Using resume examples will make your resume writing job much easier and will allow you to complete the task much faster.

Just keep in mind that you should only assign a numeric value to those achievements that will sound natural when reading.

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES:

Explaining The Benefits Of Your Skills On A Resume

Resume KeywordsWhen you set out to compose your resume, you are in fact creating a written representation of yourself and your skills. You must take great care when revealing your skills so that those people reading your resume can discover the benefits behind your skills. If you appear beneficial to a potential employer, they are more likely to hire you even if another individual seems to have a better prepared resume. When creating your resume you need to place a great deal of focus on revealing your skills in a unique way that is certain to prove to those reading it that they will gain some kind of benefit from hiring you for their position.

For example, when most people list a supervisory position on their resume, they will provide a listing of the experience or skills that they obtained or exhibited in this position. However, one thing that employers truly desire to know when they are reading about supervisory skills, are things such as: how many people did you oversee? Who did you directly report to? Were you able to save your company money while in this position? These are very important queries that employers want answers to so that they can see just how you would be a benefit to their company.

Additionally, most employers desire to know if you work well with other people and how you deal with supervisors. One of the biggest problems in any job is employees who clash with one another or who are on “power trips” while they are in supervisory positions. This is why you should reveal how many people you reported to or worked directly under. In your cover letter you may wish to reveal how your relationships with employees were always professional yet considerate. This shows a potential employer that you can maintain friendly relationships with other employees while at the same time being a professional.

Another thing to consider is your resumes references. You should consider listing the names of people who you professionally worked alongside and also people you worked under. This shows a potential employer that you are proud of your relationships with these individuals. This will put you one step ahead of the rest of your competition.

What’s The Best Way To Go About Presenting My Skills As Benefits?

You should first make a list of each skill that you have. Then consider every job that you have worked in and create a list of your responsibilities while serving in these positions. Once you have done this, you need to simply begin considering how each of these skills could be fashioned into a benefit.  You may have to be creative with some of these changes, but most of them can easily be switched around in wording to present them as benefits instead of simple skills.

Additionally, you may wish to view resume samples online in order to see how other professionals took their general skills and turned them into benefits in their own resumes. These examples can greatly assist you in doing the same for your own resume.

To see examples of how to present your skills as well as use resume keywords and phrases, check out the CareerRush resume examples.