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Are You Using Keywords on Your Resume?

Resume

Being a job seeker can be a frustrating and overwhelming process. Aside from finding the right opportunities, there may be fierce competition for your dream job, or perhaps you find you just aren’t sure what employers are looking for. Would you like a secret towards getting an edge and landing the role you’ve been wanting?

While it is not quite a secret, there is a crucial step you can take when fine tuning your resume that may mean the difference between an interview and a missed opportunity. That crucial step? Tucking the relevant keywords cleverly into your resume and application materials.

Tailor Each and Every Resume

It probably goes without saying that each position you apply for should have a fully-customised resume. While you likely have a basic resume that includes the range of your experience and education, you should tweak that content gently to gear it towards the role in question. This makes sense on a basic level; you’ll want to include the most relevant previous positions and training, but it applies especially to keywords. Your resume should include the appropriate keywords for each job you apply to, dramatically increasing your chances of receiving an interview.

Why Keywords?

According to LiveCareer, when employers are hiring, more than 90% of resumes received are searched for job-specific keywords. In a competitive job market, employers have naturally turned to advanced technologies and methods for handling the large quantity of applications they receive. Scanning technology which searches for designated keywords is a major asset in the employment world, assisting organisations to identify more rapidly those employees whose skills and experience fit with theirs.

How to Find and Incorporate Keywords

While you may not be able to determine the precise keywords an employer may be searching for in their application process, there are several clues that can help you know where to begin. Many employment experts suggest starting with the job description itself. Here, you’ll find plenty of terms of relevance that indicate fairly clearly what the employer may be looking for. Nouns especially can be important keywords. These suggest duties and responsibilities a role might include, and if found listed in your previous experience, may be very relevant.

The job posting won’t tell you everything you need to know, however, and chances are you have additional skills not listed in that short paragraph. This is where research can be of assistance. Head to online job boards and seek out job postings for other similar positions. This can remind you of important industry terms you may wish to include. LinkedIn is also a good site for helping you examine your own skills and consider what might be relevant. Don’t forget to include soft skills, either. These are often incorporated into resume scans and certain attributes may be vastly important in certain roles and industries.

Are You a Job Seeker?

If you are seeking new employment or looking to advance your career, working with the hiring experts can help. The team at On Line Recruitment and Labour Hire are your Australian employment pros. Get in touch with us today for more information on how we can help you land your dream role.