Keywords in Your Resume: How to Use Them Correctly

Amy Huges — April 5, 2017

With everything moving to digital, it is important to give yourself a fair chance by including valid keywords in your resume. There are many websites where you can upload a resume and the employer or recruiter will usually do a search based on certain keywords. There is, of course, a right and wrong way to do this and it has to be very tactful if you want it to work in your favor.

Here is how you use keywords in your resume correctly.

Job ad

If there is a certain position you are trying to get in, use the job ad as a guide. What are some of the requirements they are looking for? Some of the best resume services online will usually highlight the key requirements and qualifications in the ad. Look at these and use it in your resume. Even if it is in the form of bullet points, include it somehow in your resume. All you have to do is make sure it comes across as natural and not specific keywords.

In context

There is no getting away from using your keywords in context to make the flow of what you are saying not be curbed by the keywords. You can use your keywords to build up to an achievement or qualification. The basic rule is to not make the keywords or phrases stand out as one. You stand a better chance of being found on the internet and job portals if you include important keywords to your resume. Research keywords to use in a resume and include even the general ones to help your future employer find you.

Be tactful

Yes, it is important to include keywords in your resume but please do not go overboard and include them in every sentence. If you speak to successful bloggers, you will get the best advice on how to use keywords tactfully. The key tip is to not go overboard. Think about it as elegantly including a special ingredient in your next cookout meal. No one knows what it is, but everyone knows there is something different, yet amazing in there. Using keywords for resume writing has proven to be a huge success in our digital world and if you want to get the job of your dreams, it’s time to use this tactic (no pun intended).

Conclusion

You can either ignore this advice or not move with the times, or you can take this advice and slowly move towards including keywords in your resume. Employers and recruiter alike, will most likely scan your resume for specific keywords like job requirements and qualifications and base a decision on that. Many recruiters use software to run the many resumes through and the software will pick up the keywords you include. This is important information because it shows that it is not only necessary for online job portal. As long as you do not overuse your keywords and include it in a way that flows, you should be clear of anything negative. Give yourself the best opportunity to get that job today by including keywords in your next job application.

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