Getting hired for a job is all about standing out from the crowd. The first place to do that is on your resume and for many positions, you are trying to impress a computer—the way to do that is with the right resume keywords.

While human reviewers will look for action verbs and descriptive phrases, computers scan for keywords and phrases (typically nouns) that most closely match the job description. Resumes with the most number of matches rank the highest. Since there may be hundreds of people applying for one position, using resume keywords is the first step to getting in the door.

Resumes list your experience, your achievements, your skills, your education and special qualifications. Each of these areas should include keywords.

There’s no secret to keywords

You might think of keywords as a code that hints to the employer, you have what they want.  So how do you know the right keywords to use?  There’s no mystery there.  Start with the job description itself.  Highlight the keywords you find and work them into your resume and cover letter.   Here are some more great sources for resume keywords from Boston College:

  • Search for “resume keywords” and you’ll find lots of great websites with key word lists, often by industry or skill area.
  • Using a variety of search engines, find two dozen job openings in your field and highlight the common key words.
  • Visit professional association websites. Many of these are loaded with industry-related jargon which may be appropriate for your resume.
  • Talk to people in the career field you are targeting, and ask them what keywords are appropriate to the positions you are applying to.
  • Research industry trends and look for nouns and phrases most often used to describe your work.

Can you go overkill on keywords?

Actually, the more relevant keywords, the better.  And if you are crafty, you’ll find a way to weave in the same keyword or a variation of that keyword more than once on your resume. You might use the keyword in a summary of qualifications at the top of your resume and later in a job description.

If you are applying for a management job, you might use the keyword phrase “leadership position” in your career objective and later describe how you “demonstrated leadership ability.” For great tips on how to craft a keyword rich resume, click here.