Resume Evaluation: Keywords and Phrases

This is one of series of articles being written by Alpha Dog Resumes.com explaining how the online resume writing service evaluates the thousands of resumes that are sent to it each year.

One of the ten criteria that is reviewed is Keywords and Phrases.  The resume is given a score of 1 to 5, with 5 being the highest score.

A score of 3 or lower indicates that the resume needs to be rewritten to include crucial keywords and phrases that will greatly improve the chances that the resume will be selected by HR resume selection software.  Those keywords and phrases will also attract the attention of HR personnel.  The keywords and phrases relate to the job seeker’s industry and the specific job responsibilities.  They must be placed with sufficient density and in the optimal places in the resume.

As a simple example, does an attorney seeking a General Counsel position with a corporation need to use both the phrase “In-house Counsel” and the phrase “General Counsel” in his resume?  Yes.  Where should those words be concentrated in that resume?  Near the top of the first page of the resume.

Improper use of keywords and phrases means no interview in today’s world.  Identification of those words and phrases is a difficult key first step, and AlphaDogResumes.com works with clients to define that list in a personal telephone consultation when working through the client’s extensive AlphaDog Background Analyzer.

Why a Resume Must Be Optimized for Key Words and Phrases

Did you know that your resume may never be reviewed by a human?

Imagine the frustration of finally finding that perfect job opportunity online after months of searching or from calling in favors from your job search network only to be cut from the job candidate pool by a computer even before a human being reviews your resume. It happens all the time as a result of resume management software.

With so many people chasing so few jobs in today’s economy, hiring managers have turned to computer software to review the hundreds, and in some cases thousands, of resumes submitted for each job opening. There are too few hiring managers to review so many resumes. Some experts say that over 80% of resumes submitted to major employers are reviewed by a computer.

The computer software scans the resumes for evidence that job candidates are qualified for the job opening. Only resumes that meet the requirements of the software are passed on to a human for serious consideration.

How does the computer select the resumes that have a real chance at gaining an interview? The software looks for key words and phrases that match what the employer has indicated are important to the job opening. These words and phrases may be industry-specific, may indicate certain job skills and accomplishments, and may include words from the job title and description. No key words and phrases in the resume equal no interview.

Where the words and phrases are located in the resume also matters. They need to appear both at the beginning and in the body of the resume. Density of key words matters also. It is not sufficient to have the words and phrases appear only one time in the resume. For particularly important concepts that are central to the job responsibilities, you will want to have the resume checked electronically for sufficient word and phrase density to prove that you really are qualified for the job.

Be sure to prepare your resume with optimally located key words and phrases in mind. Better yet, leave it to the experts, and hire someone to write your resume based upon their experience and computerized research and review into what exact words and phrases matter for that “perfect” job for which you have been looking so long.

Key words and phrases are crucial if you are going to Dominate Your Job Search_®