Resume Writing Tips – Are Keywords Really Important in a Resume?
Keywords are absolutely important, especially today when so many companies use databases to search through resumes. However, it’s not so simple as including a ‘keyword’ section anymore. Keywords need to be placed throughout the resume in an organic fashion, as part of the content. Remember, a human will be reading the resume at some point, so it needs to make sense to the human eye and brain as well as come up in multiple keywords searches. Professional resume writers are trained to be effective at this process, whereas non-professionals often mistake keyword insertion for simply creating a separate section on the resume, or jamming the resume full of industry ‘buzzwords.’
Working with scores of job seekers, the question about the importance of resume keywords often comes up. The answer, of course, is yes, but you must be strategic in how you go about incorporating them into the document and you must be selective in terms of the keywords you chose to include. Why is this even an Issue? Some of you may be wondering why this is a concern, as it is obvious to you that keywords must be used in a resume. However, many candidates feel that these buzzwords don’t mean anything and that the hiring manager will say “so what” when reading their information. They are concerned that anyone can put a list of buzzwords together, especially if they do so in a separate competencies section in which they don’t have to support the inclusion of those terms with any detail. If this describes you, remember that the hiring manager is not the only one that will be reviewing your resume. In fact, they won’t be the first to view it, as resumes must successfully pass through the H
