Keywords Are Important as Applicant Tracking Systems Are Here to Stay

Thousands of employers now use applicant-tracking systems to streamline the hiring process and make it easier to identify qualified applicants. This means resume keywords are more important than ever. If your resume doesn't include the right words and phrases, you might not make it through the automated screening process. Here is what you need to know about this process when you are applying for jobs.

Applicant-tracking systems allow hiring managers to search for resumes that include specific resume keywords. A hiring manager searching for a marketing associate might narrow the candidate pool by looking for resumes that contain the keywords "direct mail," "marketing campaign" or "conversion rate." The more of these a resume contains, the higher it appears on the list of qualified applicants. If you aren't sure which resume keywords to use, look to the job advertisement for clues. These usually repeat important words and phrases several times.

Using the right resume keywords is just the first step to making it past the automated screening process. These systems also check to see how many times a keyword is used in a resume. Just repeating the same word over and over won't help, but you need to make sure the right resume keywords appear in several places in your resume. If your resume has the right ones in the right places, you have a better chance of making it to the top of the applicant pool when a hiring manager runs an automated search.

Context is especially important when choosing resume keywords. If you repeat one word throughout your resume, but the document doesn't contain other relevant ones, the automated system might ignore your resume in favor of someone whose document contains the right combination of keywords. If you are applying for a job as an administrative assistant, for example, you need to use resume keywords related to the position. In addition to "administrative assistant," you should also use phrases such as "expense reports," "spreadsheets," "word processing" and other words related to the job description.

Although resume keywords are important, you need to write for a human audience. Make sure your document is in an easy-to-read format that has bold headings and bullet points to break up the text. If you are worried about including the right phrases, create a heading that says "Professional Skills" and list relevant keywords under that heading. Be sure to use action verbs and descriptions that help quantify your achievements.

Now that hiring managers are using automated systems to handle large volumes of applications, you need to write for two audiences: humans and computers. Including the right resume keywords gives you a better chance of making it to the interview stage of the hiring process, but don't be tempted to stuff your resume with keywords that are not related to your work experience.

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