Resume Keywords: 1 Clever Tool to Write the Resume Companies Want

You see, most of the resumes see the bottom of a bin before they reach a hiring manager. The reason may be an ATS or simply recruiters.
Why Resume Keywords are important to consider?

And even if your resume does reach the hiring manager, it’s a waste if she reads your resume but can’t make the connection between your abilities and the job requirements. You won’t land that job interview because she can’t picture you doing the job after reading your resume.

Therefore, it goes without saying that keywords lend a personality to your resume. They force the hiring managers to pay attention to your resume.

So, how do you make your resume land a great impression instead of landing in the trash?
Obviously by stuffing the right resume keywords in. And dropping the buzzwords out.
Now, where do you go finding these keywords for your resume?

Well, you simply google the action verbs (like this list here) and lift industry specific keywords from resources like these.

But impressing a hiring manager with your resume takes a lot more!

Every job profile is unique. Every company functions in its own way. So it’s obvious to assume that if you apply for the same role (say, a sales executive) at 2 companies, one may reject your resume while other calls you in for an interview.

One thing is clear now. In addition to action verbs and industry keywords, you need resume keywords to highlight your those skills, experience, and achievements that align with a company’s values.

This means that every company you apply to needs a different resume from you. And to write sharp and best-tailored resume keywords, you need this tool.

The most effective tool to help you write customised resume keywords

To get companies to accept your resume, you need to think like them. And what best way to get a piece of their mind than their own words, right!
So without a wait, here’s the tool that’ll help you do that.
A word cloud generator. Like this one here.

How do I use the tool?

Easy.

1. Pick a job you want to apply for
2. Copy the job description
3. Paste the job description in the word cloud generator and hit Go!

For example, below is the word cloud for the role of Sr. Product Manager.This is where the real work begins. If you’ve never used a word cloud generator before, this tool creates a cloud of all the words used in the text you feed it. The most used words appear the most prominent in the cloud while the least used fall back into the background. Now…

How to read the word cloud to write resume keywords

In the example, notice how the trait “communication” takes a back seat while “entrepreneurial” stands out? This tells you that this job role needs you to be more experimental and risk-taking as opposed to showing off your communication skills.

That is not to say that you don’t need communication skills. It means that if you highlight entrepreneurial experience over other qualities, your resume has a much greater chance of landing you an interview call from the manager.

So let’s quickly bullet the keywords you can put in your resume using this tool.

• Use separate word clouds for separate sections of your resume – You can create a word cloud just for “requirements” or “qualifications” to get a precise idea about the keywords to put in separate sections.
• Find the most used technical terms in the job description  – Should you highlight your ruby on rails experience or python? If python is more prominent than RoR on the word cloud, highlight it. The more a hiring manager repeats a tech term in the description, more important it is for the role.
• You can almost guess the company culture from the word cloud – In the above job posting, “team”, “new” are a few most used keywords other than the core requirements. This displays they have a team culture that’s big on innovating products and kind of gives you a picture of what it’ll be like working there. To know more about resume keywords that make you a good culture fit there, you can check out their website or blog. Most leading companies are pretty open about their culture. 

For example, Facebook openly says it wants you to have a story about “connecting the world.” That’s a solid clue for interview preparation.

Conclusion

Wouldn’t it be nice if we could just read minds? We wouldn’t have to go through this much trouble. Imagine reading the hiring manager’s mind to put the exact resume keywords, give the right interview answers, and display the needed qualities. Alas!

But we still got this tool. And with this simple but powerful tool, you can be sure to send in a resume you always wanted. It’ll take some practice, of course, but once you get the hang of it, your resume will be unstoppable!

Happy job hunting.