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**Identifying Key Words**

**for Your Resume & Cover Letter**

*- Prepared by the CTC Staff for the CTC Newsletter published June 2005*

More and more employers are requiring job seekers to submit online their
cover letters, resumes, and other documents required for an application.
The employer places or receives these documents in a recruiting database
or applicant tracking system. There is a big market now for recruitment
management software which employers of all sizes can use to sort through
job applications. Most of this software is designed to search through a
resume database for "key" words.

The recruiter or the hiring manager will determine the key words for
each specific job. Certain key words can be classified as mandatory and
others as desirable. Some software can produce a list of applicants
ranked by the number of key word "hits" or the greatest key word
"density" found in each application and other more advanced software can
even weigh the importance of each key word to the job criteria.

**Identifying the Key Words**

Key words are words that are commonly used in your profession or
industry now. The majority of key words are nouns or noun phrases that
relate to professional skills and experience. They may pertain to "hard"
or "soft" skills.

Key words for hard skills are usually very precise and job specific.
These are the key words with more weight. They may refer to technical
expertise, typical industry services, job titles, and proper names of
products. They may also relate to educational courses, degrees, and
institutions as well as professional affiliations, certifications, and
licenses. They could even include geographical sites or regions and \--
believe it or not! \-- zip codes and telephone area codes. You can find
a list of key words for hard skills in a few professions on the
University of California Riverside Career Center website
(www.careers.ucr.edu/Students/JobSearch/nouns.html). Example: the
qualifications on the job advertisement include experience working with
compensation and benefits. You took Compensation and Benefits 101 in
college, but have no practical experience in it. The course name alone
may score you a hit and put you in the running for the job.

![](media/image2.wmf){width="1.125in" height="1.25in"}Key words for soft
skills often pertain to

transferable skills, skills that are applicable

in many professions and industries. These

are the less weighty key words. They include

interpersonal, communication, plan,

organization, design, innovation, and listening.

You can find a list of soft skill nouns and

adjectives at AssureConsulting.com
(www.assureconsulting.com/resources/keywords.shtml).

Use current jargon and key words only if you understand fully what they
mean and they apply to your experience. Be sure to avoid outdated jargon
\-- like "personnel" instead of "human resources."

Make the job advertisement for the position you are targeting the center
of your search. Compare all other key word research to the words in that
advertisement.

Try to find other ads for similar positions with similar job titles.
Read all these advertisements carefully and you may begin to see the
same words repeated. Those could be the key words.

Other ways to identify key words include:

-   Peruse the employer's website, including the annual report and
    mission statement

-   Look up the profession and the job title in The Occupational Outlook
    Handbook and the Dictionary of Occupational Titles (www.bls.gov).

-   Network with others in your field (in person and online) and keep
    your ears open for professional jargon and the latest buzzwords

-   Keep your reading up-to-date on professional and general business
    publications

-   Conduct information interviews

-   Ask HR professionals and recruiters

There are also books and websites specifically devoted to key words,
such as:

-   [1500+ Keywords for \$100,000+ Jobs]{.underline}, by Wendy S. Enelow

-   [Peterson\'s The Job Hunter\'s Word Finder]{.underline}, by James
    Bluemond

-   [Words to Get Hired By: The Jobseeker's Quintessential Lexicon of
    Powerful Words and Phrases for Resumes and Cover
    Letters]{.underline}, published by Quintessential Careers Press

-   Babylon.com (www.babylon.com) has glossaries for specific industries

-   Web Access Employment Network (www.waen.org) offers connections to
    many other web resources on the subject of key words

Many career counselors recommend that, although you may find the same
key words in many advertisements in your field, you should still perform
the key word search exercise for each job you apply for and tailor the
key words in your resume for each specific job application.

**Using the Key Words**

If your cover letter and resume are to be scanned by the employer for
key words, use the key words in both.

You won't get more points for repeating the same key word, so use
synonyms. Example: design, plan, and proposal. You can also use various
forms of a key word. Example: manager and management. Commonly used
acronyms can increase the number of key words as well. Avoid using
keywords for jobs you don't want or duties you don't want to perform.

Our Government job titles are frequently different from private sector
titles \-- General Services Officer, for instance. So, be sure to
include key words in your explanation of what your duties were and what
your reporting (supervisory) relationships were in a job. Use the
language of the prospective employer to describe your government work if
that language fits.

Try to be as specific as possible in detailing your qualifications for
the targeted job. Instead of stating that you are fluent in several
African languages, list all of the languages. Instead of stating that
you have practical experience in spreadsheet software, list the software
programs (e.g., Excel). Make sure to tie the key words to your
accomplishments and include key words in your accomplishment statements.

> ![](media/image3.wmf){width="1.625in" height="1.125in"}You may want to
> include more of your professional and educational history than you
> would in a traditional resume. As a result, resumes that are going to
> be scanned for key words are often longer than a traditional resume
> that you would hand to a private sector recruiter at a job fair. The
> more key words included, the better your chance of your resume
> emerging from the database. But, remember, the resume will
> (hopefully!) end up in the hands of the company's recruiter, a real
> human being. You have to strike a balance between detail and
> readability. Let's say that the computer has spit out the 12 resumes
> with the most hits for a specific job. The recruiter only wants to
> interview three candidates for the job. He will read quickly through
> the stack of resumes and pull out the three who look like the best
> candidates to him. If your resume is four pages long and includes too
> many details to make it an interesting read, then he probably won't
> select it for the interviews.

Some applicants now include a key word section in their resume with a
summary list of the key words. This section is sometimes "front-loaded"
at the beginning of the resume, but most often placed at the end of the
resume. One possible title for that section would be "Key Word Summary."

A more accepted technique is to incorporate a lot of key words in a
resume section called the "Profile" or "Professional Profile" or
"Summary of Qualifications." That section is usually placed directly
below your name and address on the first page of the resume and provides
the reader with a snapshot of you as a professional. A variation on this
style is to include a list of skills and qualifications (i.e., key
words) just below the profile. Here is an example:

*Financial Analysis Financial Markets*

*Trade Issues Commercial banking*

*Technical Assistance Tax issues*

Key words should appear in the actual text of your resume, too -- you
must substantiate your claims!

If all or part of your resume is designed in the functional (as opposed
to chronological) style, you can use key words as the functional headers
(e.g., Management, Training, Marketing). Then, under each function, you
list accomplishments that illustrate your incredible skill in that
functional area and use more key words.

After you have done your key word research, check your resume by
highlighting all the words in it that would probably be considered key
words. Compare the highlighted words to the key words in the job
advertisement and to the key words you have found in your other
research. Have you included the most important ones in your resume (and
cover letter, if it's going to be scanned, too)? Could you include more?

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**Practice Exercise One**

Identify the 10 *[most important]{.underline}* key words in the
following job advertisement.

*World Wildlife Fund*

*Manager, Multilateral Agency Relations*

*Job Type: Limited Term*

*Location: Washington, DC*

*Job Description: World Wildlife Fund (WWF), the global conservation
organization leading international efforts for a living planet, seeks a
Manager for Multilateral Relations. The candidate will oversee and
manage relations with the Global Environment Facility (GEF) to identify,
promote, and implement strategic policy and program initiatives,
including funding opportunities. Requirements: Interested candidate
should possess a Master's degree and familiarity with the GEF and one or
more of its implementing agencies. Ten years experience in international
conservation and sustainable development required. Five or more years
experience in proposals management preferred.*

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**Practice Exercise Two**

Identify the 10 *[most important]{.underline}* key words in the
following job advertisement.

*Sixth Star Entertainment & Marketing*

*Destination Speakers*

*A Destination Speaker's responsibility is to give a series of original
presentations illustrating the culture and history of the ports of call
on a given cruise itinerary. For instance, a Speaker on a cruise to
Mexico may discuss the Mexican-American War, foreign policy between the
United States and Mexico, or the culture of the country. The talks
should not be a reiteration of what to see-and-do in Puerto Vallarta.
Rather, they should provide the guests with insight into the ports that
one would not be able to find in an average guidebook.*

*Destination Speakers that are placed by Sixth Star are offered the
luxuries of a fine voyage in a passenger stateroom with full passenger
privileges in exchange for their services and a small administrative fee
of \$50 per day for each day of the cruise. The lecturer is welcome to
bring a guest to sail in the same cabin free of charge. Please note that
the daily administrative fee for Silversea Cruises and Radisson Seven
Seas Cruises is \$100 per day due to the all inclusive nature of these
ultra-luxurious voyages (gratuities included, etc.).\
\
During a typical week at sea, Speakers traditionally deliver three to
four 35-minute presentations, with 10 minutes at the end for questions
and answers. Presentations should be very entertaining (or as we like to
say, \"edu-tainment\"), and we highly encourage the use of professional
presentation tools, including slides and Power Point presentations.\
\
The Destination Speaker must be an excellent and experienced public
speaker as typical audience size ranges from 50-300 passengers for each
talk. However, good news travels fast aboard ships and excellent
Speakers have been known to pack the house!*

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