The Importance Of Using Keywords In Your CV
If you thought recruiting was just about people employing people, it may come as a surprise to know that a great deal of the process is actually handled by computers. When you submit your CV online to a job site or a recruiter's database, or when you email a speculative CV to a company - your CV will be entered into a computer database filled with other applicants' résumés.
When recruiters have a position vacant, they search for CVs on their database by using keywords. The computer search function then sifts through thousands of CVs to find those containing the keywords that are aligned with the skills and qualities of the position.
It is therefore extremely important that your CV clearly states all of your skills and abilities to maximise its potential for recognition by the computer search. You may even want to tailor keywords in your CV each time you submit it for a different role. When tailoring your keywords, be sure to include words relating to your skills, your experience, the industry and the specific role.
Skills Keywords
Find out what skills are required of the particular role(s) you want, and include these in your CV. Job advertisements and industry careers websites are a good place to find the key skills relating to specific roles.
Depending on your industry, your skills might include:
- IT / computer programmes
- University qualifications
- Technical skills
- Driving licence
- Non-technical competencies (i.e. trouble-shooting, teamwork, problem solving, decision-making, critical thinking, verbal and interpersonal skills, customer relations etc.)
Keywords Regarding Experience
When describing your experience, it is best to do so using plenty of action words. These words can appear in your descriptions of your career achievements or past employment duties sections. They detail the action you undertook to achieve a task and the results achieved by your actions. For example, when describing your duties in a past position you might say you:
- Led a team
- Organised a campaign
- Managed a project
- Liaised with clients
And through this, you have achieved:
- Increased revenue
- Optimised buy-in
- Established contacts
- Improved outcomes
CV Action Words / Computer Search Terms
Computer searches latch onto these terms when scanning for applicable CVs. Other action words include:
| Achieved Advocated Analysed Appraised Approved Arranged Assessed Attained Audited Budgeted Built Calculated Chaired Coached Collaborated Computed Conceptualised Consolidated Consulted Contracted Coordinated Created Critiqued Customised Delegated Demonstrated Designed Developed Directed |
Drafted Engineered Established Evaluated Examined Facilitated Formulated Founded Generated Identified Implemented Improved Increased Influenced Informed Initiated Integrated Interviewed Introduced Led Maintained Marketed Motivated Negotiated Operated Organised Oversaw Performed Planned |
Presented Prioritised Produced Programmed Projected Promoted Publicised Recruited Reduced Referred Remoulded Repaired Reported Represented Researched Resolved Reviewed Scheduled Shaped Solved Strengthened Supervised Taught Trained Translated Upgraded Wrote |
Job Titles As Keywords
Including the titles of past jobs and of roles you're looking for is effective in making your CV stand out in relevant computer searches. These titles can be included in the professional profile paragraph of your CV and in the employment history section respectively. For words relating specifically to the role(s) you're looking for, refer to job advertisements and research industry careers websites.
Industry Buzzwords
Ensure you're au fait with industry buzzwords and use them where applicable in your CV. Researching and talking to people in the industry, company or role will help you obtain a large pool of repeated words, phrases and skills that you can include.
