What are key words and why should you care??

Ok, so you're out there--Like it or not--in the vast abyss that is today's job market. You keep sending out your resume, you've posted it on every job site you can find and still...nothing. The phone isn't ringing, no emails, you stare at the phone and your inbox and hear crickets. Is it just that there are no jobs out there? Are you not qualified? It's driving you nuts...

One thing that job seekers have to do in order to insure that their resume is being seen by employers and recruiters, is to make sure that it contains the key words that potential employers would enter into a resume database such as Monster, CareerBuilder, Dice and others when searching for candidates. If your resume does not contain these important key words, you will never make it into the batch of resumes returned in a search. If you are an Accountant but no where in your resume is it listed that you have private and industry experience or that you have your CPA, have used Peachtree, QwickBooks, etc. then you might as well settle in, because it will be a long wait.

The good news is, it's easy to figure out exactly what key words you should include in your resume. A good practice would be to go to one of the on-line databases and do a search for the kind of job you are looking for. Once you have located several postings from various companies, compare them and find the commonalities used in the job descriptions and then incorporate them into your resume!

Happy hunting!
PRP