Your resume can be overlooked if it does not contain certain words that the employers are looking for. These words are called keywords, and the process works much the same as a Google search. All of the resumes are put in a database, and then they’re searched for the keywords.

People neglect the use of keywords because resume writing is hard enough — trying to describe relevant skills, experience, and qualifications — and keywords get overlooked in the writing process. Most people want a visually appealing resume that reads well, and poorly integrated keywords can make your resume ugly and difficult to follow.

Here’s how to incorporate more keywords, while maintaining human readability:

1. Create a keywords section in your resume. Right at the top of the first page, after the objective statement or career summary, create a section called Keywords. If that seems too blatant, call the section “Qualifications.” This is especially important if you submit electronic versions of your resume online. It works because the human reader can simply skip that section if they’d like, and the flow of the resume is maintained.

2. Use a lot of keywords in your Objective Statement and Career Summary. Pepper your objective statement and summary section with the keywords, so that both the computer and humans that are screening the resumes will see them, and select your resume for further consideration. This trick, combined with a “Keywords” section, will double the count and make it twice as likely for your resume to rise to the top.

3. Repeat the keywords in your Job Experience section. Where appropriate, use the keywords to describe how you did your job in the Experience Section of your resume. For example, if “Excel” is a keyword, describe your experience creating spreadsheets as “Created Excel spreadsheets …”

4. When in doubt, focus on the human readability. It’s a human who will be hiring you, not a computer program. Focus on the human’s needs first.

Bottom Line: Present your best in a way that matches employers’ needs, and your calendar will be bursting with interviews!

I invite you to learn more about these and other common resume blunders by reading my FREE 12-page report, “Resume Killers and How to Avoid Them.” Just go to http://www.magneticresume.com Scott Shane Holt has seen it all while hiring over 100 people on Wall Street, in good times and bad, and as an executive coach helping managers and other professionals advance in their careers.Resume – The Best Way to Use Keywords to Boost Your Resume’s Visibility While Keeping it Readable

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