"Keywords" are buzz words, the "hot" words associated with a specific industry, profession, or job function, that communicate a specific message about a specific job function, qualification, accomplishment, or responsibility. Keywords are best defined as nouns, noun phrases, abbreviations, or acronyms. In this article, keywords are in red, to make it easier for you to spot them.
Some examples are:
To be effective in your job search and catch an employer's interest, your resumes and cover letters must be action-driven and clearly demonstrate the value you bring to a company.
The best way to accomplish this is through the use of keywords and keyword phrases that showcase your qualifications, capabilities, and skills. Keywords get you noticed, not passed over.
To help you better understand the concept of keywords and their powerful use, here is a sample listing of keywords for the primary industries and professions outlined in Best KeyWords for Resumes, Letters, and Interviews (Impact Publications, 2003).
In addition to keywords for specific industries and professions, more general (and of a professional nature) keywords should also be key components of your resume, cover letters, thank-you letters, interviews, and other job search activities. For example, your "professional" keywords might include:
See how many you can think of, and use them to create strong sentences and phrases that will give your resumes, cover letters, and interviews an energy and power of their own.
For more information on keywords used in your own particular career or job, see Wendy S. Enelow, Best KeyWords for Resumes, Letters, and Interviews (Impact Publications, 2003).
You should keep in mind that a minor change to a keyword can significantly alter its meaning. For example:
Keyword:
Keyword: executive negotiations
Keyword: international negotiations
Just as keywords are an essential component of your job search, so are action verbs, which are words used to present your qualifications, achievements, and results (your keywords) in an action-driven style. Action verbs are common verbs such as organized, delivered, led, negotiated, administered, transacted, designed, conceived, created, reengineered, and directed. These are the words that will give your resume energy, power, and punch.
For example, suppose you want to use the keyword phrase customer service. Compare how it looks without action verbs and with action verbs:
Keywords without action verbs: Responsible for the daily operations of the
Keywords with action verbs:
Chapter 45 of Best KeyWords for Resumes, Letters, and Interviews contains a listing of Action Verbs, High-Impact Phrases, and Personality Descriptors that you can use in all of your job search communications.
SOURCE: Adapted from Wendy S. Enelow, Best KeyWords for Resumes, Letters, and Interviews (Impact Publications, 2003), pages 3-6. All rights reserved.
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