Creating a Searchable IT Resume with the Right Keywords

In the past, resumes were a paper and ink endeavor. When you mailed a resume, you used high quality paper, stamped the envelope, and enjoyed a leisurely few days before fretting over whether the document was received. These days, however, are fading.

First, there are the job search engines, general and specialized. Companies farming talent have long searched these databases for appealing employees (like you would when searching for a job). But it isn’t just the job sites. Internally, more and more businesses have taken to dumping incoming resumes into customized searchable databases. Rather than flipping through resumes one at a time, companies run searches on keywords, hoping to unearth desired candidates more efficiently.

A resume that doesn’t match keywords has a considerably lesser chance of being noticed — even of being read.

This has sparked a kind of contemporary obsession with keyword searchability in resumes. And while keyword accessibility is not the most critical thing in your resume (not by a long shot) it is worth some consideration in resume writing — considerations this article will now address.

The Ethics of Keyword Searchability in Resumes

First of all (and this point is important) don’t lie through your keywords. Some applicants slap in as many keywords as they can, hoping to rise to the top of the ranks. But savvy recruiters quickly notice a gap between a resume’s keywords and its actual candidate, and such gaps irritate them. So make sure the portrait created by your keywords matches your resume — which, in turn, should match your actual experience.

Think of it this way: if you hide unrelated metadata in the background of your website to enhance search engine optimization, the engines themselves sometimes give you the boot, citing a violation of ethical business practices. Similarly, a candidate who’s dodgy with their keywords will frequently find themselves deleted from the database entirely.

How Do You Know the Keywords?

Well, that’s the million dollar question, isn’t it? Unfortunately, there is no universal answer. There is, however, some detective work that you can do.

The process is similar to writing your actual resume. When you write a resume, you determine the overlap between your background and the target job, and try to highlight that overlap. Similarly, you should be able to reverse engineer most job postings and determine what keywords the recruiter will most likely employ.

First, note the basic technical requirements of the job, and make sure they show up on your resume. Then, go through a job posting and highlight the most important words in the sentences or paragraphs describing the company or position. What abilities or traits get highest billing? These terms are more likely to be searched. Also, pay attention to the order of discussion; people usually talk about what’s most important first. Similarly, necessary traits are more likely to be used as initial keywords filters than desirable ones. Try and design your resume so the keywords you integrate match the order and emphasis of the job posting itself.

If you can, examine multiple postings by the same company. Recurring terms can indicate that a trait is particularly desirable, and more likely to be searched.

Once you have a list of likely company keywords, highlight the prominent terms in your own resume and check for a correlation. Then try to revise your resume so that this probable correlation increases.

You’ll have to repeat this process, of course, as you apply for different jobs. Different companies will look for different things, and you want to approach them on their own terms (quite literally) as much as possible.

What Increases Search Engine Optimization?

Well, there are a few practical things you can do to try to increase the SEO of your resume:

1. Try to include both acronyms and spelled out versions of important terms, to increase overall searchability.
2. Strike a balance between general traits (for example, writing ability) and specific duties (newsletter, manual, instructions, etc.). That way, if someone searches for the general thing or the specific one, you’re covered.
3. Repeat important terms regularly. If you’re a programmer, for example, use various forms of the word (program, programmer, programming, programmed) as well as synonyms (coded, trouble-checked, etc). In all cases, try to supplement the term with specific examples and accomplishments. This increases keyword density.
4. Consider starting the resume with a brief, initial summary section. Many search engines place greater weight on terms appearing at the beginning of a document than at the end. An efficient, concise summary listing your primary attributes can enhance your searchability somewhat. Just be sure to back up the summary with detailed examples (and repeated terms) throughout the resume itself.
5. Don’t neglect your nouns. Action verbs are just as important in a bullet point as ever, but most research indicates that people search for nouns more frequently.
6. Use terms that are specific to your industry. Resumes that prioritize general traits over specific ones are typically weighted lower in search engine rankings.

Of course, you’ll want to work all of this into your resume gracefully. There’s nothing gained if, in the interest of laying a few bulky keywords down into your existing resume, your language or organization trips all over them.

Finally, don’t forget this: keywords and searchability, in the end, will only help your resume get selected for the next stage of review, by an actual human being. They have minimal impact on whether you ultimately get a job or interview — so consider them, but not too obsessively.

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