1.2.3: Keywords
- Page ID
- 137405
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\(\newcommand{\avec}{\mathbf a}\) \(\newcommand{\bvec}{\mathbf b}\) \(\newcommand{\cvec}{\mathbf c}\) \(\newcommand{\dvec}{\mathbf d}\) \(\newcommand{\dtil}{\widetilde{\mathbf d}}\) \(\newcommand{\evec}{\mathbf e}\) \(\newcommand{\fvec}{\mathbf f}\) \(\newcommand{\nvec}{\mathbf n}\) \(\newcommand{\pvec}{\mathbf p}\) \(\newcommand{\qvec}{\mathbf q}\) \(\newcommand{\svec}{\mathbf s}\) \(\newcommand{\tvec}{\mathbf t}\) \(\newcommand{\uvec}{\mathbf u}\) \(\newcommand{\vvec}{\mathbf v}\) \(\newcommand{\wvec}{\mathbf w}\) \(\newcommand{\xvec}{\mathbf x}\) \(\newcommand{\yvec}{\mathbf y}\) \(\newcommand{\zvec}{\mathbf z}\) \(\newcommand{\rvec}{\mathbf r}\) \(\newcommand{\mvec}{\mathbf m}\) \(\newcommand{\zerovec}{\mathbf 0}\) \(\newcommand{\onevec}{\mathbf 1}\) \(\newcommand{\real}{\mathbb R}\) \(\newcommand{\twovec}[2]{\left[\begin{array}{r}#1 \\ #2 \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\ctwovec}[2]{\left[\begin{array}{c}#1 \\ #2 \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\threevec}[3]{\left[\begin{array}{r}#1 \\ #2 \\ #3 \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\cthreevec}[3]{\left[\begin{array}{c}#1 \\ #2 \\ #3 \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\fourvec}[4]{\left[\begin{array}{r}#1 \\ #2 \\ #3 \\ #4 \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\cfourvec}[4]{\left[\begin{array}{c}#1 \\ #2 \\ #3 \\ #4 \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\fivevec}[5]{\left[\begin{array}{r}#1 \\ #2 \\ #3 \\ #4 \\ #5 \\ \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\cfivevec}[5]{\left[\begin{array}{c}#1 \\ #2 \\ #3 \\ #4 \\ #5 \\ \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\mattwo}[4]{\left[\begin{array}{rr}#1 \amp #2 \\ #3 \amp #4 \\ \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\laspan}[1]{\text{Span}\{#1\}}\) \(\newcommand{\bcal}{\cal B}\) \(\newcommand{\ccal}{\cal C}\) \(\newcommand{\scal}{\cal S}\) \(\newcommand{\wcal}{\cal W}\) \(\newcommand{\ecal}{\cal E}\) \(\newcommand{\coords}[2]{\left\{#1\right\}_{#2}}\) \(\newcommand{\gray}[1]{\color{gray}{#1}}\) \(\newcommand{\lgray}[1]{\color{lightgray}{#1}}\) \(\newcommand{\rank}{\operatorname{rank}}\) \(\newcommand{\row}{\text{Row}}\) \(\newcommand{\col}{\text{Col}}\) \(\renewcommand{\row}{\text{Row}}\) \(\newcommand{\nul}{\text{Nul}}\) \(\newcommand{\var}{\text{Var}}\) \(\newcommand{\corr}{\text{corr}}\) \(\newcommand{\len}[1]{\left|#1\right|}\) \(\newcommand{\bbar}{\overline{\bvec}}\) \(\newcommand{\bhat}{\widehat{\bvec}}\) \(\newcommand{\bperp}{\bvec^\perp}\) \(\newcommand{\xhat}{\widehat{\xvec}}\) \(\newcommand{\vhat}{\widehat{\vvec}}\) \(\newcommand{\uhat}{\widehat{\uvec}}\) \(\newcommand{\what}{\widehat{\wvec}}\) \(\newcommand{\Sighat}{\widehat{\Sigma}}\) \(\newcommand{\lt}{<}\) \(\newcommand{\gt}{>}\) \(\newcommand{\amp}{&}\) \(\definecolor{fillinmathshade}{gray}{0.9}\)Use Keywords
For your resume to be effective in clearly demonstrating that you have the knowledge, skills, and abilities to perform the essential duties of the role, it must be targeted to each job by including keywords from the job posting.
Keywords are terms that describe the type of person and skillset/education/experience that the employer requires.
Omitting keywords from your resume and cover letter may result in your documents getting discarded before anyone reads them!
- Look up job postings you are interested in applying for and examine the qualifications/duties listed. Next, make a match between your skills, knowledge, and experience and the job requirements. Looking at job postings that reflect your job goal will provide you with a sense of the common requirements that an employer might be looking for and assist you in tailoring your resume to those jobs in the future.
- Use labor market information resources such as the Bureau of Labor Statistics website to review various career and occupational profiles and understand the required duties and responsibilities. This can be used as a guide to inform you of all the various tasks and duties that are associated with different jobs.
- Refer to your program learning outcomes – For each program at Western Technical College, program and learning outcomes are identified in order for you as a student to understand what abilities you will reliably be able to demonstrate upon graduation. The learning outcomes were developed by employers and industry professionals prior to the creation of your course and offer industry-specific language that you can apply to your resume.
- Find a job posting that interests you and identify all the keywords.
- List the keywords from the posting that match your own skills and use these in your resume and cover letter for that job.
Use Action Verbs
We know that employers and hiring managers are bombarded with applications; therefore, you are not doing yourself any favors by using all the same, old, tired words that everyone else is using. Starting each sentence with a strong action verb will capture the attention of the employer and provide a clearer, more interesting picture of what you have done.
Review your resume, go back and look at each word and ask yourself, is it powerful, appropriate, and exciting? Avoid using the same word more than once.
COMMUNICATION
- Arranged
- Authored
- Collaborated
- Communicated
- Consulted
- Corresponded
- Debated
- Defined
- Discussed
- Drafted
- Edited
- Explained
- Interacted
- Interpreted
- Interviewed
- Joined
- Listened
- Marketed
- Mediated
- Moderated
- Negotiated
- Observed
- Participated
- Persuaded
- Presented
- Publicized
- Reported
- Responded
- Translated
- Wrote
MANAGEMENT
- Administered
- Analyzed
- Appointed
- Approved
- Assigned
- Attained
- Authorized
- Chaired
- Coordinated
- Designed
- Delegated
- Directed
- Established
- Executed
- Led
- Managed
- Motivated
- Organized
- Oversaw
- Planned
- Prioritized
- Reviewed
- Scheduled
- Supervised
TEACHING/HELPING
- Advised
- Aided
- Answered
- Assisted
- Clarified
- Coached
- Contributed
- Demonstrated
- Educated
- Encouraged
- Evaluated
- Explained
- Facilitated
- Guided
- Helped
- Individualized
- Informed
- Instilled
- Instructed
- Motivated
- Persuaded
- Resolved
- Simplified
- Supported
- Taught
- Trained
- Tutored
- Volunteered
FINANCIAL
- Administered
- Adjusted
- Allocated
- Appraised
- Audited
- Balanced
- Budgeted
- Calculated
- Estimated
- Forecasted
- Netted
- Projected
- Purchased
- Qualified
- Reconciled
- Reduced
CLERICAL
- Arranged
- Cataloged
- Classified
- Collected
- Compiled
- Filed
- Organized
- Prepared
- Processed
- Recorded
- Scheduled
RESEARCH
- Analyzed
- Collected
- Compiled
- Filed
- Organized
- Prepared
- Processed
- Recorded
- Scheduled
CREATIVE
- Arranged
- Acted
- Composed
- Created
- Customized
- Designed
- Developed
- Directed
- Established
- Fashioned
- Founded
- Illustrated
- Invented
- Modeled
- Originated
- Performed
- Shaped
- Solved
TECHNICAL
- Adapted
- Applied
- Assembled
- Built
- Computed
- Debugged
- Designed
- Developed
- Engineered
- Installed
- Maintained
- Operated
- Programmed
- Remodeled
- Solved
- Standardized
- Tested
- Upgraded
Scope Statements
When developing your resume, you can really set yourself apart from others by writing strong summaries of your duties at past and current employment or volunteer positions. Use scope statements to describe what you did at each job or volunteer position. You may feel that your experience is limited or unrelated and that it’s not worth describing your tasks in detail; however, oftentimes we are actually gaining and using transferable skills without even realizing it.
Focus on including the following components in your descriptions:
- Task: Identify the day-to-day activities you were expected to complete.
- Skill: Decide which transferable skills you used to perform the tasks.
- Outcome: State the outcome of the task.
Even in your part-time and volunteer jobs, you’ve gained many applicable transferable skills, take a look:
- Interacted with customers (Task) by listening carefully (Skill) to answer questions about store products (Outcome).
- Sold store merchandise (Task) by upselling product benefits (Skill) to meet daily sales goals (Outcome).
- Handled cash (Task) accurately in a busy environment (Skill) to ensure store till was balanced before closing (Outcome).
Accomplishment Statements
Accomplishment statements are highly favored by employers because they provide tangible evidence as to what you can bring to the workplace and substantiate the skills or competencies you present on your resume. Accomplishment statements also demonstrate why you would be the best candidate for the position and can be used by employers to help differentiate you when compared to other applicants who have may have had similar experiences.
Start by brainstorming the tasks and activities you performed well in your past or current experience. Typically, these are characterized by occasions where you recognized a problem or a situation that could have been improved, you acted or responded to it, and it resulted in recognition or a positive outcome. When thinking about each experience, ask yourself the following question: How was my performance measured in this position and what value did I bring to this workplace or organization?
It can be helpful to list your experiences to date (work, volunteer, education, academic projects, assignments, and presentations) and identify achievements for each of these. Think of significant contributions, individual or group projects, recognition received from a formal performance review, or informally from coworkers, team members, customers, professors, and supervisors. Accomplishments can also include awards or any contributions you made that had a positive impact on your workplace.
Reflection Questions
What are your accomplishments? Ask yourself these questions:
- Have you received praise from managers, supervisors, instructors, or clients?
- Have you ever been assigned a task that you could do better than others
- Have you ever been asked to train anyone?
How did you distinguish yourself or set yourself apart in your last job? What did you do to show your initiative? - When did you go above and beyond your job duties to complete a task and/or satisfy a customer?
- Have you ever been promoted, recognized, awarded, or thanked by your coworkers?
- How did your work affect the strategic business operations?
Source
Dilgert, E., & Weatherhead, N. (2021). Career guide for health and wellness office administrative professionals. Conestoga College.