How to Find the Right Resume Keywords

The Importance of Resume Keywords

Keywords are the nouns and phrases that hiring managers use to search their applicant database. If your resume doesn't contain these keywords, it won't appear in their search results.

Where to Find Keywords

1. The Job Description: This is your cheat sheet. Look at the "Requirements" and "Responsibilities" sections. The nouns listed here are your primary keywords.

2. LinkedIn Profiles: Look at the profiles of people currently holding the role you want. What skills do they list? What terminology do they use?

3. Industry Job Boards: Scan multiple job descriptions for the same role across different companies to identify industry-standard keywords.

Where to Put Keywords in Your Resume

• Professional Summary: A great place to put core competencies.
• Skills Section: List hard skills, software, and certifications here.
• Work Experience: Incorporate keywords naturally into your bullet points, demonstrating how you applied the skill.

You can use our AI Resume Writer to automatically generate keyword-rich bullet points, test your draft in our ATS Resume Checker, and mirror those keywords across your profile with our LinkedIn Profile Optimizer.