3 Tips to Creating a Searchable Job Resume

Millions of Americans have found themselves out of work these past few months. With so many qualified candidates flooding the online job boards, it might feel impossible for your profile to rise to the top. However, a few tweaks to your resume can make all the difference in how often it appears in an employer’s search. Here are three tips to help you create a searchable job resume profile.

Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is not a phrase you often hear regarding resumes, but it is important. Using common phrases and words that are often used on job boards will help your resume pop up when an employer is hiring. There are three things to remember:

• Repetition—use phrases often used in job postings you’re interested in throughout your resume.
• Placement—place keywords at the beginning of your resume, possibly under your summary section, as search engines value keywords that show up earlier rather than later.
• Showcase—use action adverbs/adjectives in front of your keywords to show-off your accomplishments. Resumes must be accomplishment-driven, not task-driven.

Go onto various job boards and look at what keywords are used the most often. Specifically, look out for these areas:

• Job Title—Example: If “Admin Assistant” shows up in more searches than “Administrative Assistant,” change the title in your resume to fit the most searched word
• Skills or Tools—Example: “Microsoft Office” might be a bigger hitter than “Microsoft Word”
• Locations—Example: Listing your location as “TX” versus “Texas”

While it is always ideal to have a regular, print format version of your resume for employers, it is better for SEO if the resume you post online is in a different format. You’ll need a text-based resume (.txt or .html) for most online postings. This helps with SEO, allowing potential employers to see your resume first.

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