
It is no secret that finding a job has become more challenging since the COVID-19 pandemic. With millions of people struggling with reduced hours, furloughed, or newly unemployed, the job market is saturated with qualified candidates and open positions are attracting higher volumes of applications than ever before. An impactful, attention grabbing CV with the right content is a critical tool for success.
But with so much competition, you might be asking yourself – how can my CV stand out and be noticed?
Keywords. One of the most important and influential features in your CV, and your formula for success. CV Writing just isn't complete without this.
In our increasingly automated world, many recruiters and most large companies use electronic software to filter applications, manage CVs and search for candidates. This genius software is called an Applicant Tracking System (ATS) and works similarly to online robots for search engines.
An ATS cleverly scans for specific keywords in a CV to ensure it meets the criteria for a job. One way it does this is by comparing keywords in your CV to a pre-set list of keywords in a job description.
If your CV doesn’t have these keywords, it’s probably not reaching the shortlist.
It might be disheartening to know that each application isn’t given one on one attention; but when a recruiter has potentially hundreds of CVs to sift through (many of which are often not suitable), speed and efficiency is key.
An ATS means a recruiter’s shortlist has only the most relevant candidates on it because it has already been automatically pre-screened by the time it hits their desk.
Even if your prospective employer isn’t using an ATS, keywords are an essential tool. Studies have shown that a hiring manager will scan a CV and make an initial decision on whether to read further within 7 seconds.
Speed reading, humans are evolved to be drawn to the most relevant content and prioritize more informative parts of a text, while glossing over the rest.
We’ve all opened a book in a store, to read the first paragraph and see whether it passes our interest test before we buy it. This is no different - it’s human nature.
When your CV has a limited timeframe to pass a review test, using the correct keywords grabs the recruiter’s attention and lets them know it’s worthwhile to keep reading.
So, what are keywords and how can you make them work for you?
Keywords are job related words and phrases – they tend to be focused on hard skills such as position titles, software, qualifications and tools specific to the industry you are applying for.
If you are unsure of the best keywords to use, take a look through a few job descriptions, and you’ll start to see keywords and requirements which are used over and over again.
For tech positions, keywords might be specific coding languages, whilst for marketing roles that might mean terms such as “B2B” or “Campaign Management”.
Use these words and phrases in your CV as often as possible without going overboard. Evenly distribute them throughout to bring to the recruiter's attention that you have had these skills throughout your career.
An example of a keyword loaded sentence:
“Qualified and ambitious Software Quality Engineer with extensive experience in Java programming and scripting languages Perl and Shell Script.”
Another example: “Digital Marketing Executive with a track record in content creation, social media, SEO, marketing automation and conversion rate optimisation.
You can see in both the keywords an ATS might be searching for are highlighted in bold.
Soft skills and self-describing words such as “hardworking” and “team player” are
great, but they are not useful as keywords.
If an ATS scanned thousands of CVs for words such as “ambitious” or “motivated”, it would bring up every man and his dog. So, it searches for job specific words like the ones in my examples above. That search result contains the most relevant CVs, the ones that go to shortlist.
When I coach candidates on using keywords, I often see a moment of realisation when they realise how this will work for them.
“That seems so obvious! I can’t believe it’s this simple.”
And there is no satisfaction greater than when they get in touch letting me know their new CV is getting them loads of calls for interviews.
Because keywords work. As someone who has scanned thousands of CVs, I can’t stress this enough. They work.
Using keywords frequently and effectively in your CV will mean that your CV is prioritised in searches, easier to read (which a recruiter will silently thank you for) and will be at the top of the pile - every, single, time.
Whilst keywords are vital, don’t blindly list them for the sake of it. Be honest, and only mention skills you actually have.
I’ve heard of candidates listing keywords hidden in white text to trick the system, but many Applicant Tracking Systems are designed to bypass sneaky tactics with algorithms.
Remember that even if you do beat the ATS, your CV will eventually be screened by a human being who will quickly suss out that you are in fact, not a Java programming expert.
If you are still struggling for inspiration, there are online platforms designed to scan your CV against a job description and identify keywords. These can be a fantastic start to optimising your CV but do ultimately use your own judgement – as no one knows your skills better than you do!
Having keyword knowledge will give you the edge over a candidate that is not aware of it.
There is no denying that using keywords does mean taking a little extra time to tailor your CV to each job application, but you will quickly see, it is well worth your effort.
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