Page 99 - Career Transitions Workbook - 2021

Exercise 9B – Using Keywords in Your Résumé

Estimated time: 45 minutes

Overview/Goals:

The goal of this exercise is to write keywords for each skill you have recorded on your Résumé
Worksheet. These keywords will be used to help you create a scannable résumé. When you enter
the workforce you may be one of several hundred applicants for a job. To speed up the hiring
process, employers scan each résumé into a computer. An employee enters into the computer a
group of keywords that meet the requirements of the job. Only résumés that meet the
requirements are selected for further examination. Your success depends on making your résumé
easy to scan and using the right keywords for the job you want.
For Evaluation Only

Instructions: ©2021 Learnovation®, LLC

1. Look at the skills and experiences listed in Exercise 9A. Fill in the Keywords for Résumé column
in the grids for Work Experience, Memberships, Awards, and Community Service/Volunteer
pages.

2. List as many keywords as you can. Enter a minimum of three keywords for each skill or

experience. Use your list of skills in Exercise 4 to expand the skills you listed on the job
application in Exercise 3.

3. Remember, you are brainstorming a list of keywords that describe your skills. When you
actually write your résumé, you won’t want to use all the keywords you write here. You will
need to narrow down your list of keywords to fit the needs of the employer. The keywords you
use on your résumé may change depending on the focus of the job you want.

Exercise 9B – Using Keywords in your Résumé 93