Mini-Course Day 1: The Google-Optimized Resume

A few months ago, I had the pleasure of interviewing two job recruiters on the east coast. I asked them a number of questions about how they use resumes in searching for the right applicants on the other side. I also attended some college seminars and diligently read through various career websites to see what they are teaching about the importance of a resume. The disparity between the two points of view might surprise you.

Because of the internet, and the ability to have access to countless resumes, it’s no longer a matter of going through resumes and trying to find the right one. It’s all about SEO, or Search Engine Optimization. Every recruiting agency and corporate recruiter uses software searching tools that enable them to search for special keywords for a particular job posting.

Take a minute and think about how many times a day you use Google or Yahoo to find information. If you are in the web business, it’s necessary for you to have some understanding of how various search engines work. You learn the importance of: keywords - the words people are searching; references - the number of people that are linking back to your site based on quality of source; and the quality of your content.

Keywords in your Resume:

A recruiter’s job is to match the right candidates to the right job position. Recruiters use software tools to search through thousands of resumes in their system or on websites such as Monster, CareerBuilder, or HotJobs. The primary goal of your resume when applying for job on the internet is including the right keywords to ensure that your resume is the top ranked when a recruiter performs their search.

This does not mean you should lie about the experience you have, because a recruiter’s second job is to be able to see through you and make sure you are honest! But if you want a particular job, make sure you back it up with clear and meaningful examples of successful experiences you have which pass the “so what?” test. I will cover ways of answering the “so what?” test in my system in more detail, and this is really one of the most important concepts you can learn in finding a job.

Some examples of keywords are technical words that apply to your job: In web development: PHP, MySql, ColdFusion, .Net, etc. In Project Management: SDLC, PMP, DSDM, Waterfall Methodology, etc. Keep in mind that these keywords change over time, so it is very important to stay current with your “career jargon” and keeping your resume up to date.

Job References:

The more high-quality references you have, the better.  The people who will be able to shed positive light on the kind of worker you are, are those you should use as a reference. So quick quiz:

If you are applying for a web developer position, whom should you put as a reference?

1) a highly-regarded college professor with a reputation in the business

2) the director of application development at a place where you were an intern

3) a friend for whom you built a sophisticated and complex website

4) a parents’ friend who is the CEO of a company who watched you grow up

Though all seem like correct answers, there is one that is better than the others! Sure, your college professor can tell them of how you compare to other students and your quality of work. And the CEO has an impressive title, but won’t a recruiter find it suspicious and deem the reference as biased? And your friend can tell them that you did a great job on the website, but does that person have anyone to compare you to? The correct answer is the director.

 

The director has the information the recruiter is looking for:

1) your abilities

2) your business acumen

3) and the kind of worker you are

 

Quality of Content

When I asked the president of a recruiting agency about the significance of a person’s resume, he responded that “a resume is just a simple marketing tool… it is intended to hook the recruiter’s attention enough to contact you for more details”. So make sure that the content in your resume is meaningful content, in that is reflects your best qualities, skills, interest, and most importantly, your potential. If you don’t have experience, don’t try to make it up. In some college courses, they tell you not to exceed one page for your resume. The reason why is because if you go more than a page, the information may be useless and the recruiter will be screaming “information overload” and overlook the important parts of your resume.

 

When you write your sentences about experience, give detailed information that the recruiter can use to understand what you did. For example, instead of saying:

“Created a mine-seeking robot for senior project”, elaborate and put some more skills and qualifications into your sentence. For example:

“Acted as the team leader in a team of 4 people and successfully programmed software and engineered a 3 foot in diameter, heat-seeking robot then presented to 60 person class in a 45 minute presentation and achieved a senior-project vision award for creativity.”

This sentence tells me that you:

· have programming and engineering skills, pretty complex if it’s heat-seeking

· tells me you work well in a team environment

· tells me you are successful

· and tells me you can make meaningful presentations to various groups of people like teachers, students, potential company bidders

So combine these three things in your resume: Keywords, Good References, and Quality Content, and you will surely show up higher on the recruiter’s search!