Using Keywords To Find Jobs

Keying in on Key Words

key word
n
1. a word that is used as a pattern to decode an encrypted message
2. a significant word used in indexing or cataloging –http://dictionary.babylon.com/key%20word

Synonym: Buzz Words

As job hunting becomes more computerized, so too does candidate selection. About ten years ago, Raytheon picked Resumix software to scan the 800+ résumés per day that flowed in. If Resumix didn’t find the key words from the job posting in the résumé, the résumé was relegated to the circular file–even if it was submitted by the Albert Einstein of that particular job niche.

That trend, of using software to screen résumés, has grown exponentially since then. Most people, even upper management, have absolutely no idea how to create a résumé which navigates safely through the mine field of 21^st. century hiring systems including:

• Applicant Tracking Systems such as Taleo, Kenexa, and PeopleClick
• HR Sourcers who locate and screen candidates for contract work (also known as a “job shop”)
• HR Screeners who conduct pre-employment skill assessments.

As a result, most people are guessing at how to write an effective résumé and, unfortunately, they are guessing wrong. They don’t know how to use keyword search engines or how to market (advertise) their skills to the hiring manager.

A recent survey by an upscale recruiting website found that based on best practices, the majority of 26,000 résumé submissions by upper level management professionals was falling into the “black hole:” being screened out by résumé software and not even making it to the desk of the hiring manager.

As of this year, well over 80% of all résumés are filtered by software sorter prior to ever landing on the desk of a living, breathing human being. Your goal, as a job seeker, is to satisfy that software’s need for key words and get onto the desk of the hiring authority.

How do you spot key words?

1. Look at job postings on websites (e.g., Monster.com or JobsintheMoney.com). Track the words which are duplicated from ad to ad.
2. On the hiring company’s website, look for their key values under the mission statement or the annual report. Reflect those values in your résumé.
3. Read industry specific journals to spot buzz words. If you don’t know the meaning, look them up on Babylon.com or Merriam.com.
4. Attend meetings. Log onto websites of relevant professional organizations. Look and listen for buzz words. Check out their online job posting website to cull more words—and to apply to the ads!
5. Locate and join online discussion groups, blogs, and chat rooms. Observe and utilize the industry terms which professionals use.
6. Are you working with a recruiter or headhunter? The recruiter can be an excellent source of key words. (Recruiters often specialize: you need to find someone in your niche. Check Oya’s Directory of Recruiters at http://www.i-recruit.com/index.html. Note: it is more important for you to have a recruiter who knows your field rather than one who is in your neighborhood. Simply because the recruiter lives in another state does not mean that you are moving there any time soon.)
7. The Occupational Outlook Handbook, a government publication available at your library or online (http://www.bls.gov/OCO/), gives relevant key words.
8. Read news stories in journals relevant to your work and in cutting-edge business magazines, such as Fast Company.
9. Babylon.com offers a number of dictionaries for specific employment categories such as Business (http://dictionary.babylon.com/business). There are dictionaries for the arts, IT, science and health. You can download glossaries and then keep track of key words that apply to your career.

Use the key words in multiple formats. If the posting asks for a person who is “organized,” use the words “organized,” organizer” and “organize” within your résumé. Use acronyms and spell out the term, for instance, use “Customer Relationship Management” as well as “CRM” in different locations on your résumé. The more often a word comes up, the more likely your résumé is to be selected by the software for review by a boss. Try to use any key words at least three times between your résumé and cover letter. Don’t parrot back the job posting but do present how you have accomplished that particular requirement.

Where you employ key words is nearly as important as how many times you use that term. Using the most important key words in the first line or two of each job description on your résumé is critical. The software will often rank not only how many times the key words appear but actually weight their appearance based on their location in your cover letter and résumé. Near the top? Extra credit! Near the bottom? Not good.

Remember that there are multiple locations within your résumé where you can load up on key words. The first section should be at the top of your résumé and is called “Summary of Qualifications,” “Professional Profile” or “Unique Skills and Traits.” Here you should list both hard skills as well as soft skills. Instead of listing laconic bullets (“Strong Team Building Skills”), give an example of an accomplishment which ties into the key word.

• Solid team-building skills, demonstrated by assembling Babcock’s tax auditing team from the ground up to service Babcock International’s 7,600 offices worldwide.

Under “Professional Experience,” infuse each job description with the key words in the job posting.

Lead with your high card first: if your title is more recognizable than is the company for which you worked, lead with your job title, not your employer.

If the job posting requires a degree in accounting and a CPA license, list those up front under “Education and Licenses” or “Education and Training.” It’s permissible to list CPA more than once:

Jennifer Jones, CPA

127 Numbers Court                                                   Telephone: (321) 456-7890

Cape Canaveral, Florida 32920                                    Email:       jjones@dev.com

Career Objective: Senior Financial Executive or Senior Accounting Manager

Summary of Qualifications:

• Certified Public Accountant—State of Florida
• Solid team-building skills, demonstrated by assembling Babcock’s tax auditing team from the ground up to service Babcock International’s 7,600 offices worldwide.
• Savvy in working and coordinating with global subsidiaries.
• Conducted a symposia series to instruct staff on Hyperion and ERP, demonstrating their value in this business environment.
• Initiated and completed organizational re-engineering resulting in leaner, more profitable structure.

Education and Licenses

CPA—State of Florida. Annual Continuing Education to maintain CPA standing includes “Cash Management,” “Thinking Outside the Box,” and “Annual Accounting and Auditing Update.”

UCLA, Masters in Business Administration (MBA). Los Angeles, California.

UCLA, B.A in Business Administration with minor in Accounting.

Professional Experience:

Babcock International: Accounting Manager

• Recruited to re-engineer organizations and operations, saving $25,000 per year while improving efficiency by 15%.

• Serve as a key member of the management team who ensures timely and accurate reporting and forecasting and provides effective financial analysis to support decision making.
• Worked effectively in with the management team to drive higher growth and profitability.
• Manage and direct the accounting and finance staff.

• Motivated a team in this manufacturing environment to produce quality materials under tight time frames, pressure and deadlines while simultaneously managing several other teams.
• Understand, implement, and maintain standard costing practices.
• Develop, approve and maintain accounting controls.
• Control general ledger closing and opening balances, and maintenance.
• Supervise and analyze all areas of accounting and finance.
• Implemented software for accounting, payroll and manufacturing departments. (2005-present)

IBM: Senior Internal Auditor

• Operated managerial and financial audits of manufacturing companies.
• Implemented ERP and accounting systems including advanced Excel to streamline operations.
• Presented symposia to accounting team on Hyperion and ERP, demonstrating their value in this environment.
• Implemented audit programs to check the effectiveness of all aspects of accounting measures.
• Taught and supervised staff auditors in all features of the audit engagement.
• Assisted corporate management in acquisition and commercial development. (2001-2005)

Excellent references available upon request.

The very fictional Ms. Jones has prepared herself for a career with mobility ever upward and salary ever expanding. You can prepare for a career as a Certified Public Accountant with CPAexcel.

There is a difference between accountants and CPAs: CPAs command higher salaries and have greater opportunities for upward mobility within an organization.

As an accountant, the career track which progresses upward at a faster rate is labeled “CPA.”  In many firms, you hit the ceiling and progress no further if you do not become a CPA. Progressing from being an accountant to becoming a CPA offers greater opportunities for promotion to management and higher salaries.

Here are three examples of career paths for an accountant and for a CPA who have the same education and experience:

Scenario 1: Two people in the same situation

Location: Austin, Texas

Graduates of/Degree: University of Texas, BA

Employer: Public Accounting in Austin

Size of firm: 50

Years of work experience: 2

On average, the CPA makes $10,000 more per year than the accountant.

Scenario 2: Two people in the same situation

Location: Los Angeles, CA

Graduates of/Degree: UCLA, BA

Employer: Public Accounting in Westwood, a suburb of Los Angeles, CA

Size of firm: 50

Years of work experience: 5

On average, the CPA makes $18,000 more per year than the accountant.

Scenario 3: Two people in the same situation

Location: Boston, MA

Graduates of/Degree: Harvard, BA

Employer: Public Accounting in Boston

Managing a team of: 25

Years of work experience: 15

On average, the CPA makes $25,000 more per year than the accountant.

Difference between top salary for CPA and for accountant: $45,000+.

Source: Payscale.com

Interested in career as a Certified Public Accountant? Here are a few more details:

Each of the jurisdictions (including US states and territories) which offers the CPA Exam has its own qualifications for sitting for the exam. In California, the requirements are:

• A bachelor’s degree;
• 24 semester units in accounting-related subjects;
• 24 semester units in business-related subjects;
• 150 semester units (or 225 quarter units) of education;
• Passing the Uniform CPA Exam;
• One year of general accounting experience supervised by a CPA with an active license; and
• Passing an ethics course.– http://www.calcpa.org/Content/licensure/requirements.aspx

Logging 500 hours of attest or auditing experience will allow you to obtain the authority to sign attest reports.

How do you become a CPA? While you could buy books and study on your own, but you’d be missing several key learning modules featured in CPAexcel, a CPA Exam review course.

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