Are you among the many who don’t listen, who think they know better, and who don’t bother studying best practices for presenting yourself on the job market?
Are you still using clichés or buzzwords like energetic, focused, passionate, motivated, and team player in your profiles?
I’m here to tell you. Don’t. You will likely and forever remain in the big black hole of the Applicant Tracking System (ATS). Never to be seen again.
Did you know that most resumes/CVs never make it past the initial screening?
The culprit?
Missing or incorrect keywords.
Applicant Tracking Systems (ATS) serve as gatekeepers, filtering candidates based on specific terms and phrases that match job requirements.
Ever wondered why you never get invited to a job interview?
If you are sure that you have relevant experience from a particular industry and functional area but still don’t get a call, I bet it’s all about your Resume or LinkedIn that has failed to impress.
You’re not alone.
In today’s competitive job market, having the right experience isn’t enough – how you present yourself matters just as much.
No job interview means no job offer!
Think of your resume and LinkedIn as your personal marketing document.
It needs to capture attention quickly and effectively communicate your value proposition.
Understanding ATS algorithms is crucial for profile optimization. T
These systems prioritize hard skills over soft skills, making technical expertise and industry experience essential keywords.
But what are keywords, actually?
Keywords are just words or phrases that recruiters use to find people on the Internet and in resume databases who have these particular keywords.
Keywords are typically hard skills and not soft skills.
- Hard skills examples: Regional, accounting, buyer, retail, supply chain, SAP.
- Soft skills examples: Creative, energetic, self-motivated, team player.
If your profile contains the keywords recruiters were looking for, your profile will appear in the search results. You are one step closer to getting a call or email.
You may be the next Einstein but without the keywords in your profiles that recruiters are looking for, oh well, the world will never know of your existence and brilliance.
Why do I need to fear the ATS?
The ATS is an application that manages the recruiting and hiring process.
International executive search firms and large multinational companies would have invested heavily in such software.
The ATS manages job postings and applications; it organizes and makes searchable information about applicants and candidates.
But the ATS is not necessarily your friend if you don’t understand the Artificial Intelligence algorithms working behind the scenes.
If you choose the right keywords in your Resume and online profile, you will increase your chances of getting noticed and then contacted by a recruiter.
Research into current buzzwords
Research of buzzwords from the last five years shows a major change from highlighting personal strengths to highlighting experience and skills instead.
The word “successful” is no longer a buzzword; it’s no longer a Top 10 keyword for the first time since 2015.
Interestingly, it’s now a word like “skilled” that has become popular.
A 2023 LinkedIn report on hiring trends revealed that over 70% of hiring companies prioritize technical skills, such as programming languages, project management, and data analysis, over soft skills or buzzwords.
The preference is shifting toward candidates who can prove they have the hard skills and hands-on abilities needed for the role rather than relying on generic, self-promoting soft skills.
Another 2023 study by Jobvite found that nearly 60% of recruiters consider a candidate’s past work experience to be the most important factor in assessing their fit for a role.
When candidates focus on quantifiable achievements—such as sales growth percentages, successful projects, or problem-solving examples—rather than overused phrases like “team player” or “go-getter,” they stand out more.
Example of wrong and correct use of hard skills
Experience in context shows what a candidate has actually done, making it a more reliable indicator of future performance.
So, remove vague buzzwords that add little value and are typically used by thousands of other candidates.
Recruiters are not searching for these words anyway. Here are two examples, one wrong and one correct way of writing:
- Wrong: Hardworking and highly motivated executive with strong management skills and extensive experience leading cross-department teams.
- Correct: Managed a 7-member cross-functional team of product, engineering, supply chain and sales; coordinated with four other business partners to launch an e-commerce platform within only six months.
How do you find keywords?
A good start is to know what hiring companies and recruiters are looking for.
Do this.
Search for your chosen job description on the internet, for example: supply chain manager job description.
You will see lots of job ads from hiring companies that have posted their vacancies on job boards like Glassdoor, Indeed, Monster, etc.
Open each job description, scroll down to the position’s Job Requirements, copy this text, and paste it into a Word or Notepad. Do this for three to five job descriptions.
- What are the words all hiring companies are looking for?
- Which words are most often repeated?
- Then start analyzing.
If you wish to go the extra length, use a Word Cloud to help.
A Word Cloud is an image of the many words that are used in a particular text, like a job advertisement, in which the size of each word indicates its frequency or importance.
You can find almost too many free Word Cloud websites. Try to Google: Work Cloud Generator.
Remember: Your professional profiles are marketing tools. They need to clearly communicate your value proposition while incorporating the keywords that matter in your industry. Focus on demonstrating hard skills and concrete achievements rather than relying on soft skill descriptions.
This strategic approach to keyword optimization will significantly improve your visibility to recruiters and increase your chances of landing interviews in today’s competitive job market.
