Resume' keywordese

There are also some words that can detract from the overall effectiveness of your resume. For one thing, you don't want to use confusing jargon or vague phrases. Clichés are out too.

Unless you're trying to convey your ability to function as an integral part of a team, words like assisted, contributed, and supported are not going to be very effective.

These words basically say you helped, but not how. If you must use these words, follow them with a more complete description of your role.

Successfully is another meaningless resume key word. Rather than using it, give concrete examples of your accomplishments that prove your success at your past jobs.

The phrase, "responsible for", takes up unnecessary space on your resume and should be avoided. Besides, your resume is the place to list your accomplishments, not your job duties or responsibilities.

You also need to avoid "flowery" speech and words. By trying too hard to sound intelligent or "in the know," you may convince your reader of just the opposite or even worse, confuse them.

The key is to say what you mean, plainly and simply, using powerful action words. Stick to these resume key word rules and you can't go wrong!

Be sure to customize your profession/executive summary and bulleted list(s) with keywords that match the job for which you are applying.

Make sure the keywords in the executive summary and bulleted qualifications and achievements replicate those in the job posting. Keep in mind that keywords alone are not enough. State-of-art ATS technology relies on contextualization as well. Therefore, be sure to always frame keywords with descriptive material that demonstrates experience and familiarity with the subject.

Always avoid misspellings. A misspelled keyword is a keyword that the ATS will miss, and thus lower your ranking.

Some people may think that what's important about Linkedin is all about what you yourself can accomplish - like large numbers of followers. But, if that is what you think, you are mistaken. Linkedin is not first-and-foremost about YOUR VALUE and about what YOUR VALUE can accomplish for you. Amazingly, it is what the VALUE of OTHER PEOPLE can accomplish FOR YOU.

Let me give you a real-life example that you can actually test. Let's say, for example, you needed to get in touch with Gov. Jerry Brown in Sacramento, CA. The last thing you would be thinking about is connecting on Linkedin with someone in South Florida...me. But, the truth is, if you were to connect with me, Lamar Morgan, on Linkedin, you would be just two degrees away from Gov. Jerry Brown. And, why is that? Because I am connected on Linkedin to Marty Keller, the Small Business Advocate for the State of California.

What you do to connect with Gov. Brown is to first connect with me via my Linkedin Group, Givers Gain. Once you have connected with me, you request I introduce you to Marty Keller. Should Marty Keller agree to connect with you as a result of my introduction, you can proceed to make a connection with Gov. Jerry Brown by making the request of Marty.

Do you need to become a "mover-and-shaker" in the business or political world? Use the second degree of separation on Linkedin to make that magic happen.

When I was first introduced to word clouds it was not for the purpose of creating a word cloud to actually show off. It was simply to help me find the right keywords to use in a resume' to get passed HR scanners or applicant tracking software programs. This is pretty much guess-work so far as success is concerned. Who really wants to do a lot of work and only HOPE to be successful? There has to be a better way than preparing every single resume' with its own unique set of keywords to hopefully satisfy the requirements of a software program.

I have decided instead to Google "buzzwords" for my industry and combine them as I feel appropriate in a word cloud that is colorful and sits in the second box section of my resume' and also sits atop in my email to prospective employers. To create word clouds, I use Wordle.

By the way, I no longer send out paper resumes' at all to anyone. From now on, my resume' is accessed via my Linkedin profile in my BoxNet app. It is accessed as a free download. The way BoxNet works, whenever my resume' is downloaded I receive an email alert. If you would like to see what a resume looks like with a colorful word cloud near the top of it, visit my Linkedin profile and look in the BoxNet area for Lamar Morgan's Resume'. It's a free download.