The 25 Best Keywords for You in Your Job Search - Build Your Personal SEO

By Susan P. Joyce

A CareerBuilder study released in August 2018 revealed that employers are less likely to contact an applicant they cannot find online because they "expect candidates to have an online presence."

Clearly, being found online today is NOT optional if you want to have a successful career (and job search).

To be found, implement personal SEO ("search engine optimization"). 

Personal SEO requires that you create relevant web content, containing appropriate keywords, so that it ranks well when someone is searching for those keywords.

For most professionals, this means a complete LinkedIn Profile and consistent visibility inside LinkedIn. But, simply having a LinkedIn Profile is NOT enough unless you are paying attention to your keywords.

To be found, implementing effective personal SEO is a necessity.

Keywords Are the Key to Being Found in Search

The right keywords, most appropriate for you and your goals, are the foundation of successful personal SEO.

KEYWORDS: The terms used by searchers to find relevant content in a search engine, social network, applicant tracking system, or other database

Selection and placement of the right keywords is the core of effective SEO (search engine optimization). Use those terms in the right places in resumes, applications, and social media (especially LinkedIn) and you will be found.

Without the right keywords (for you), in the right places (LinkedIn Profile, resume, application), you are invisible online, and employers clearly do NOT like invisible job candidates.

Exact Keyword Match Is Usually Required

If a recruiter is searching for someone with experience in Microsoft Word, your name won't appear in search results unless your social profile or resume contain the exact term Microsoft Word. Microsoft Office, the product which includes Microsoft Word, is not a match. 

This means you will not be included in search results for the term Microsoft Word unless you also include that term in the documents.

Currently, most software is not programmed to make assumptions. If a job description requires experience with "Microsoft Word," most systems won't understand that a resume for someone who is "highly skilled with Microsoft Office products" meets that requirement because the exact term "Microsoft Word" is not included. 

Even if you have that experience or skill, you are invisible unless your social profile, application, or resume includes the term being searched.

Building Your Personal SEO with Your Best Keywords

Think like a recruiter filling the job you want next. How is that job described in job postings? What skills, tools, etc. are required?

Research how your target employers define your target job to determine your best keywords, as listed below.

Look through the list below and choose what is appropriate for you. Develop your keywords based on the following categories of information:

Keywords About You, Personally:

1. Your professional name

Most people don't think of their names as important keywords, but in these days of search engines and social media...

Your name is your most important set of keywords. Be consistent!

If your resume or business card is for "Edward J. Jones" but your LinkedIn Profile is for "Ed Jones" (or vice versa), you've made it difficult for a recruiter or employer to make the connection between the two, which most will need to do. Not having a LinkedIn Profile is a negative for most professionals, so using different names can damage opportunities for you.

You need to consistently use the same version of your name for your LinkedIn Profile, resumes, business/networking cards, professional email, meeting name tags and badges, and other visibility so recruiters doing research on you can "connect the dots" between you and your professional visibility. 

[Practice Defensive Googling, and read Your Most Important Keywords for more information on avoiding mistaken online identity and Personal Online Reputation Management for the new necessity today.]

2. Your location (or your target location)

According to LinkedIn, "More than 30% of recruiters use advanced search based on location."

Use the best location for you, but DO have a specific location because using a country is too generic. Not having a location will handicap you in most searches. If appropriate for your location, use both city and state plus regional names -- like Oakland, CA, and East Bay Area, or Manhattan and New York City -- so your profile is in the search results for either.

Do NOT provide your street address. At most, include the city and state. Read How to Safely Publish Your Contact Information on LinkedIn for important tips.

3. Your languages

If you speak more than one language, make it clear the languages that you can speak. Also indicate your level of proficiency -- from "native" through "basic" or "elementary" and whether you can read, write, and/or speak the languages. 

To demonstrate your skills in multiple languages, create a LinkedIn Profile in each of them. LinkedIn allows and encourages this, and it's a great way to gain attention for jobs requiring people who can speak and write in more than one language.

See all 25 Keywords and the complete job-hunt.org article