Job hunting today revolves mostly around the mysterious use of keywords. Whether you are a candidate looking for a job or a company looking for candidates to fill a job opening, the importance of keywords cannot be ignored.

Let’s take the first scenario. You are a job seeker looking for your dream job. You are most likely using the Internet to do so. Statistics reveal that almost 90% of job seekers search for jobs online. Now, there are 2 basic ways to do this: 1. Search for jobs online and apply 2. Upload your resume and companies find you.

If you’re looking for a job that’s right for you, it’s important to type in the right keywords for an effective search. Keywords are basically nouns that describe skills or job specifications and titles. They are usually buzzwords and industry jargon. So when you’re looking for a job in a particular field, make sure you’re aware of the buzzwords.

Most job search sites offer multiple search levels. They allow their visitors to search not only based on skill set (although this is always the main criteria), but also offer criteria such as location, years of experience, company, salary package, etc. Use these parameters to filter the ideal job that fits your needs.

If you’re submitting your resume, make sure it’s searchable by keyword. Recruiters always search for the candidate’s resume through keywords. They search resume databases for various open positions using specific keywords. Does this mean you need to customize your resume for each job? Ideally yes. If your resume doesn’t have the keywords included enough times, it’s likely they won’t show up when searched and will therefore be filtered out.

But how do you know which keywords to incorporate? How do you know what words the person on the other end would be typing? While there’s no foolproof way to get the exact list of keywords, the answer is often found in the job ad itself! Scan the ad and use the same words and jargon they have used. This is the safest and most prudent way to ensure that you will not make a mistake.

Once you know the keywords, the next crucial step is to integrate them effectively. It is a common belief that search engines look for keywords in the first 100 words of the document. But technology is developing rapidly and it is wise to include the keywords throughout your resume.

Ideally, upload the first part of your resume with the relevant keywords. You can call it your ‘Profile’, ‘Summary’ or ‘Introduction’. However, make sure that these keywords are also used where possible in the rest of the resume sections. This will ensure that you are searched for and that it doesn’t appear as if you put in the keywords just for the fun of it. Also, remember that this online search engine is only the preliminary round. In later stages, there will be humans reviewing your resume in detail. Then you definitely don’t want to get eliminated! Another reason is that most search applications give importance to Keyword Density, that is, how many times the keyword is used throughout the document.

Ideally, you should create custom resumes for each job you apply for. But this is practically not possible. Therefore, it is wise to have a basic resume skeleton and tweak certain elements and words here and there to incorporate the required keywords to suit specific job openings.