Building a resume that accounts for SEO, or Search Engine Optimization, and keywords can be intimidating if you aren’t already familiar with the concepts. While the words are often considered specialized jargon commonly associated with online marketing, they really aren’t as technical as they sound. 

First, SEO and keywords are not the same thing. Rather, keywords play an important part in SEO. That is, keywords are the words or phases that you type into a search engine like Google in order to cue it to pull up information about that topic. For example, you might do a Google search using the keywords “job openings, hotels, Chicago.” 

SEO is using specific keywords when creating website content –or a resume—that increases the chances of that website or resume ranking higher than others when a search is performed for those keywords. In other words, hotels in Chicago write the “careers” portion of their websites to specifically include words and phrases like “job openings,” “jobs,” and “housekeeping” so that their website will hopefully rank among the top 10 or 20 when a Google user performs a search for “job openings, hotels, housekeeping.” 

This may not seem important when you’re thinking about it as a job seeker scouring the Internet for job openings. But it does matter when you’re writing your resume. 

Today, most hiring managers and recruiters use Applicant Tracking Software, or ATS, to scan incoming resumes for keywords in order to eliminate those that aren’t deemed relevant. 

Most resumes have to make it past the system before actual humans ever see them. Remember that you’re writing your resume for computer software first and foremost. In fact, you’re writing your resume with SEO in mind.

So including keywords in your resume isn’t optional. It’s essential. But first, you need to know what those keywords are.  A good starting point is the Hcareers article about “The Most Important Keywords to Include on Your Hospitality Resume.”

But don’t rely entirely on this Hcareers list. You should also search for job openings for the specific position that you’re seeking.

If you’re looking for a job as a front desk agent, read at least four or five different posts for openings for the position. Note the words or phrases that tend to repeat in each job description as well as in the job requirements. 

So if “assigning rooms,” “strong communication skills” and “excellent customer service skills” appear in several of the job posts that you view, you’ve found the keywords that you need to include in your resume. Also, be sure to note similar words or phrases used to say the same thing, like “delivers great guest service” instead of “excellent customer service skills.” 

Another way to go is to use the Jobscan Resume Optimization Tool. Paste your resume into one text box and then paste the job description into the other text box and hit “scan” to find out what the keywords are that you should include in your resume for that particular job opening. 

Once you’ve identified which words and phrases are must-haves in your resumes, you’ll want to use them where they make sense. In other words, use them in a logical context; don’t force them. Using keywords in an artificial context will not cause an ATS system to rank your resume higher. It could actually have the opposite effect. 

Likewise, overusing keywords when it isn’t necessary will also not improve your ranking with an ATS system. Certainly, there are times when you may have performed the same task at multiple jobs, which would warrant using the same phrasing to describe the work on your resume. But try to tweak phrasing to keep it from being too repetitive. 

Where you do need to repeat phrases, try to break it up a bit by using some of those alternative phrases that you found in a few of the job postings that you reviewed. If you’re last three hotel jobs required you “deliver great guest service,” use that wording in conjunction with one of those past jobs. For another job, you might have a bullet to say that your “excellent customer service skills resulted in an employee of the month recognition.” 

You should also find a balance between the length of your resume and your use of keywords. Once your resume is vetted by an actual person, he or she is not likely going to read your resume from start to finish.

So writing a long resume for the sake of using keywords isn’t going to benefit you either. Keep it to the point and if some of your previous jobs are more relevant to the position for which you’re applying, highlight those experiences and focus on using keywords there while minimizing the text dedicated to past jobs that are less relevant. 

There is another hack to the process of including keywords on your resume. You should have some sort of “Career Objective” section at the top of your resume, under your name and contact information. This is where you’ll want to use the title of the job for which you’re applying. 

It is very likely that an ATS has been programmed to scan resumes for the specific job title and if you don’t have a previous position with this job title, your resume could be omitted. Similarly, a “Career Objective” section could also include some of the other keywords used in the job ad. 

Incorporating the right keywords into your resume may be a lot of time-consuming work, but if you want to give yourself the best possible shot at an interview, you’ll want to invest the time into optimizing your resume each time you submit it for a job opening.