Career Development Social Media The Resume

HOW TO: Use Wordle to Focus Your Resume and Get the Interview

Wordle is a toy for generating “word clouds” from text that the user provides. The clouds give greater prominence to words that appear more frequently in the source text.  Some of you probably already know where I’m going with this but for those who are still scratching your head, let me explain.

The Importance of Online Search

More than ever, online search has become increasingly important for marketing.  Think about it – when you want to buy something, who still opens up the yellow pages?  When looking for a job, who still looks in the Sunday classified ads (don’t admit it if you do)?  Recruiters use key words when searching for candidates on places like LinkedIn but they also use key words when parsing resumes they receive in their applicant tracking systems.  Thus, using the right key words is critical when creating a resume so that you create an effective ad that appeals to employers, targets the needs of the position, and passes the screening process.  Key words are also just as important in your online bios and experience sections on places like LinkedIn so that you improve how searchable you are for the targeted industries or positions for which you are branding yourself.

How to Use Wordle to Focus Your Resume and Get the Interview

Wordle is a great tool to use to cut and paste the text of a job description to create a word cloud.  Because Wordle gives greater prominence to words that appear more frequently in the source text, it will provide an accurate visual of the key words used most often in the text of a job advertisement providing clues on what key words should be emphasized in the resume to match the job ad.  Considering the hundreds and thousands of resumes recruiters get from candidates, job seekers need any advantage they can get.  Wordle is one tool that can be applied to the job search which most people would not have considered.  Try making a word cloud of a job description and see how much it helps to discover the most prominent key words so you can focus your resume and stand out to get the job interview.

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