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The Importance of Keywords in Your CV

Modern software determines the strength of a candidate based upon the keyword density (or amount of keywords) contained within a CV. Therefore subtly, and in context, drop appropriate keywords into your CV. For instance if you are in ‘technical sales’ place the words ‘technical’, ‘sales’ and ‘technical sales’ throughout your CV. However, remember it must be subtle and in context so that it isn’t cluttered and preposterous – many employers still place a very high value on the correct use of grammar!

Refining your CV is just one important part of the wider job search, you may want to see our Job Search Preparation Guide.

You must use common job titles as these are what recruiters/hirers commonly use to find you. You may have been ‘Area Support & Development Manager’ in your last role but more commonly that would be a ‘Regional Manager’; a ‘Business Enabling Consultant’ would be a ‘Sales Executive’, etc. Use synonyms of your job title within your CV, i.e. if you were a National Account Manager try and use the term NAM somewhere within your role description and responsibilities.

Incorporating keywords

It may sound strange but you need to look at your CV from the other side of the interview table. i.e. if you are in publishing or advertising sales the most common string that someone will use to find you will be ‘media sales’. You should therefore include the word media, and ideally the exact string ‘media sales’, somewhere within your CV.

It is common for an IT programmer or Web Developer to commence their CV with a table of skills (they’ve known of the importance of keywords within CVs for a long time!) Do the same as it gives you ‘carte blanche’ to list a whole set of keywords in context. This tool can be seen in practice below:

Core Skills include:

Business Planning and Research

New Business Development

Sales Training

Sales Presentations

Event Management

Relationship Management

Sales and Marketing Management

Pre-Sales

Technical Selling and Solution Sales

Account Management including Managing Key Accounts

Public Speaking and Corporate Presentations

Bids, Tenders and Writing Winning Proposals

Communication and Public Relations

This also allows you to use the words ‘manager’, ‘management’ ‘managing’ and has high keyword density for core skills such as ‘sales’, ‘marketing’ account management’, etc. Making a list of all of the sales training that you have received is another good way to get the keywords legitimately loaded into your CV (in context) and could also utilise key industry terminology. If you are familiar in the art of Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) then this approach will not be alien to you. For the rest of us it is a skill we need to acquire to ensure that our CV hits the ‘top of the pile’.

CV Topics

Published: 16th August 2018

About the author: Robert Scott

Rob Scott, Managing Director, Aaron Wallis

Rob is the Managing Director of Aaron Wallis Sales Recruitment, a national recruitment agency specialising in sourcing sales and marketing staff for businesses across a broad range of commercial sectors. Before setting up Aaron Wallis, Rob spent ten years at a specialist Sales and Marketing recruitment division of a £0.5BN recruitment group, leaving in 2007 as Marketing & Sales Director to establish Aaron Wallis.

With over 20 years experience in recruitment, Rob is a History graduate with an MBA (Merit) and a PgCert in Management Practice. In 2007, 2009 and 2013 Rob conducted the most extensive surveys of sales professionals in the UK and is a trusted authority in the sales industry. From guiding employers through the recruitment process to helping candidates find their dream job, Rob's advice has been quoted in leading publications such as Business Insider and The Independent, as well as OnRec, who host The Online Recruitment Awards every year.

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