Step 12: Distribution

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In this step, you will: 

• Learn how to use keywords to increase your chances of being selected as a candidate for the job
• Learn how to save your resume in different types of file formats

​Keywords
Like it or not, keywords are used to find resumes uploaded to employer jobsites and online job boards. Keywords provide the information from which to search for a resume in a database that connects job searchers with employers for specific jobs. 

Keywords describe your knowledge and experiences and make the connection from you to the position you are pursuing. Your job search research should have identified possible words that will connect your skills and accomplishments to the job you want. The best keywords are nouns such as "Manager" in place of “managed” or “managing” or terms that are specific to the field such as "Systems Analysis" in place of “analyzed systems”.  

What makes a good keyword?

• Nouns and phrases that highlight technical and professional areas of expertise
• Industry-related terminology
• Project titles
• Achievements
• Special task force or committee work
• Other distinctive features about your work history related to the position you are pursuing

You should wait until you have finished writing your resume before you insert your keywords section. Think of all the words an employer would use to search for your position or skills. Place your keyword section after your objective or as the final section of your resume. You may integrate the keywords you have identified into the text of your resume similar to how websites use SEO (Search Engine Optimization).

​Keyword Summary Example for a Systems Analyst
Systems Analysis. Systems Integration. Network Administration. Database Administration. Systems Administration. Troubleshooting Computing Systems. C++. Visual Basic. SQL. UNIX Shell Script. Windows. MS DOS. Windows XP. TCP/IP. OSI. Microsoft LAN Manager. Novell Netware. Project Management. Trade Studies. Consulting. BETA Tester. Technical Presentations. Sales Presentations. Instructor. BS Degree. Mathematics and Computer Science.

Distribution
Many employers are adamant about accepting resumes in certain formats only. Some employers will ask you to copy and paste your resume within the body of an email. You should save your resume in different formats so that you will have them ready when you need to send it rather than having to put it together at the last minute. You should send your resume to yourself both as an attachment and in the body of the email so you can view the final version that the employer would receive. In this way, you will know if the resume is formatted correctly and is readable rather than scrambled which may cause an employer to simply delete your email. (You don’t want that to happen!)

You should have one version of your resume that is stripped of special formatting that may not translate for applications that require you to cut and paste your resume. Some job board sites will advise you if you need to remove special formatting from your resume.

Specials formats that you will need to change or remove are:
Bullets. Change bullets to either asterisks (*) or hyphens (-) at the beginning of each line
Numbering. Change automatic numbering to either asterisks (*) or hyphens (-) at the beginning of each line
Lines. Change lines to a series of dashes to separate sections (--------------------)
Bold Text. Change bold text to ALLCAPS instead
Italicized Text. Change italicized text to plain text
Underlined Text. Change underlined text to plain text
Highlighted Text. You shouldn’t have any highlighted text; nonetheless, you will need to remove it

Another format you may want to consider is saving your resume in Rich Text Format using the extension “.rtf.” This format is accepted because of its compatibility across word processing software. Usually the employer or the job board site will indicate if you need to save your resume in Rich Text Format.

​You may as well keep a version of your resume already saved as rtf so it’s one less thing to do when applying for jobs. To save your resume as Rich Text Format, simply select “Save As” and select Rich Text Format as your file type from the drop-down list selections (e.g., janedoeresume.rtf).

You’re all set! Let’s look at other ways to sell yourself. Yep, you read that right. Go sell yourself.