Essential Resume Keywords for Those Seeking High Leadership Positions

SEO (or Search Engine Optimization) has become a cornerstone in the modern process of screening potential job candidates.  Taking this into consideration when preparing your résumé can greatly increase the chances of it landing in the hands of the right hiring manager.

How exactly, then, can executives and those seeking leadership positions be sure that their  résumé will not fall by the wayside, and rather into the right hands at a prospective employer?

Identifying and Putting Keywords to Use

Learning how to properly incorporate keywords will amplify your résumé’s SEO power. However, this process takes certain amount of research and knowledge — and although you may have ample expertise in your field — it’s important that executive job seekers are aware of the specific terms that will propel their résumés into the forefront.

Here is a list of the most commonly used keywords that employers seek in executive and high-management résumés. (Note that a “keyword” also refers to short phrases referring to the same skill, as seen below.)

1. Best practices & benchmarking
2. Bottom-line focus
3. Budgeting & finance
4. Business analysis
5. Consensus building & teaming
6. Corporate accountability
7. Corporate administration
8. Corporate strategizing
9. Crisis management
10. Decision-making
11. Financial strategic
12. Growth expansion
13. Industry / domain expertise
14. Joint ventures & alliances
15. Market positioning
16. Multi-site operations
17. New business development
18. Organizational leadership
19. P&L responsibility
20. Performance optimization
21. Profitability improvement
22. Revenue forecasting
23. Risk management
24. Strategic alliance development
25. Strategic planning
26. World class organization

Beyond Your Résumé

One of the most beneficial aspects of this approach is that just one keyword is capable of representing a broad range of skills to an employer, conveying a great deal about your background and skill set.

Besides their résumés, those seeking high leadership positions should be sure to incorporate applicable keywords into all forms of communication relating to their job search; including cover letters, emails, follow-up letters, etc. Keywords should be carefully merged into your text so as not to appear as an inventory of terms, but rather a thorough description of yourself and your potential value to the organization.

Moreover, the same keywords you have utilized within your résumé and correspondence during your job search can also be incorporated as an essential part of your job interview.  Making use of these terms will add strength and significance to your answers, as well as descriptions of your background, expertise, and achievements.