Finding and applying for a job is hard enough as it is. Just ask any sales job recruiter who’s charged with identifying the right candidate out of hundreds and possibly thousands of applicants for any given medical sales job. In addition, sales recruiters and hiring managers have made the switch in recent years to storing candidate resumes and other information almost exclusively on electronic databases.
While this may be a great system for keeping things organized, what it basically means for you is that unless your resume is written in a keyword-rich manner, it may never appear in a medical sales recruiter’s results when she searches for the most qualified candidates. Standing out is key and the key to standing out is by using keywords.
Keywords Are Key
Not sure what keywords are? Keywords are essentially words that search engines use to find relevant content online. Ultimately, it’s imperative that your job search begins with optimizing your resume using the correct keywords in order to give yourself more of a chance of being recognized.
In a sense, using the correct keywords in your resume is also an effective marketing strategy. Your resume must be optimized in order to rank highly in an electronic search of a resume database. Part of that process involves using keywords; having the right keywords and phrases on a webpage will cause it to rank highly in a Google search for those terms. Simply put, “Using the right keywords on your medical sales resume will increase your chances of landing at the top of the results page when a recruiter or hiring manager performs an electronic search of a resume database” says Robyn Melhuish of MedReps.
Which Keywords?
From a medical sales recruiter standpoint, the idea of using “keywords” follows the same general principles of search engine optimization for websites (SEO) and marketing: keywords are the specific terms targeted in specific job searches. So, how do you know which keywords that recruiters are looking for?
For starters, the answer usually lies in the job posting itself. Like previous articles, we’ve mentioned tailoring your resume to each individual job posting. Aside from good old common sense in an attempt to target exact keywords on your resume for the jobs you’re hoping to land, there are many tools available to help identify the best keywords to use. In a January MedReps article entitled, How To Get Your Medical Sales Jobs Seen With Better SEO, it was suggested to medical sales recruiters that they take advantage of analytics software to not only help them post jobs, but to help find the most qualified candidates. Job seekers can use these tools to their advantage as well. According to that article, Google Trends, for example, allows you to identify which terms are currently trending in job searches. Additionally, Google AdWords can also help find the top converting keywords and their Keyword Planner is a tool that can suggest keywords or variations of them. All of the Google tools are free and only require a Google account (Google mail/Gmail) to access.
Be sure to use the exact keywords that recruiters are looking for. Read job descriptions and summaries very carefully and choose your words wisely. For example, you may be applying for a pharmaceutical sales rep position, but if your resume only mentions “medical sales rep,” your resume may not show up in recruiter databases at all. Similarly, if the posting asks for “medical device sales” experience and lists “surgery centers” as the primary point of call, try to incorporate those phrases into your resume. Doing this will assist the electronic software in matching your resume with the job (Resume Kit: Resume Secrets From Industry Experts).
Keyword Conclusions
As a final word of advice, pick out the most prevalent keywords and phrases and incorporate them into your resume, but don’t overdo it. The keywords you use and their placement should seem natural. No one likes to read keyword-packed web content that is blatantly designed for search engines, as it sounds funny and out of place. No one wants to read a resume crammed with keywords, either.
Lastly, feel free to use specific keywords in your resume’s title (along with your name of course) as well as individual employment positions that are specific to your ideal medical sales job.
Understanding what keywords are and more importantly, how to use them effectively as a marketing tool for you and your resume, is undoubtedly the key to your sales future.