A snapshot into the process of many organization's strategies
Earlier today I spoke to an outstanding candidate for a Senior Management role. Since he was in the area of specialty I focused in (biotech / medical / IVD), I was able to quickly glance through the resume, recognize organizations & titles, and could tell what capacity he was working in.
As I dug in further, I realized he didn't have any of the key words that this client was looking for (in this case; working with Assays & Reagents). When I asked him about the reason for lack of those words, he said -- "Yes, of course... (like Duh Lady) my entire career is in this area of specialty." Now, I KNEW that he had that experience personally, but what I coached him on is that often, there is a front level screener in organizations that cannot make those assumptions on their own. Nor should they. You should be writing your resume so that the Average Joe; who is reading a job description in one hand, and a resume in the other, can make the match.
Don't assume!
I had 2 clients that hired Interns this summer. A big piece of their work is .. . wait for it.... screening resumes through online applications to weed out the bad ones. Don't let an Intern decide your future. (sorry Interns, I know how valuable you are, I did it for many summers myself).
Compile a list of all the words that summarize what you do. Embedded software engineers are one of the main offenders I see, they always feel their resume assumes it's Embedded. But put that keyword on there - EMBEDDED. In a world of keyword-searching from Job Boards, Databases, LinkedIN -- get those keywords on there!
Thanks for all your hard work Interns. We were all there once. It's not your fault.