7 Tips for Better Keyword Searches in a Job Search

7 Tips for Better Keyword Searches in a Job Search7 Tips for Better Keyword Searches in a Job Search28Is there a difference between searching for writing positions over writer positions? The answer is a resounding yes Identifying and using the right keyword searches in a job search can mean the difference between finding the perfect jobs and filtering through pages of listings that dont fit. Keywords are words or phrases you use to find corresponding job listings through search engines.A great analogy about keyword searches in a job search relates to craving a specific type of food. Say youre wanting to find a restaurant with spaghetti and garlic bread. You would bedrngnis expect to see the menu state things like straight noodle and sauce and food on the menu. You would need mora information to make sure that what youre ordering matches what you are wanting to eat. Keyword searches in a job search are no different.Employers use specific keywords to entice and attract the right kind o f candidates, and the more informed a job seeker is about the keyword used, the easier and more accurate their job searching will be.Here are seven tips for better keyword searches in a job search.Tip 1 Know your industrys acronyms.Many industries use acronyms instead of the full terms in their job listings. Familiar acronyms include RN for Registered Nurse or PhD for doctorate in any discipline except medicine. Knowing both the acronym and the full meaning will give you a variety of keywords to search with. This is a great tip for using keyword searches in a job search that may get you results fast.Tip 2 Try different forms of the word.If you are interested in becoming a blogger for an online publication, there are many different keywords that could find positions in a search. You could search blogger, online content, writer, writing, and blog. Each of these terms will have overlapping positions, but may also find jobs where the employer only used the term blogger and not writer.Ti p 3 Quotation marks.Most search engines use what is known as a Boolean Search to aggregate data and information quickly back to the inquiry. If you use quotation marks around a search, it requires those exact words to be searched, in the exact order you type them. For example, you could search online content writer and the search would only look for that EXACT phrase therefore, if a listing says content writer for online material, the search would not find that posting since the words are out of order. Use quotation marks only if you know the phrase you are looking for is always in that order, otherwise search the words online content writer without the quotes to find anything containing those terms.Tip 4 Know when to use AND and OR in searches.By using the term OR in a search, you can require that at least one of the terms of your search appears somewhere in the search, in any order. You can search writer OR blogger- you do want the terms to be synonymous concepts. If you put AND i nto a search it will search both terms, but if you are using quotes, you would need to put AND to connect the terms. For example, writing jobs AND remote.Tip 5 Put the right amount of information.Each search you conduct needs to have the relevant information to be helpful to you however, people often target so finely they miss opportunities that could be great for them. The advanced search options on allows job seekers to utilize keyword searches, along with other parameters for their job searching needs. Many job seekers feel that they need to fill out every section on the search form, but then they receive no results. By only filling out the sections most important to your job needs, you can get more accurate and plentiful results from your search.Tip 6 Avoid dangerous keywords. is committed to providing listings that have been vetted to ensure our members are not encountering scams. By knowing keywords that are associated with scams, job seekers can make themselves more aware of potential scams. For example, the term work-from-home is frequently listed on scams, where the terms telecommuting, remote, and virtual jobs are more often used by employers that have an established and professional network of telecommuting employees. To avoid scams, use keyword searches in a job search with words real companies use.Tip 7 Exclude terms in your search.If you are looking for a nursing position, but you are not an RN, it can be very frustrating to search through all of the RN positions to find an LPN job. Search engines allow users to utilize a this, but not that type of search where certain terms are eliminated from the search. By searching nursing -RN (thats a minus sign), a search will know to include nursing, but not anything with the term RN throughout the document. On, we offer an Exclude these words field that can be used to filter certain words from our job listings.Its not enough to know the type of job that you want you must be able to use keyword searches in a job search to find the right positions for you. By utilizing the brilliance of keywords in a job search, youll save time and be better able to find the right type of job for you. Playing around with different keywords can make the difference between settling for an OK job and finding the flexible job of your dream.Readers, what are your best tips for better keyword searches in a job search? Do you play around with keywords when looking for jobs?