07:08 PM PDT on Monday, May 22, 2006

By JANE MCCARTHY / KING 5 News

Millions of people post their resumes on Internet job sites with high hopes of finding that perfect job.  But when weeks pass without a phone call, those hopes are deflated. The trick to getting those calls could lie in some key words. 

KING

Millions post their resumes online.

As a former television news reporter, substitute teacher and flight attendant, Angela Lombardi was ready to launch a new career. She posted her resume on several online job sites and waited for the onslaught of calls. 

“I was thinking my phone probably wouldn't stop ringing, I would have numerous interviews,” said Lombardi.  “I would probably have a job in like two weeks, but I'd give myself a month." 

Instead, the days passed and Angela's phone was silent. 

“I was dumbfounded,” said Lombardi.  “I was like, ‘I don't understand why no one has called.’" 

Turns out, Angela's resume probably never saw the light of day.  Not because of a lack of experience, but a lack of buzz words. 

“Gone are the days that every resume is being looked at by human eyes," said Jenifer Lambert, Terra Resource Group.  

At Terra Resource Group, recruiters showed us the simple searches they conduct to find job candidates. As they search for an administrative assistant, it all comes down to key words. 

“’Administrative’ is what I'll put in,” said Christina Barrett, recruiter.  “If they need Excel or Word, I’ll make sure I put those keywords in." 

Only candidates who have the word "administrative" in their resume stand a chance. 

“They're not looking for beautiful fonts,” said Lambert.  “They're looking for words." 

Experts suggest you approach your resume like a Google search.  If you are looking to buy a car, you don't just write the word "car" because you'll end up with more than a billion results.  Instead, you'd write something much more specific like “2003 red Mini Cooper Seattle.”  

In the same vein, you need to pull words from job postings.  

“Make sure that the words that are showing up in that job posting are showing up in your resume to the extent that it's true," said Lambert.  

Also use various job titles a recruiter might search for. 

“I was a customer analyst 2,” said Lambert. “Well, that doesn't mean anything to anyone outside of that company, so you need to give it a title that is going to be searchable." 

And spell out job duties even when it seems obvious. 

“I just assumed if you knew I was a flight attendant, deductive reasoning would tell you that those are the skills that I'm capable of doing," said Lombardi. 

Not necessarily. Make sure your resume includes the functions, the activities that you performed. 

Angela took that advice and added words applicable to jobs she wanted in the field of community outreach. 

“The key words are ‘public speaking, able to write under tight deadlines, presentation, internal communications,’" said Lambert.  

After posting her new cyber-savvy resume, Angela Lombardi was no longer invisible online. 

“I had a job in two and-a-half weeks and I had to tell people no for interviews," said Lombardi.

From seemingly shunned to sought-after with a few simple words. 

Recruiters also suggest you don't use "cutesy" email addresses when searching for a job.  Also avoid using e-mail addresses with too many numbers.  Those often get screened out by spam filters.