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Using Keywords in Challenging Job Search Situations 159

Keyword Challenge: Ex-Offenders

Your #1 Challenge: To focus on your skills and any related work expe-
rience or education that supports your current job goals.

For a great example of an ex-offender resume for someone with limited work experi-
ence, see Cory English’s resume on page 160. When you review his work experience
section that’s near the bottom of the page, you’ll see that he has worked at sever-
al restaurants. In fact, his most recent job—Kitchen Worker with the State of New
York—was during his incarceration!

Note how his important keywords have been integrated into the resume:

QQ The objective statement—Breakfast and Lunch Cook—puts those important key-
words (also known as job titles)—at the forefront of his resume. The remainder
of his objective includes other hard and soft skill keywords, such as Restaurant,
Customer Base, Culinary Arts, Strong Work Ethic.

QQ His Personal Profile section focuses almost entirely on the soft skills that make
him a valuable candidate: Critical Thinking, Problem Solving, Team Player,
Dependable, Hardworking. And his bilingual language skills, a big plus, are
also prominently positioned.

QQ Cooking Skills follow, and you’ll see that section is packed with keywords: En-
trees, Food Preparation, Service, Safety, Inventory, Tableware, Meats, Baked
Goods, Food Preparation, Cooking.

QQ Cory’s job titles, also important for their keyword value, are prominently dis-
played in bold for both electronic scans and human eyes: Kitchen Worker, Short
Order Cook, Prep Cook, Lunch and Dinner Cook.

QQ Military Service adds a nice bonus to this resume, particularly because his hon-
orable discharge attests to the quality of his work and his character.

QQ Because his only education is a GED, which he obtained in the service, it’s an
important addition to that section. Many companies will require a GED and will
use that as a primary keyword for scanning to identify qualified candidates.

The second ex-offender resume we’ve included is for Taylor Grandison on page 161.
To understand this resume, know that Taylor was incarcerated as a young adult and
had no prior work or educational experience. She’s used her time wisely while in pris-
on and is now pursing her first professional job as a Dental Assistant.