[owenshen24]

Is there good reason to think that optimizing resumes will help with the job searching process?

I've heard that many resume screens are automated these days, which has led to my hearing stories of people trying to game this by cramming keywords in invisible font and other things like that.

Can anyone with experience in recruiting shed some light on this matter?

[mcenedella]

Not really true. You want to know what the most common keywords searched by the HR team are? "Software engineer", "Java", "Developer", etc. The sophistication of the process is limited by the user, not by the capabilities of the search engine.

[rychco]

I actually heard about this exact same thing yesterday. All the buzzwords are in white at the bottom of the page to increase the chances you make it through the automated filter. I personally find this extremely discouraging and a little bit insulting.

[mcenedella]

It's not really a thing, so I wouldn't lose sleep over it.

The basics are important - get a clean, standard, well-organized resume. Include numbers that show your ability to improve things. Be explicit about titles, capabilities, and achievements.

Unfortunately, a lot of urban legends have popped up over the years that really cause professionals a lot of grief for no good reason.