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Guide
Resume keywords: how to find and use the right ATS keywords
Resume keywords are the skills, tools, job titles, and qualifications that a recruiter types into an applicant tracking system (ATS) to find candidates. If your resume uses the same words as the job post, it shows up in that search. If it uses different words for the same skill, it often does not.
Key takeaways
- The right keywords come from the job post you are applying to, not from a generic list.
- Hard skills, tools, certifications, and the job title matter most. Soft-skill buzzwords matter least.
- Use the job's exact phrase, and include both the acronym and the full term once (for example, "search engine optimization (SEO)").
- Place keywords in your headline, summary, skills section, and — most of all — in bullets that prove them.
What resume keywords are
Keywords are the nouns of a job: the specific things you need to know or do. There are five kinds:
| Kind | Examples | How recruiters use them |
|---|---|---|
| Hard skills | financial modeling, SQL, copywriting, user research | Core search and filter terms |
| Tools and software | Salesforce, Figma, Tableau, Python, Jira, HubSpot | Exact-match search; often "required" |
| Job titles | Product Manager, Senior Data Analyst, UX Designer | Searched and ranked first in many systems |
| Qualifications | PMP, CPA, AWS Certified, RN license, bachelor's degree | Knock-out questions and filters |
| Domain terms | B2B SaaS, payments, HIPAA, e-commerce, supply chain | Narrow a search to relevant industry experience |
How an applicant tracking system uses keywords
An ATS such as Workday, Greenhouse, Lever, iCIMS, or SAP SuccessFactors stores every application as searchable text. Recruiters then do three things with keywords:
- Search: type terms like "product manager" AND SQL to find matching applicants, for this job or from past applicants.
- Filter and rank: narrow a long list by skills, title, location, or answers to screening questions. Some systems also rank applicants by how well they match the job.
- Skim: a person then reads the top resumes quickly, looking for the same terms in your titles and bullets.
In Jobscan's 2025 survey of 384 recruiters, 99.7% of recruiters said they use ATS filters, and 76.4% filter by skills first. Read more in how recruiters actually use an ATS.
How to find the right keywords in a job description
- Copy the requirements section and the responsibilities section into a note.
- Highlight every noun phrase that names a skill, tool, method, credential, or domain.
- Count repeats. A term that appears in the title, the responsibilities, and the requirements is almost certainly searched.
- Mark required vs preferred by the section it is in.
- Compare 3–5 similar posts for the same title. Terms that appear in most of them are the core keywords for that role.
- Note the exact phrasing. "Customer research" and "user research" are the same skill to you, and different strings to a search box.
Or let a tool do it: the free ATS resume checker pulls the keywords from a job link and marks which ones your resume already has.
Where to put keywords on your resume
- Headline: the target job title, if true.
- Summary: the title, your years of experience, and two or three of the most important skills.
- Experience bullets: the strongest place. Each key skill should appear in at least one bullet with an action and a result.
- Skills section: tools and hard skills, in the job's spelling, most relevant first.
- Certifications and education: the full official name, plus the acronym.
Acronyms: write both forms once, such as "customer relationship management (CRM)" or "search engine optimization (SEO)". Recruiters search both ways.
Example resume keywords by role
These are common examples, not a checklist. The right list for you is in the job post you are applying to. Use only the ones that are true for you.
Software engineer
Python, Java, TypeScript, Go, React, Node.js, SQL, PostgreSQL, AWS, GCP, Docker, Kubernetes, CI/CD, microservices, REST APIs, distributed systems, system design, unit testing, code review, observability.
Product manager
product roadmap, product strategy, user research, A/B testing, experimentation, product requirements (PRD), stakeholder management, cross-functional collaboration, go-to-market, KPIs, SQL, product analytics, prioritization, agile, discovery.
Product / UX designer
Figma, prototyping, user research, usability testing, design systems, interaction design, wireframing, information architecture, accessibility (WCAG), visual design, user flows, design critique.
Data analyst / data scientist
SQL, Python, R, pandas, Excel, Tableau, Looker, Power BI, data visualization, dashboards, statistical analysis, A/B testing, regression, machine learning, ETL, dbt, data modeling.
Marketing
SEO, SEM, Google Ads, paid social, content marketing, email marketing, HubSpot, Salesforce, marketing automation, conversion rate optimization (CRO), Google Analytics (GA4), campaign management, lifecycle marketing, brand strategy, copywriting.
Our study of real job posts shows how much the exact phrasing of these skills changes from company to company.
Resume keyword myths
- "75% of resumes are rejected by ATS robots." This number traces back to a 2012 claim by Preptel, a resume-software vendor, which never published its method. Harvard Business School's 2021 Hidden Workers report instead points to filters that employers set, such as degree requirements and employment-gap rules. Most rejections come from people and from filters a recruiter chooses, not from a single automatic score.
- "Add a big list of keywords in white text." Many systems show the plain text to the recruiter, and the hidden list becomes visible. It looks like a trick because it is one.
- "More keywords is always better." Coverage of the job's required terms matters. Forty extra terms that do not match the job do not help, and they make the resume harder to read.
Sources
- Jobscan, "The State of the Job Search in 2025". jobscan.co/state-of-the-job-search
Questions
How many keywords should a resume have?
There is no fixed number. Aim to include every required skill from the job post that is true for you, in the post's words. Tailor My Resume usually finds 15 to 35 skills, tools, and qualifications in one job post.
Do soft skills count as keywords?
Rarely as search terms. Recruiters search for hard skills, tools, titles, and credentials. Show soft skills through results in your bullets instead of listing words like "team player".
Should I use the acronym or the full term?
Both, once each. Write the full term with the acronym in brackets the first time, for example "search engine optimization (SEO)". Then either form is found.
Can an ATS read keywords in a PDF?
Yes, if the PDF has real text. A scanned or image-only PDF has no text to read. Simple one-column PDFs from Word, Google Docs, or a resume tool are read reliably.