ATS Keywords for Resumes

ATS keywords are the skills, tools, and role-specific phrases recruiters expect to see in your resume. The goal is to mirror the job description naturally without keyword stuffing.

Build an ATS-Friendly Resume

Where to place keywords

Summary: mirror your target title and top skills
Skills: group tools and competencies by category
Experience: use keywords in your impact bullets
Projects: include stack and measurable results

Example keyword categories

Tools: SQL, Python, Tableau, Excel

Methods: Agile, A/B testing, OKRs

Marketing: SEO, PPC, lifecycle, CRM

Engineering: React, Node.js, AWS, CI/CD

Ops: SOPs, forecasting, inventory, QA

Finance: FP&A, budgeting, variance analysis

How to extract keywords fast

Paste the job description into a notes file.
Highlight tools, skills, and repeated phrases.
Map those words to your summary, skills, and bullets.
Remove duplicates and keep language natural.

Helpful links

ATS Resume Templates
Resume Guide
Resume Summary Examples