Best Resume keywords (2026)

Resume keywords are the specific words and phrases employers use to find candidates, and they help both automated systems and human reviewers match your background to a role.
Getting keywords right increases the chance your resume passes initial filters and moves on to a human reviewer.

If you feel frustrated by low response rates, refining keywords is a high-impact place to focus because many employers screen resumes before a recruiter ever reads them.
Treat keywords as signals that communicate your fit quickly and clearly.

Applicant tracking systems, known as ATS, scan resumes for exact phrases, context, and section placement to rank applicants.
These systems prefer common formats, clear headers, and spelled-out terms, so avoid unusual headings and image-only content that an ATS cannot parse.

An ATS often scores resumes on keyword matches and contextual relevance rather than simple keyword counts.
That means repeating a word without context is less effective than showing concrete achievements that include the keyword.

There are four practical types of resume keywords to include: job titles and role names, technical skills and tools, industry terms and certifications, and action verbs tied to results.
Using a mix shows both what you can do and where you have applied those skills.

For example, include the exact job title from the posting when relevant, list software and tools you use regularly, add industry-specific terms that show domain knowledge, and include certifications with exact names and abbreviations.
This mix helps your resume match both automated filters and human expectations.

Start with the job posting, then expand to company pages and professional profiles for similar roles to build a keyword list.
Focus on repeated phrases, required skills sections, and any specific software or certification names that appear in multiple postings.

Follow these steps to extract keywords from a job posting: 1.
Read the job title and summary, then copy exact role names and variations for your list.

Include both singular and plural forms if both appear.
2.

Highlight the skills and tools in the requirements and responsibilities, then prioritize items listed as required over nice-to-have.
Required items are the clearest signals the employer uses for screening.

3.
Note verbs that describe outcomes such as manage, design, or optimize and pair them with the skills they reference.

Action verbs help you craft accomplishment statements that include keywords.
4.

Check the company’s careers page and LinkedIn descriptions for recurring terms to add industry or company-specific jargon.
Those terms show cultural and domain fit when included appropriately.

Place high-value keywords in the headline, summary, and the top of your experience section where they are most visible to both ATS and humans.
Include keywords naturally in achievement bullets that quantify impact to show context and keep your resume readable.

Also add technical and certification keywords in a dedicated skills or certifications section with exact names and abbreviations.
This helps scanners find credentials quickly while keeping your experience paragraphs focused on results.

Customization improves match rate but does not mean rewriting your whole resume for every role.
Make focused edits that align your headline, summary, and 3 to 5 bullets under the most relevant job entry with the role’s top keywords.

Follow these practical edits when tailoring keywords: 1.
Swap the headline or title to match the posting when your experience supports that title, keeping honesty about level and scope.

A matched title helps both humans and ATS see immediate alignment.
2.

Reorder bullets so achievements that match the job’s priorities appear first, and include keyword phrases from the posting as part of those achievement statements.
Prioritizing relevant examples signals fit quickly.

3.
Add a short skills line that mirrors the job’s required tools and certifications, using exact phrasing where possible.

Exact matches improve keyword recognition by automated tools.
4.

Avoid adding irrelevant keywords just to increase matches, because mismatched phrasing can confuse a human reviewer when they read your experience.
Keep all added keywords tied to real accomplishments or skills you can discuss in an interview.

Track responses by job type and note which versions get interviews to identify effective keywords over time.
If a resume gets no responses after several applications, revise the headline and the top half of the first page to better match common keywords in that role.

Ask trusted contacts or recruiters to review your resume and highlight missing industry terms or common phrases.
Make small, testable changes and apply the improved version to a new batch of applications to see if your response rate increases.

A product manager might pair the job title with keywords such as roadmap, stakeholder management, user research, and metrics like ARPU or retention when those metrics appear in the posting.
When you list tools, use exact product names like Jira, Mixpanel, or Amplitude so both ATS and hiring teams recognize your experience.

A software engineer should include programming languages, frameworks, and deployment tools with precise names and versions when relevant.
Pair each technical keyword with a short achievement such as reduced build time by X or implemented feature that handled Y users to show applied experience.