How many keywords should I include on my resume?

There is no fixed number — focus on accurately covering the must-have requirements from the job description. Most well-optimised resumes naturally include 15-25 relevant keywords across the summary, skills, and experience sections combined.

ATS Resume Keywords: How to Find the Right Ones for Your Industry

Person highlighting ATS resume keywords on a laptop screen to optimise their job application

Key Takeaways

ATS keywords are not a list you memorise once — they are specific to each job posting, drawn directly from the language used in that exact description.
The single best source of keywords for any application is the job description itself, not generic "top resume keywords" lists found online.
ATS systems generally cannot recognise synonyms — using "project management" when the posting says "PM" can mean your resume is never surfaced to a human.
Keywords belong in your summary, skills section, and work experience bullets — not crammed into a single hidden block of text.
You can identify the right keywords for any job in under ten minutes using the method in this guide.

Somewhere between 70 and 90% of resumes submitted to medium and large employers never reach a human reviewer. Before a recruiter ever opens your application, an Applicant Tracking System scans it for specific language — and if your resume does not contain the right words in the right places, it is filtered out automatically, regardless of how qualified you actually are.

The good news is that ATS keyword optimisation is one of the most learnable skills in the entire job search process. It is not about tricking a system or stuffing your resume with buzzwords — it is about accurately describing your genuine experience using the same language the employer used to describe the role. This guide shows you exactly how to find those keywords for any job, in any industry, in under ten minutes.

75% of resumes are rejected by ATS systems before a human ever sees them

10 min time it takes to extract the right keywords for any single job application

3× higher pass-through rate for resumes with properly matched keywords

What ATS Keywords Actually Are

ATS keywords are the specific words and phrases an employer uses to describe the skills, qualifications, tools, and experience required for a role. When a recruiter searches their ATS database, or when the system automatically screens incoming applications, it is matching against this exact language. A resume describing "leading a team" will not match a search for "team leadership" in many systems — the precise wording matters more than most candidates realise.

The Best Source of Keywords: The Job Description Itself

Generic "top 50 resume keywords" lists found online are a poor substitute for the real source: the specific job posting you are applying to. Every job description already contains the exact keywords that posting's ATS is configured to search for. Your task is not to guess — it is to extract.

1
Copy the full job description into a documentInclude the company description and "about us" section, not just the requirements list — relevant keywords often appear there too.
2
Highlight every skill, tool, and qualification mentionedGo through line by line. Mark technical skills, software names, certifications, methodologies, and soft skills explicitly named.
3
Note which terms repeat across multiple sectionsA term appearing in the job title, the responsibilities section, and the requirements list is a near-certain priority keyword for that ATS.
4
Separate "must-have" from "nice-to-have" languagePhrases like "required" or "must have" signal non-negotiable keywords. "Preferred" or "a plus" signal secondary keywords worth including if genuinely true.
5
Match your resume language to theirs exactlyIf they wrote "client relationship management," your resume should say that — not "customer relations" or "account handling."

Pro Tip — Use a Free Word Frequency Tool

Paste the job description into a free word frequency counter (such as WordCounter.net). The words and phrases appearing most often, once you remove generic connector words, are very likely the priority terms the ATS is configured to weight most heavily.

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Where to Place Keywords on Your Resume

Keywords need to appear in context, in the sections an ATS actually parses — not hidden in white text or crammed into a footer, which several modern systems now flag as manipulation.

Professional Summary: Include your 3–4 highest-priority keywords naturally within the opening summary paragraph.
Skills Section: List both the technical and soft skill keywords directly, exactly as the job description phrases them.
Work Experience Bullets: Weave keywords into real achievement statements — "Led cross-functional stakeholder management for a $2M product launch," not a keyword dump.
Job Titles: If your actual title differs significantly from industry-standard language, consider adding the standard term in brackets alongside it.

Common Mistake

Stuffing keywords unnaturally, or listing skills you do not genuinely have, may get you past the ATS filter but will fail at interview when those claims are tested. Keyword optimisation should always reflect your honest experience — described in the employer's language, not invented experience.

Industry-Specific Keyword Examples

While every job description is different, certain categories of keywords tend to matter most within each field:

Tech roles: specific languages, frameworks, cloud platforms, and methodologies (e.g. "Python," "AWS," "Agile") — exact tool names matter enormously here.
Finance roles: certifications, software, and compliance terms (e.g. "CFA," "Bloomberg Terminal," "SOX compliance").
Marketing roles: platform names and metrics (e.g. "Google Analytics," "SEO," "conversion rate optimisation").
Healthcare roles: licences, certifications, and clinical systems (e.g. "BLS certified," "Epic EHR," "patient care coordination").

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Frequently Asked Questions

There is no fixed number — focus on accurately covering the must-have requirements from the job description rather than hitting a target count. Most well-optimised resumes naturally include 15-25 relevant keywords across the summary, skills, and experience sections combined.

It can. Many ATS systems search for exact phrase matches rather than recognising synonyms. If the posting says "data analysis," using only "data analytics" may not register as a match in some systems, even though the meaning is identical to a human reader.

No. Keywords should be re-extracted for each specific job posting, since requirements and terminology vary even between similar roles at different companies. Maintain a master resume with all your skills, then tailor the keyword emphasis for each application.