By the Curriculo Engineering Team
Getting your resume past an ATS isn’t luck. It’s keyword matching. And the keywords that work aren’t hidden — they’re sitting right there in the job description, waiting for you to use them.
But knowing the general principle doesn’t always help when you’re staring at a blank document. So here’s something more useful: a curated list of high-performing keywords by industry, built from analysis of thousands of real job descriptions, plus a method for finding the specific keywords that matter most for any role you’re targeting.
Why Keywords Actually Matter
When a company posts a job, the ATS is configured to look for specific terms — skills, tools, credentials, job functions. If your resume doesn’t include enough of those terms, you get a low match score and your application gets deprioritized, regardless of how qualified you actually are.
According to Jobscan, most ATS are configured to score resumes against job descriptions, and recruiters typically only review applications that score above a threshold. The exact threshold varies by company and role, but the principle is consistent: keywords move you over the line.
Here’s what most people get wrong: they think keyword stuffing is the answer. It isn’t. An ATS can be fooled by keyword density, but a human recruiter will notice a resume that lists every skill imaginable without any coherent narrative. The goal is accurate, relevant keyword usage — not inflation.
The 3-Step Method to Find Job-Specific Keywords
Step 1: Pull the Keywords from the Job Description
Copy the job description into a text document. Read through it and highlight or note every skill, tool, qualification, certification, and functional area mentioned. Pay attention to both required and preferred qualifications — both sets are fair game if you genuinely have those skills.
Step 2: Sort by Frequency and Priority
Some keywords appear multiple times across the posting. Those are the most important — the company has signaled that these matter most. List them at the top of your priority stack. Skills that appear once are still worth including if you have them, but weight your writing toward the repeated terms.
Step 3: Integrate, Don’t Just List
The most effective keyword placement is in your work experience bullets, where each keyword is attached to a specific accomplishment. A keyword in your skills section counts, but a keyword in a bullet like “Built and maintained CI/CD pipelines using Jenkins and GitHub Actions, reducing deployment time by 40%” is both ATS-optimized and persuasive to a human reader.
For automated matching, tools like Jobscan or the keyword analysis built into Curriculo can do the comparison work for you and show your match percentage.
Industry Keyword Lists
Technology / Software Engineering
- Python, JavaScript, TypeScript, Java, Go, Rust, C++
- React, Node.js, Django, FastAPI, Spring Boot
- REST API, GraphQL, microservices, serverless architecture
- AWS, Google Cloud Platform (GCP), Microsoft Azure
- Docker, Kubernetes, Terraform, Ansible
- CI/CD, GitHub Actions, Jenkins, GitLab CI
- Agile, Scrum, Kanban, sprint planning
- SQL, PostgreSQL, MySQL, MongoDB, Redis
- System design, scalability, distributed systems
- Code review, unit testing, test-driven development (TDD)
- DevOps, site reliability engineering (SRE)
- Infrastructure as code (IaC), observability, monitoring
Marketing
- Search Engine Optimization (SEO), Search Engine Marketing (SEM)
- Google Analytics, Google Ads, Meta Ads Manager
- Content marketing, content strategy, editorial calendar
- Email marketing, Mailchimp, HubSpot, Klaviyo
- Conversion rate optimization (CRO), A/B testing
- Customer acquisition cost (CAC), return on ad spend (ROAS)
- Brand strategy, brand positioning, go-to-market (GTM)
- Social media management, influencer marketing
- Marketing automation, lead generation, demand generation
- Paid media, programmatic advertising, display advertising
- Customer journey mapping, funnel optimization
- Copywriting, landing page optimization, CMS management
Finance
- Financial modeling, discounted cash flow (DCF), valuation
- Budgeting, forecasting, variance analysis
- Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP), IFRS
- Financial statements, P&L management, balance sheet
- Excel, Power BI, Tableau, Bloomberg Terminal
- Risk management, internal controls, compliance
- Accounts payable, accounts receivable, general ledger
- Investment analysis, portfolio management, capital markets
- Mergers & acquisitions (M&A), due diligence
- Audit, tax preparation, regulatory reporting
- QuickBooks, SAP, Oracle ERP, NetSuite
- CPA, CFA, Series 7, financial certification
Healthcare
- Patient care, patient outcomes, clinical documentation
- Electronic Health Records (EHR), Epic, Cerner
- HIPAA compliance, PHI, healthcare regulations
- Care coordination, interdisciplinary team, care planning
- Diagnosis, treatment planning, clinical assessment
- Medication administration, pharmacology, dosage
- Quality improvement, patient safety, clinical protocols
- RN, NP, PA, MD, LPN (credential-specific as relevant)
- Telehealth, remote patient monitoring
- ICD-10 coding, CPT codes, medical billing
- Infection control, sterile technique, PPE protocol
- Population health management, chronic disease management
Sales
- Quota attainment, pipeline management, sales cycle
- B2B sales, enterprise sales, SMB sales
- CRM (Salesforce, HubSpot, Pipedrive)
- Prospecting, cold outreach, lead qualification
- Discovery calls, demo, proof of concept (POC)
- Contract negotiation, deal closing, renewal
- Account management, account executive (AE)
- Annual recurring revenue (ARR), monthly recurring revenue (MRR)
- Customer success, churn reduction, upsell, cross-sell
- Sales enablement, objection handling, solution selling
- Territory management, regional sales
- Commission, incentive compensation
Product Management
- Product roadmap, product strategy, product vision
- Agile, Scrum, sprint, backlog grooming
- User research, usability testing, customer interviews
- OKRs, KPIs, product metrics, success metrics
- A/B testing, feature flagging, experimentation
- JIRA, Confluence, Asana, Linear, Productboard
- Cross-functional collaboration, stakeholder management
- Market research, competitive analysis, positioning
- Go-to-market (GTM), product launch, release management
- User stories, acceptance criteria, product requirements document (PRD)
- Mobile, web, platform, API product experience
- Growth product management, monetization, retention
Human Resources
- Talent acquisition, recruiting, sourcing, full-cycle recruiting
- Applicant Tracking System (ATS), Greenhouse, Lever, Workday
- Employee relations, conflict resolution, performance management
- Onboarding, offboarding, HRIS
- Benefits administration, compensation analysis, total rewards
- DEI (Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion) programs
- Employment law, FMLA, ADA, EEO compliance
- Learning and development (L&D), training program design
- Succession planning, workforce planning
- Employee engagement, pulse surveys, culture initiatives
- HR Business Partner (HRBP), organizational development
- PHR, SHRM-CP, SHRM-SCP certification
Data Science / Analytics
- Python, R, SQL, Pandas, NumPy, Scikit-learn
- Machine learning, supervised learning, unsupervised learning
- Natural language processing (NLP), computer vision
- TensorFlow, PyTorch, Keras, XGBoost
- Data visualization, Tableau, Power BI, Matplotlib
- Statistical modeling, regression analysis, hypothesis testing
- A/B testing, experimentation design
- Big data, Spark, Hadoop, Databricks, Snowflake
- Feature engineering, model deployment, MLOps
- Business intelligence (BI), KPI dashboards
- ETL pipelines, data warehousing, data governance
- Deep learning, neural networks, LLMs
Education
- Curriculum development, lesson planning, instructional design
- Differentiated instruction, student-centered learning
- Classroom management, behavior management
- Common Core Standards, state standards alignment
- Formative assessment, summative assessment, rubric design
- Special education, IEP, 504 plan, co-teaching
- Google Classroom, Canvas, Blackboard, LMS administration
- SEL (Social-Emotional Learning), trauma-informed teaching
- Parent communication, family engagement
- Professional development, teacher mentoring
- STEM education, project-based learning (PBL)
- ELL/ESL instruction, bilingual education
Operations / Supply Chain
- Supply chain management, logistics, procurement
- Inventory management, demand planning, forecasting
- Vendor management, supplier relations, contract negotiation
- Lean manufacturing, Six Sigma, continuous improvement (CI)
- ERP systems (SAP, Oracle, NetSuite)
- Warehouse management, fulfillment, last-mile delivery
- Process improvement, standard operating procedures (SOPs)
- KPIs, operational metrics, cost reduction
- Quality management, ISO standards, compliance
- Cross-functional project management, operations strategy
- Capacity planning, resource allocation
- OSHA compliance, workplace safety
30+ Universal Action Verbs
These work across every industry. Use them to start your bullet points — they signal impact and ownership clearly.
| Leadership & Management | Building & Creating | Improving & Optimizing | Analyzing & Reporting |
|---|---|---|---|
| Led | Built | Improved | Analyzed |
| Managed | Designed | Reduced | Reported |
| Directed | Developed | Increased | Evaluated |
| Oversaw | Launched | Accelerated | Measured |
| Coordinated | Implemented | Consolidated | Identified |
| Supervised | Established | Automated | Tracked |
| Mentored | Deployed | Scaled | Assessed |
| Hired | Authored | Negotiated | Presented |
Keyword Density: How Much Is Too Much?
There’s no exact formula, but a useful rule of thumb: if a keyword appears in the job description, it should appear at least once — ideally twice — in your resume, once in a bullet and once in your skills section if applicable.
Aim for a keyword match rate of 60–80% against the job description. Tools like Jobscan calculate this automatically. Below 50% and you’re likely to get filtered out by stricter systems. Above 80% can sometimes look like padding, especially if keywords appear without supporting context.
The most important thing isn’t density — it’s placement. Keywords in your professional summary and your most recent job bullets get the most weight. A keyword buried in a job from 2014 counts for less.
And always remember: the goal isn’t to trick an algorithm. It’s to make sure a well-qualified application — yours — gets seen by an actual person. Keywords get you to that point. Your experience and accomplishments get you the interview.
Sources & References
- Jobscan. “ATS Resume Keywords: Everything You Need to Know.” jobscan.co
- LinkedIn. “Most In-Demand Skills 2024.” linkedin.com
- Bureau of Labor Statistics. “Occupational Outlook Handbook.” bls.gov
- World Economic Forum. “Future of Jobs Report 2023.” weforum.org
Disclosure: This article was produced by the Curriculo engineering team. Curriculo is an AI-powered resume builder. Keyword lists are based on analysis of publicly available job descriptions and industry research. Individual job requirements will vary.
