ATS Keywords
Paste a job description to see the skills, tools, qualifications and soft skills it asks for, ranked by importance. Add your resume to see your match score, the keywords you are missing and where to place them honestly.
What are ATS keywords?
ATS keywords are the specific skills, tools, qualifications and job titles that an employer uses to describe a role. Recruiters often search their applicant tracking system for these terms, and many systems rank or filter applications by how well they match. If your resume says "client relationship management" but the job ad says "account management", a search may miss you even though you have the experience.
How the keyword extraction works
- Recognized terms: the tool checks the description against a curated list of several hundred common tools, technologies, hard skills, soft skills, certifications and languages.
- Repeated phrases: it also picks up two-word phrases the employer repeats, which often reveal role-specific skills.
- Priority: a keyword is marked High when it appears several times or in a "required" or "must have" sentence, and Low when it only appears next to words like "preferred" or "nice to have".
- Requirements: sentences that mention years of experience or degrees are pulled out so you can check them quickly.
How to use keywords without keyword stuffing
| Do | Don't |
|---|---|
| Use the employer's exact wording for skills you really have | Add skills or tools you have never used |
| Show keywords in context in your experience bullets | Paste a long list of keywords at the bottom of your resume |
| Include both the full term and abbreviation once, for example "Search Engine Optimization (SEO)" | Repeat the same keyword again and again |
| Mirror the job title if it honestly describes you | Hide keywords in white text |
Recruiters read the resumes that pass the search. A natural, honest match always beats a stuffed one. Learn more in our ATS guides.
Your privacy
Your file is read in your browser. The job description and the extracted resume text are sent over an encrypted connection to our AI service (Cloudflare Workers AI) to create your result, and are not stored or logged by us. See our Privacy Policy.
Frequently asked questions
Do I need to upload my resume?
No. The tool works with only a job description. Adding your resume unlocks the match score and the list of missing keywords.
Why are some important skills not detected?
Very specialized or new terms may not be in the recognized list yet. Read the requirements section of the job ad carefully as well; the tool is a helper, not a replacement for reading the ad.
What is a good match score?
There is no universal threshold. Focus on including every high-priority keyword you genuinely have, in context.
Should I write a different resume for every job?
You do not need to rewrite everything, but adjust your summary, skills section and top bullet points for each application.
Helpful guides
- How to find keywords in a job description: a step-by-step method.
- Resume keywords by industry: keyword lists for common roles.
- How to list skills on a resume: hard and soft skills with examples.
Related tools
- Resume Analyzer: get a full resume score.
- Resume Builder: build a clean, ATS-friendly resume.
- Interview Questions: practice questions based on the same job description.