Today, it’s not enough to just catalog your accomplishments on your resume. This all-important career document must pass the muster via an Applicant Tracking System (ATS), which scans your resume to identify potential fits. And in order to get yours flagged as a fit, you’ll need to include plenty of relevant resume keywords.

Types of Resume Keywords 

Some of the keywords you should use should be pulled directly from the job description (remember to tailor each resume accordingly). These might be specific to the organization or generally used in the industry. Either way, you should also include industry-specific keywords, as well as soft and hard skills and education credentials.

How Resume Keywords Help You Get By the ATS 

ATS uses artificial intelligence to scan resumes and identify ones that have specific, relevant keywords. The human (often an HR specialist) will note the ATS keywords they want the system to flag, and the ATS will “read” the resumes and assign them a score based on the keywords it finds. This is usually a precursor to a screening interview, so it could mean the difference between getting into that first round or not — even if you’re well-qualified for the role.

How to Use Resume Keywords 

1. Find keywords by reviewing job descriptions.

Read through the job description carefully and highlight keywords to include. You should always include the name of the company (spelled correctly), the specific job title (worded correctly) and your education, along with other standout words that are relevant to you and your experience. 

2. Use as many keywords as possible — and spread them out.

Try to use as many of the keywords you identify as possible. There are space limitations, of course, and you don’t want your resume to be nothing but a long list of keywords, because ultimately, a human will take a closer look. Just make sure there is a high keyword density and that your resume is still well-organized, professional and presentable.

3. Mix it up. 

Use different types of keywords: responsibilities, soft skills, hard skills, education, certifications and so on. You should also spread your keywords around your resume, adding them to work experience, skills, education and other sections. Remember to use synonyms and word variations, too, to avoid becoming too repetitive.

Keep in mind that you can also adjust the wording of job responsibilities and titles as long as you’re being truthful and the titles are equivalent — as in, don’t add a “senior” to your title if it’s not there, but feel free to make adjustments that reflect the nature of your job and will be more ATS-friendly.

1,000 Resume Keywords, by Industry 

What are good keywords for a resume? We’ve listed 1,000 buzzwords below, sorted by industry. 

(NB: Keywords vary by the specific job, niche and other factors. You may find variations of the same keyword on this list, too. Exercise your own judgment when using them in your resume.)

Administration

• Accounts payable
• Account receivables
• Administrative processes
• Billing
• Bookkeeping
• Budgeting
• Calendaring
• Client communications
• Clerical support
• Communication
• Compliance
• Conflict resolution
• Contract support
• Customer service
• Data entry
• Database management
• Desktop publishing
• Detail-oriented
• Drafted
• Efficient
• Employee training
• Excel
• Executed
• Expense reports
• Filing system
• Invoicing
• Kept minutes
• Meeting coordination
• Microsoft Office
• Office administration
• Office management
• Operations management
• Organized
• Outlook
• Performance
• Phone etiquette 
• Productivity
• PowerPoint
• Problem-solving
• Resource management
• Quality control
• QuickBooks
• Research skills
• SalesForce
• Time management
• Transcription
• Travel arrangements
• Travel planning
• Vendor management
• Workflow

Childcare

• Active listening
• Activity coordination
• Activity planning
• Age-appropriate
• Age groups
• Attention to detail
• Behavior
• Caring 
• Child psychology
• Child welfare
• Childcare experience
• Childcare provider
• Close supervision
• Communication
• Comfort
• Compassion
• CPR-certified
• Daycare
• Decision-making
• Dedicated
• Development
• Discipline
• Early childhood
• Early childhood education
• Educational programming
• Emotional support
• First Aid-certified
• Giving direction
• Homework help
• Infant care
• Instruction for children
• Instructional skills
• Interpersonal skills
• K-12
• Learning
• Learning environment
• Oral communication
• Patience
• Personal relationships
• Playtime
• Positive development
• Problem-solving
• Relationship-building
• Responsible
• Safety
• Social needs
• Socialization
• Self-control
• Stamina
• Supportive

Customer service

• Account management
• Account representative
• Active listening
• Adaptability
• Attention to detail
• Call center
• Call center management
• Client communication
• Client needs
• Client relationships
• Conflict resolution
• Customer communication
• Customer needs
• Customer retention
• Customer relationships
• Customer satisfaction
• Customer support
• Database management
• Detail-oriented
• Dispute resolution
• Empathy
• Inventory 
• Key accounts
• Knowledgebase
• Loss prevention
• Loyalty
• Managed
• Open-minded
• Order fulfillment
• Order processing
• Organized
• Patience
• Process simplification
• Process standardization
• Records management
• Relationship management
• Responsive
• Sales administration
• Sales benchmarks
• Sales goals
• Sales training
• Service delivery
• Sourced
• Strategic business goals
• Support
• Technical knowledge
• Telemarketing
• Vendor relationships
• Verbal communication
• Written communication

Education

• Academic goals
• Active learning
• Advised
• Benchmarks
• Blended learning
• Classroom management
• Collaborated
• Course design
• Cross-curricular
• Curriculum design
• Curriculum development
• Curriculum knowledge
• Differentiated instruction
• Digital literacy
• Discipline
• Diverse
• Dynamic
• English literacy
• ESL
• Evidence-based teaching
• Growth mindset
• Holistic learning
• Hybrid learning
• Inclusion
• Inclusive teaching
• Individual assistance
• Individualized instruction
• Interactive
• Instructional continuity
• Interdisciplinary approach
• Learning outcomes
• Lesson plans
• Lifelong learning
• Literacy
• Mentored
• Multicultural
• Parent-teacher
• Personalized learning
• Positive learning
• Program development
• Readiness
• Special needs
• Student-centered
• Student outcomes
• Student success
• Teaching and learning
• Teaching approaches
• Teaching methods
• Teaching skills
• Technology-integrated

Entertainment

• Adobe Creative Cloud
• Advertising
• Art direction
• Avid
• Award-winning
• Casting
• Client focus
• Collaborated
• Communication skills
• Composite
• Contract management
• Coordinated
• Creative assets
• Creative ideas
• Creativity
• Demo reel
• Demos
• Design specifications
• Digital media
• Engaged viewers
• Ensured accuracy
• Entertainment materials
• Film editing
• Final Cut
• Idea generation
• Innovative ideas
• Location scouting
• Motivated talent
• Planned
• Post-production
• Produced
• Production coordination
• Production meetings
• Professional editing
• Professional production
• Project management skills
• Reduced costs
• Reel
• Research skills
• Retouching
• Setups
• Special effects
• Storyboarding
• Supervised
• Talent sourcing
• Technical skills
• Technical support
• Video editing
• Video production
• Visually appealing

Finance/accounting

• Accounts payable
• Accounts receivable
• Ad-hoc analysis
  Analytical skills
• Analytics
• Asset management
• Auditing
• Budget management
• Budgeting
• Business acumen
• Business administration
• BusinessObjects
• Compliance
• Corporate finance
• Cost analysis
• Cost/benefit analysis
• CPA
• Data analysis
• Data interpretation
• Data management
• Financial analysis
• Financial data
• Financial forecasting
• Financial modeling
• Financial performance
• Financial policy
• Financial reporting
• Forecasting
• Identified trends
• Interpersonal communication
• Interpersonal skills
• Investor relations
• Investment management
• Operations
• Oral communication
• P&L
• Presentation skills
• Problem-solving
• Quality assurance
• Quality management
• Reconciled
• Requirements analysis
• Research skills
• Risk management
• SQL
• Statistics
• Strategic planning
• Trust accounting
• Vendor management
• Written communication

Graphic design

• Adobe After Effects
• Adobe Creative Cloud
• Adobe InDesign
• Adobe Illustrator
• Adobe Photoshop
• Advertising
• Agency experience
• Animation
• Art
• Banner ads
• Brand consistency
• Branding
• Brochure design
• Campaign
• Client relationships
• Collateral
• Color
• Color theory
• Composition
• Concept
• Conceptualization
• Creative
• CSS
• Detail-oriented
• Digital ads
• Digital campaigns
• Digital design
• Dreamweaver
• Graphics
• HTML
• Illustration
• Interpersonal skills
• Imaging
• Layout
• Logo design
• Marketing
• Marketing campaign
• Media
• Newsletter design
• Photography
• Portfolio
• Print design
• Product design
• Production
• Sketch
• Strategy
• Technical skills
• Typography
• Visual
• Web design

Hospitality

• Amenities
• Attention to detail
• Back of house
• Back-of-house operations
• Back office
• Back-office operations
• Banquet operations
• Banquets
• Budgeting
• Catering
• Catering coordination
• Catering operations
• Client needs
• Client relations
• Client satisfaction
• Club management
• Collaboration
• Concierge
• Convention planning
• Corporate communications
• CRS
• Customer experience
• Customer service
• Event planning
• Facility management
• Fast-paced environment
• Food and beverage
• Food safety
• Front of house
• Guest relations
• Guest retention
• Hospitality management
• Hotel operations
• Interpersonal skills
• Inventory planning
• Occupancy
• Operations
• People skills
• Personable
• Personal attention
• Purchasing
• Relationship-building
• Sales growth
• Scheduling
• Service management
• Travel market
• Travel tips
• Vendor management
• Vendor relations
• Vendor sourcing
• Verbal communication

Human resources

• ADA
• Administration
• Americans with Disabilities Act
• Applicant Tracking System
• Assessments
• ATS
• Benefits
• Benefits administration
• Benefits management
• Career pathing
• Change management
• Claims administration
• Company policies
• Company policy development
• Compensation
• Contract negotiation
• Corporate events
• Corporate policy
• Culture change
• Diversity initiatives
• Diversity program
• EEOC
• Employee development program
• Employee incentive program
• Employee orientation
• Employee relations
• Employee surveys
• Harassment training
• Hiring process
• Interpersonal skills
• Job applicant
• Job candidate
• Organizational skills
• Performance reviews
• Personal development
• Performance incentives
• Professional development program
• Promotions
• Recruited
• Recruitment program
• Senior management
• Skills deficiencies
• Skills gaps
• Staff training
• Succession planning
• Team-building
• Training and development
• Union
• Union relations
• Workforce training

Information technology

• AI
• Application-development
• Applications
• Architecture
• Business analysis
• Business continuity
• Business support
• Cloud computing
• Cloud networking
• Compatibility 
• Compliance
• Cybersecurity
• Data
• Data analysis
• Datacenter
• Data recovery
• Database
• Desktop support
• Disaster recovery
• End-user
• Engineering
• Firewall
• Hardware
• IaaS
• Information systems
• Local areas network
• Machine learning
• Network
• Network administration
• Network engineering
• Networking
• Operations
• Project management
• Protections
• Programming
• Remote access
• Remote operations
• Remote work
• SaaS
• Security
• Server
• Server maintenance
• Startup
• Systems acquisition
• Systems configuration
• Technology
• Troubleshooting
• Web strategy
• Wireless
• Wireless networking

Legal

• Adjudication
• Administrative law
• Affidavits
• Bar
• Breach of contract
• Briefs
• Case law
• Case management
• Case strategy
• Civil settlement
• Client management
• Commercial litigation
• Compliance
• Conflict resolution
• Consulting
• Contract law
• Corporate law
• Criminal law
• Criminology
• Data mining
• Deposition
• Discovery
• Drafted
• Due diligence
• Family law
• Fraud
• Immigration law
• Insurance 
• Intellectual property
• Judicial
• Judicial ruling
• Law clerk
• Legal advocacy
• Legal dispute
• Legal documents
• Legal research
• Legal review
• Legal standards
• Legislation
• Liability
• Litigate
• Litigation
• Managed paralegals
• Negotiation
• Power of attorney
• Procurement
• Researched
• Risk management
• Settled
• Trial law

Manufacturing

• Accident prevention
• Agile
• Assembly
• Business processes
• Cargo
• Carrier
• Compliance
• Contract
• Control
• Coordinated
• Coordinated logistics
• Dispatch operations
• Distribution
• Distribution management
• Distribution operations
• Driver
• Engineering
• Equipment
• Equipment purchasing
• Exported
• Facilities management
• Fleet
• Fleet management
• Freight
• Implemented processes
• Imported
• Infrastructure
• Inventory management
• Load
• Load analysis
• Logistics
• Maintenance
• Material handling
• Operating expenses
• Operations
• Plant management
• Prevention
• Process management
• Production
• Production lines
• Productivity
• Project management
• Purchasing
• Quality assurance
• Safety
• Safety documentation
• Scheduled
• Staffing
• Transportation logistics
• Vendor relations
• Workflow

Marketing

• Account management
• Adobe Creative Cloud
• Advertising
• Analytics
• Benchmark
• Brand awareness
• Branded content
• Budgeting
• Business analytics
• Business intelligence
• Business plans
• CMS
• Communication
• Competitive analysis
• Content management
• Content marketing
• CRM
• Customer base
• Customer engagement
• Customer feedback
• Customer relations
• Data analytics
• Data-driven
• Digital advertising
• Digital campaign
• Digital marketing
• Distribution
• Email marketing
• Google Analytics
• Keyword research
• Market research
• Marketing analytics
• Marketing manager
• Marketing plans
• Marketing strategies
• Media campaign
• Media relations
• P&L
• Positioned
• Product development
• Product launch
• Product management
• Product positioning
• Project management
• Sales growth
• SalesForce
• SEO
• Social media
• Strategic marketing
• User engagement

Nonprofit

• Advocacy
• Agency
• Board of directors
• Budgeted
• Campaign
• Community building
• Community outreach
• Conducted research
• Coordinated donations
• Corporate giving
• Corporate giving program
• Developed
• Development
• Donations
• Endowment
• Foundation
• Funding
• Funded
• Fundraising
• Fundraising efforts
• Grant
• Grant writing
• Grassroots
• Managed campaigns
• Member services
• Members
• Member communications
• Mission statement
• Non-government agency
• Not-for-profit
• Oral communication
• Organization
• Organizational change
• Oversaw budgeting
• Policy
• Policy development
• Programming
• Policy writing
• Public relations
• Researched
• Sponsored
• Sponsorships
• Strategic planning
• Vision
• Volunteer
• Volunteer recruitment
• Volunteer services
• Volunteer training
• Written communication
• Wrote press releases

Nursing

• Acute
• Acute care
• Acute care facility
• Adaptability
• Administrator
• Administrative
• Advocate
• Assertive
• Assisted living
• Certified
• Clinic
• Clinical services
• Coordinated
• Coordinated patient care
• Critical thinking
• Emotional intelligence
• ER nurse
• Home care
• Inpatient
• Licensed
• Licensed practical nurse
• Life support
• Long-term care
• Managed
• Managed care
• Medical records
• Nurse practitioner
• Nursing protocols
• OR nurse
• Outpatient
• Patient
• Patient care
• Patient comfort
• Patient relationships
• Pediatric nurse
• Practiced
• Preventative
• Provider
• Psychiatric nurse
• Psychology
• Quality of care
• Registered nurse
• Rehabilitation
• RN
• Risk management
• Trauma nurse
• Treatment
• Treatment-planning
• Vital signs
• Wellness

Real estate

• Acquisition
• Appraised
• Asset management
• Bidding
• Building code compliance
• Code compliance
• Commercial development
• Commercial project
• Commercial property
• Competitive billing
• Construction
• Construction project
• Development project
• Divestiture
• Due diligence
• Industrial
• Lead generation
• Lease
• Lease agreement
• Licensed
• Managed
• Marketing
• Marketing analysis
• Marketing campaigns
• Negotiation skills
• Occupancy
• Office space
• Property developer
• Property development
• Property project
• Property investment
• Real estate appraisal 
• Real estate due diligence
• Real estate landscape
• Real estate license
• Realtor
• Renovation
• Residential development
• Residential home
• Residential land
• Residential property
• Return on investment
• Sales
• Site development
• Strategic planning
• Time of sale
• Time to sell
• Turnkey
• Vendor management
• Virtual tours

Social work

• Abuse
• Action plan
• Addiction
• Adoption
• Advocated
• After care
• Anxiety
• Behavior analysis
• Behavior management
• Behavioral
• BIRP Notes
• Care
• Case management
• Casework
• CBT
• Clinic
• Clinical
• Compliance
• Compliant
• Consulted
• Continuity of care
• Counseling
• Depression
• Disability
• Domestic violence
• Eating disorder
• Emergency care
• Geriatric
• Harm reduction
• Inpatient
• Intervention
• Licensed
• LCSW
• Licensed clinical social worker
• Licensed social worker
• LSW
• Managed care
• Mental health
• OCD
• Outpatient 
• Preventative
• Psychiatry
• Psychology
• Psychosocial
• Public health
• Rehabilitation
• Social services
• Substance abuse
• Third party
• Treatment planning

Software development

• 3D modeling
• Agile
• Algorithms
• Analysis
• Android development
• APIs
• Application
• Application scaling
• Apps
• Architecture
• Artificial intelligence/AI
• Back-end development
• Back-end framework
• Coding languages
• Compliance
• Computer science
• Continuous integration
• CSS
• Cybersecurity
• Database
• Database administration
• Debugging
• DevOps
• Documentation
• Full-stack development
• Framework
• Front-end development
• Hardware
• HTML
• iOS development
• Java
• JavaScript
• Load
• Linux
• Object-oriented
• QA engineering
• QA testing
• Quality assurance
• Quality control
• Produced
• Programming languages
• Python
• Scripting
• Security
• Software design
• Software engineering
• Unit testing
• User-focused
• User interface design
• Version control

Travel/tourism

• Airline experience
• Apollo
• Attention to detail
• Booked travel
• Booking arrangements
• Business development
• Business travel
• Client satisfaction
• Computer Reservation System
• Corporate travel
• Customer service
• Customized travel
• Detail-oriented
• Destination
• Dispatch
• Effective communication
• Efficient
• Emergency planning
• GDS
• Geographic locations
• GPS
• Hospitality
• Interpersonal skills
• Itinerary management
• Language
• Language fluency
• Logistics
• Multitasking
• Project management
• Researched destinations
• Research skills
• Sabre
• Scheduled
• Social media
• Supervisory
• Tourism
• Tourist destinations
• Traffic planning
• Transportation logistics
• Transportation provider
• Transportation services
• Travel arrangements
• Travel budgeting
• Travel documentation
• Travel industry
• Travel planning
• Vendor management
• Vendor relations
• Verbal communication
• Written communication

Writing/editing

• Adherence to deadlines
• Adobe Creative Cloud
• Analyzed
• Attention to detail
• Background research
• Blogging
• Brainstormed
• Branded content
• CMS
• Communication skills
• Consulting
• Content management
• Content writing
• Copy edited
• Created outlines
• Creative thinking
• Creative writing
• Critical thinking
• Digital articles
• Digital media
• Editorial oversight
• Ensured accuracy
• Ensured consistency
• Fact-checked
• Feature writing
• Grammatical skills
• Infographics
• Interviewed
• Magazine writing
• Multiple styles
• Multiple tones
• Newsletter editing
• Online platforms
• Outlined
• Print articles
• Project management
• Proofread
• Reading comprehension
• Reported
• Research
• Revised
• Rhetorical devices
• SEO-optimized
• Social media
• Storyteller
• Strong vocabulary
• Style guide
• Time management
• Verbal communication
• Web copy
• Web writing