The Top 500 ATS Resume Keywords of 2023

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Job seekers, rejoice! We’ve compiled a list of the top 500 resume keywords that hiring managers are looking for when considering job applicants. 

We’ve grouped these keywords into general job categories, so you can easily find the words that best fit your experience and skills. Simply choose the keywords that are most relevant to your experience and include them on your resume. 

By having these keywords on your resume, you’ll improve your chances of being noticed by a hiring manager and landing an interview.

Table of Contents

• What are resume keywords?
• What keywords do recruiters look for?
• How do you find the right keywords to use?
• How to use keywords in your resume
• Top 500 resume keywords list
  • Business, Finance, Law
  • Customer Service, Retail, Human Resources, Tourism
  • Education
  • Health Care, Medicine
  • Information Technology, Computer Science
  • Manufacturing, Transportation
  • Marketing, Media, Publishing, Graphic Design
• Key takeaways

What are resume keywords?

Job seekers today face a daunting task when it comes to creating a resume that will catch the eye of a hiring manager.

Why? Because most companies (including 99% of Fortune 500 companies) now use applicant tracking systems, or ATS, to rank and filter job applicants. ATS is a computer software application that helps employers manage the hiring process.

When you submit your resume, it usually goes straight into an ATS database. Hiring managers then search for suitable candidates by typing certain keywords into the search bar. These keywords are usually job titles and hard and soft skills. This is what is meant by “resume keywords.”

Read the full guide: What Is An ATS? 8 Things You Need to Know About Applicant Tracking Systems

What keywords do recruiters look for?

“The first thing I’m looking for is the hard skills that match the job description,” one corporate recruiter told Jobscan.

For example, if a recruiter wanted to fill a position for a marketing manager, they might type in keywords such as “social media,” “SEO,” or “branding.”

The ATS then searches through all of the resumes in its database and pulls out those containing the keywords the recruiter was searching for.

Unfortunately, a lot of resumes simply vanish into the black hole of an ATS database, never to be seen by a live human being. All because they didn’t contain the right keywords.

In fact, according to a study by the Harvard Business School, ATS technology screens out qualified applicants in 88% of companies because they don’t have the right keywords in their resumes.

Read the full guide: Top Resume Skills and How to List Them

How do you find the right resume keywords to use?

One of the best ways to find keywords is to re-read the job description. Pay attention to the skills and qualifications that are listed as requirements for the position. Then add those keywords to your resume, especially in the work experience section. 

The easiest and most effective way to find keywords is to use a tool like Jobscan’s resume scanner. Using AI technology, this tool analyzes your resume and compares it to the job description. The scanner then provides you with a resume score, which is based on several factors, including skills, keywords, and experience.

How to use keywords in your resume

Optimizing your resume isn’t as simple as stuffing industry-specific skills and jargon into your resume. It’s about tweaking the keywords already in your resume to match the job description.

For example, if you’re a graphic designer, you probably have a lot of experience with Adobe Creative Cloud, Adobe’s software bundle that includes standards like Photoshop and Illustrator. 

But let’s say the job description mentions only “Adobe Creative Suite,” its former name.

If you have “Adobe Creative Cloud” on your resume but the hiring manager searches the ATS for “Adobe Creative Suite,” there’s a possibility you could be excluded from the results even though you possess the exact skillset they’re looking for. 

This is why it’s so important to tailor your resume to every job you apply for.

To optimize your resume for this particular job opening, you should change your resume keyword to “Adobe Creative Suite.”

The same thing can happen with job titles. There are many variations of job titles based on industry, company culture, or experience levels.

Here are three examples:

Example #1 – You’re applying for a “Content Writer” position, but your previous job title was “Content Creator” which is what you’ve put on your resume. Because “Content Writer” is listed in the job description, this is what the hiring manager will most likely search for. It’s the same job, so change “Content Creator” to “Content Writer” on your resume to increase your searchability.

Example #2 -The job title buzzword fad (ninjas, gurus, rock stars, etc…) is thankfully dying out, but you still have “Customer Service Wizard” on your resume from a previous job. Unless a job description asks for actual sorcery skills, you should change the job title to reflect the new job for which you’re applying.

Example #3 – You worked for six years as a “Web Developer” at a small firm that didn’t differentiate experience levels. In other contexts, you would be a “Senior Web Developer,” so make that change on your resume as you pursue other senior-level positions.

There’s nothing wrong with changing the job titles on your resume. All you’re doing is translating your job titles into the same language used by the hiring manager of the company you’re applying to. 

This is what optimizing your resume keywords is all about.

You can take the guesswork out of keyword optimization by using a tool like Jobscan’s resume scanner. It analyzes your resume against the job description and tells you exactly how to optimize your resume to match each company’s ATS.

Important note: We’re talking about re-contextualizing your work experience rather than improving it. Do not give yourself a promotion you felt you deserved but didn’t get.

Read the full guide: Resume Words: Keywords, Adjectives, Skills, and Power Verbs

Pro Tip #1: Add keywords exactly as they appear in the job description

Many ATS do not recognize tenses, plurals, synonyms, abbreviations, or other word variations.  

The best way to determine which keyword variation you should include on your resume is to simply copy what’s written in the job description. 

For example, if the keyword “manager” is used frequently in the job description but your resume says “Managed team of 11 engineers,” simply rewrite it to say “Manager of a team of 11 engineers.”

Pro Tip #2: Don’t overstuff keywords!

Your resume should always be natural and easy to read. Don’t add keywords just for the sake of “pleasing” the ATS. 

When it comes to keywords, remember to use them sparingly. A few well-placed keywords will do the trick and help your resume stand out from the rest.

Top 500 ATS resume keywords list

Below are the resume keywords, organized by industry, that appear most frequently in Jobscan‘s database of real job descriptions. (Note: some keywords are used multiple times).

Remember, always check the job description to see exactly how these keywords are used!

Quick Navigation

• Business, Finance, Law
• Customer Service, Retail, Human Resources, Tourism
• Education
• Health Care, Medicine
• Information Technology, Computer Science
• Manufacturing, Transportation
• Marketing, Media, Publishing, Graphic Design

Business, Finance, Law

Customer Service, Retail, Human Resources, Tourism

Education

Health Care, Medicine

Information Technology, Computer Science

Manufacturing, Transportation

Marketing, Media, Publishing, Graphic Design

Key takeaways

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