ATS keywords are the skills, tools, job titles, certifications and industry terms a recruiter types to search applicants — almost always taken from the job description. Find them in the posting's title, requirements and repeated phrases; use the ones that are true for you, in the posting's exact wording (plus the abbreviation), inside bullets that show you used them and in your skills list. Never paste or hide them.
Why keywords matter in an ATS
Once your resume is parsed, it sits in a searchable database with every other applicant. A recruiter looking for a customer success manager searches for terms like “Salesforce” or “renewals”. If your resume says the same thing in other words, a plain keyword search can miss you. That is the whole mechanism — there is no hidden score you have to hit (see how an ATS reads your resume).
You will own onboarding for mid-market accounts, drive renewals and expansion, run quarterly business reviews, and partner with Product on churn analysis. Experience with Salesforce and stakeholder management required.
| Posting says | Your resume |
|---|---|
| onboarding | |
| renewals | |
| quarterly business reviews | |
| churn analysis | |
| Salesforce | |
| stakeholder management | |
| expansion |
What counts as an ATS keyword
| Type | Example | Where it goes | Search value |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hard skills | churn analysis, forecasting, SQL | Bullets + Skills | High |
| Tools & software | Salesforce, Gainsight, Excel | Skills + the bullet where you used it | High |
| Job titles | Customer Success Manager | Your title line (if accurate) + summary | High |
| Certifications & licenses | PMP, RN, CPA | Certifications section, spelled out once | High (often required) |
| Domain terms | mid-market, B2B SaaS, renewals | Summary + bullets | Medium |
| Soft skills | communication, leadership | Shown through results, not listed | Low on their own |
How to find keywords in a job description
- 1
Start with the title
- 2
Mark the requirements
- 3
Look for repeats
- 4
Check your wording
Generic “top ATS keywords” lists don't help much: the right keywords are the ones in the job you are applying for. Two postings with the same title can ask for different tools.
Where to put keywords on your resume
Put each keyword where it proves something. A skills list helps a search match you; a bullet that uses the same term shows the recruiter you actually did it.
Handled client relations and ran regular check-ins with key customers.
Led stakeholder management and quarterly business reviews (QBRs) for 12 key accounts, keeping all of them through renewal.
Skills: CRM software, data, Microsoft Office
Skills: Salesforce, Gainsight, churn analysis, Excel (pivot tables, XLOOKUP)
How many keywords — and how not to overdo it
- No ATS publishes a target percentage. Match-rate tools show one, but it is their own measure.
- Cover the required qualifications you have, each at least once in the posting's words.
- Don't repeat a term to raise a count — the recruiter reads the result.
- Never use white or tiny text. Hidden text is extracted like any other and shows up in the profile.
Checking keywords against a specific job
The free scanner at the top scores your keywords for your field in general, together with format and content. It does not compare your resume with one posting. For that you have three options:
- By hand, free: the four steps above.
- A match scanner: Jobscan's free plan includes 5 scans a month against a job description (see Jobscan alternatives for others).
- Our tailoring tool (Pro): tailor your resume to a job description — it rewrites your bullets with the posting's terms and saves a separate version, without inventing experience.
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Frequently asked questions
What are ATS keywords?
They are the words a recruiter types when searching applicants in an applicant tracking system: skills, tools, job titles, certifications and industry terms. Recruiters take them from the job description, so the job description is where you find them.
How many keywords should a resume have?
There is no magic number or percentage, and no ATS publishes one. Aim to cover the posting's required qualifications that you genuinely have, each in the posting's wording at least once, in a bullet that shows you used it. Matching every word of a long posting is neither possible nor useful.
Can I copy the job description into my resume?
No. Pasted or hidden text is visible in the parsed profile a recruiter reads and looks like gaming the system. Use the posting's terms inside your own true statements instead.
Should I use abbreviations or the full term?
Use both once: the full term with the abbreviation in brackets, e.g. "quarterly business reviews (QBRs)" or "Certified Public Accountant (CPA)". A search for either form then matches.
Does the free scanner check my resume against a job description?
No. It scores keywords for your field in general, along with format, content, impact and presentation. To compare against one specific posting, follow the steps on this page by hand, use a match scanner (Jobscan's free plan includes 5 scans a month), or use our tailoring tool (Pro), which rewrites your resume to the job description without inventing experience.
Check yours, then fix it in one place
The scanner at the top is free and needs no account. When you are ready to edit, upload the same file to the builder: a free account keeps your resume and the full score breakdown; downloads, tailoring and cover letters are Pro.