How to Find and Add ATS Resume Keywords
Keywords are how recruiters search the ATS — get them right and you surface, miss them and you're invisible. Here's exactly how to find the keywords that matter and add them without keyword stuffing.
The short version
- Pull keywords straight from the job description — skills, tools, and the job title.
- Place them in your summary, skills section, and bullet points — in context.
- Use the exact phrasing from the posting, plus natural variations.
- Never stuff or hide keywords in white text — modern ATS flag it.
How to find the right keywords
The source is the job description itself. Read it and highlight: the job title, hard skills and tools, certifications, and any phrase that repeats. Those repeated, specific terms are what the recruiter will search for. Do this per application — keywords change with every posting.
Where to place keywords
Spread them across three areas so they read naturally:
- Summary: 2–3 of the most important terms, in a sentence.
- Skills section: the hard skills and tools, as a plain-text list.
- Experience bullets: the rest, shown in context — "Led stakeholder management across 4 teams."
Exact match vs variations
Use the posting's exact phrasing where you can ("project management," not just "managed projects"), because some systems match literally. Then add natural variations and both the acronym and full term — "Search Engine Optimization (SEO)" — so you match either search.
How to avoid keyword stuffing
Stuffing — cramming keywords unnaturally, or hiding them in white text — can get your resume flagged and reads badly to the human who sees it next. The rule: every keyword should sit in a true, readable sentence or a genuine skills list. If it doesn't describe something you actually did, leave it out.
Let AI match the keywords for you
Paste a job description into ATS Perfect and it generates a summary, skills, and bullet points matched to that posting's keywords — naturally, without stuffing.
Build my resume free →Frequently asked questions
How do I find keywords for my resume?
Take them from the job description. Highlight the job title, hard skills, tools, certifications, and any repeated phrases — those are what recruiters search the ATS for. Repeat this for every application, since keywords change per posting.
Where should I put keywords on my resume?
Spread them across your summary, a plain-text skills section, and your experience bullets, so they read naturally. Avoid clustering them all in one place or listing terms you can't back up.
How many keywords should I use?
There's no fixed number. Include the specific skills, tools, and title from the posting wherever they're true for you. Relevance beats volume — stuffing can get your resume flagged.
What is keyword stuffing and why is it bad?
Keyword stuffing is cramming terms unnaturally or hiding them in white text to game the ATS. Modern systems flag it, and it reads poorly to the recruiter who reviews you next. Keep every keyword in a true, readable sentence.
Does ATS Perfect add keywords automatically?
Yes. Paste a job description and ATS Perfect generates a summary, skills, and bullet points matched to that posting's keywords, woven in naturally rather than stuffed.
Should keywords be repeated on a resume?
A keyword should never be repeated over and over just to game the system — that's stuffing, and modern ATS software flags it. But naturally mentioning an important skill in two places, such as your skills section and once inside an experience bullet where it's true, is fine and actually reinforces relevance. The rule is simple: every repeat must read naturally to the human recruiter who reviews you next. Repeat the meaning, not the exact phrase pasted five times.
What are ATS software keywords?
ATS software keywords are the specific terms an applicant tracking system searches your resume for — usually the job title, hard skills, tools, and certifications pulled straight from the job posting. When a recruiter filters candidates, the system matches your resume against these terms, so the closer your wording is to the posting (where it's true for you), the better you rank. There's no universal list; the keywords change with every job description.
Related: ATS-friendly resume guide · Resume templates