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Resume keywords

Resume Keywords by Industry

Resume keywords are the job titles, hard skills, tools, and certifications employers search for and applicant tracking systems match against. The best keywords always come from the job posting itself, but each industry has common ones. Below are keyword lists for major industries, how to find the right keywords for any job, and where to put them. When you're done, check your match with the free ATS resume checker.

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Key takeaways

  • Take keywords from the job posting first, then industry lists
  • Focus on job titles, hard skills, tools, and certifications
  • Use the exact wording, and include acronyms and full terms
  • Put keywords in your summary, skills, and experience bullets
  • Never stuff keywords or list skills you don't have

How to Find Keywords for Your Resume

  1. Copy two or three job postings for the role you want.
  2. Highlight job titles, skills, tools, certifications, and phrases that repeat.
  3. Compare them against your resume, and note what's missing.
  4. Add the ones you genuinely have, using the exact wording.
  5. Check your match with the ATS resume checker.

Recruiters search for nouns, not adjectives, so "Salesforce" beats "hardworking." See keywords recruiters search for.

Resume Keywords List by Industry

Healthcare: patient care, EHR, Epic, HIPAA, BLS, ACLS, medication administration, care coordination. See the nursing resume builder.

IT support: help desk, Active Directory, ServiceNow, ticketing, troubleshooting, Microsoft 365, CompTIA A+, ITIL.

Sales: quota attainment, pipeline management, Salesforce, prospecting, negotiation, account management.

Marketing: SEO, email marketing, HubSpot, paid social, Google Analytics 4, content strategy, lead generation.

Finance: financial modeling, forecasting, GAAP, reconciliation, NetSuite, Excel, variance analysis.

Engineering: CAD, SolidWorks, GD&T, root cause analysis, Six Sigma, PLC programming.

For longer lists, see resume keywords by industry.

PR and Advertising Keywords

PR keywords: media relations, press releases, crisis communications, reputation management, earned media, thought leadership, Cision, Meltwater, Muck Rack.

Keywords for an advertising resume: campaign strategy, media planning, media buying, creative briefs, programmatic advertising, Google Ads, Meta Ads Manager, ROAS, CPA, brand lift.

Pair each keyword with a result: "Secured 45+ tier-1 media placements, raising share of voice from 18% to 31%."

Where to Put Keywords on Your Resume

  • Headline: your target job title
  • Summary: two to four of your most important skills
  • Skills section: 8–15 hard skills and tools
  • Experience bullets: the most important place, since it shows each keyword in action
  • Certifications: spell out and abbreviate, e.g. "Project Management Professional (PMP)"

Avoid keyword stuffing and hidden text. Both are easy to spot. More in resume keywords optimization.

Put it into practice

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