CV Keywords List: 3900+ ATS Keywords by Job Role
The exact ATS keywords, skills, and certifications to put on your CV, curated for 202 job roles. Find your role below, then check your CV free against a real job description.
Business
Creative
Customer Service
Education
Engineering
Finance
Healthcare
Hospitality
Human Resources
Legal
Logistics
Marketing
Retail
Sales
Skilled Trades
Technology
The most in-demand keywords across every field
Aggregated from our 202 role guides (3922 unique terms), these are the keywords that appear most often across professions. Your role guide has the full list for your job title.
Hard skills employers screen for most
- stakeholder management (15 roles)
- budget management (14 roles)
- health and safety compliance (13 roles)
- risk assessment (12 roles)
- inventory management (12 roles)
- care planning (10 roles)
- sales forecasting (9 roles)
- a/b testing (9 roles)
- data analysis (9 roles)
- change management (9 roles)
- account management (8 roles)
- pipeline management (8 roles)
- stock control (8 roles)
- lead generation (8 roles)
- contract negotiation (7 roles)
Tools and platforms named most often
- microsoft excel (35 roles)
- tableau (29 roles)
- salesforce (27 roles)
- power bi (27 roles)
- jira (23 roles)
- sap (22 roles)
- git (20 roles)
- google analytics (19 roles)
- hubspot (17 roles)
- python (17 roles)
- docker (16 roles)
- autocad (14 roles)
- sage (13 roles)
- kubernetes (13 roles)
- confluence (13 roles)
Soft skills, phrased the way postings phrase them
- attention to detail (143 roles)
- communication skills (122 roles)
- time management (110 roles)
- problem-solving (70 roles)
- problem solving (67 roles)
- analytical thinking (47 roles)
- stakeholder management (45 roles)
- adaptability (32 roles)
- strategic thinking (27 roles)
- cross-functional collaboration (27 roles)
Certifications that pass screening filters
- first aid at work (18 roles)
- cscs card (14 roles)
- chartered engineer (ceng) (10 roles)
- aws certified machine learning – specialty (9 roles)
- prince2 (9 roles)
- iosh managing safely (8 roles)
- prince2 foundation (6 roles)
- microsoft certified: azure ai engineer associate (6 roles)
- tensorflow developer certificate (6 roles)
- cim diploma in professional marketing (6 roles)
How to use keywords on your CV
- Mirror the job description, word for word. Recruiters search their ATS with terms from their own posting. If it says "Python", write "Python", not "scripting languages".
- Put keywords where they count. A plain-text skills section gets you found; evidence in your work experience bullets gets you shortlisted. Do both.
- Spell out acronyms once. Write "Applicant Tracking System (ATS)" on first use so both forms match.
- Never stuff. Every keyword you claim should survive an interview question about it. Modern systems and every recruiter can spot a keyword wall.
- Re-check for every application. Keywords change with every posting. The free CV checker shows you which terms you are missing for the specific job.
For industry-level guidance, see ATS keywords by industry. Starting from scratch? Our free ATS CV templates give the keywords a layout that parses cleanly.
Frequently asked questions
What are CV keywords?
Keywords are the specific skills, tools, certifications, and phrases that applicant tracking systems and recruiters search for when screening candidates. They come from the job description: if a posting asks for "stakeholder management" and your CV says "working with senior colleagues", a keyword search will not find you.
How many keywords should a CV have?
There is no magic number, but covering 60 to 80% of the terms in the job description is a strong target. Aim for every hard skill and tool the posting names that you honestly have, placed in your skills section and evidenced in your work experience bullets.
Where should keywords go on a CV?
Three places: a plain-text skills section for scannability, your work experience bullets where each keyword is backed by a quantified achievement, and your professional summary for the most important two or three terms. Spell out acronyms once alongside the short form.
How do I find the right keywords for a specific job?
Read the job description and mirror its exact wording, use the role guides on this page for the standard terms in your field, and run your CV through the free checker to see which terms from a real posting you are missing.
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