Resume Keyword Finder
Paste a job description to see the keywords recruiters will search for. Add your resume to get a match score and the exact keywords you're missing.
Runs entirely in your browser. Nothing you paste is uploaded or stored.
How to use job description keywords in your resume
Recruiters search applicant tracking systems by job title and skill, so the words in the posting are the words your resume is searched for. Here is how to use them without keyword stuffing.
What counts as a keyword
The keywords that matter are the concrete ones: tools and software (Power BI, Salesforce, AutoCAD), technical skills (SQL, financial modelling, React), certifications (PMP, CA), methods (Agile, A/B testing) and the job title itself. Soft skills like “team player” are rarely what anyone searches for.
This finder ranks words by how often the posting uses them and gives extra weight to capitalised terms, which are usually tools and proper nouns. Treat the list as a starting point, and read the posting yourself for two-word skills like “financial modelling” or “stakeholder management”.
Where to put them
- Skills section: list the tools and skills by name, using the posting's own spelling (JavaScript, not JS, if that is what it says).
- Experience bullets: show the keyword in use — “Built 14 Power BI dashboards for the sales team” proves more than a skills line alone.
- Summary: two or three of the most important keywords, including the job title you are applying for.
- Job titles: if your official title was unusual, you can add the common equivalent in brackets, e.g. “Associate — Data (Data Analyst)”.
Only add what is true
A missing keyword is a question, not an instruction. If you have the skill, add it where it belongs. If you don't, leave it out: you will be asked about everything on your resume in the interview, and a claim you can't back up costs more than a gap.
Don't stuff keywords
Repeating a word ten times, pasting the job description into white text, or listing skills you have never used does not help. Recruiters read the result, and modern systems are built to handle it. Use each important keyword naturally — once in skills and once in context is plenty.
What a good match percentage looks like
There is no magic number. Covering most of the top keywords that genuinely apply to you is a good sign; a very low match usually means either the role is a stretch or your resume describes your work in different words than the industry uses. Rewrite in the posting's vocabulary where it is accurate, then run the full ATS checker for layout and impact.
Resume keywords: frequently asked questions
How do I find keywords in a job description?
Paste the job description into this tool. It pulls out the most important terms, weighting the words the posting repeats and the capitalised ones that are usually tools and skills. Paste your resume as well to see which of those keywords you already use and which are missing.
Is my resume uploaded anywhere?
No. The keyword finder runs entirely in your browser — nothing you paste is sent to our servers or stored.
How many keywords should my resume have?
There is no fixed number. Aim to include the important skills and tools from the posting that you genuinely have, each used naturally in your skills section and in the experience bullets where you used them.
Should I tailor my resume for every job?
For roles you care about, yes. Keeping a base resume and adjusting the summary, skills and a few bullets to each posting's wording is usually enough, and takes a few minutes per application.
Is a keyword match the same as an ATS score?
No. Keyword match only compares words. An ATS score also looks at whether your file can be read correctly, whether your sections are standard, and whether your bullets show results. Use the free ATS checker for that.
Why are some common words missing from the list?
The finder filters out ordinary words and job-posting boilerplate like “team”, “experience” and “join”, so the list focuses on skills and tools. Very short terms of one or two letters are also skipped, so check the posting for things like “Go” or “R” yourself.