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ATS keywords: how to get past the bots
Once a system can read your CV, it decides whether you are relevant by looking for specific words. Miss them and you read as unqualified even when you are perfect for the job. Here is how to get them right.
Once an applicant tracking system can read your CV, it has to decide whether you are relevant, and it does that by looking for specific words. ATS keywords are the terms a system matches your CV against to score and rank you for a role. Miss them and you read as unqualified even when you are perfect for the job. Include them well and you rise up the ranking. This is where many strong candidates quietly lose out.
Here is how to find the right ATS keywords and use them so you get past the bots and convince the human.
What ATS keywords actually are
They are the skills, tools, qualifications, job titles and responsibilities that define a role. When an employer sets up a vacancy, these terms become the criteria the system scores against. Your job is to make sure the genuine matches between you and the role appear clearly on your CV, in the words the employer uses.
How to find the right ATS keywords
Read the job advert closely
It is the single best source. The skills and requirements it lists, especially the essential ones, are your keywords.
Note exact terminology
If it says "stakeholder management", use that phrase, not a personal paraphrase. The system matches words, not intentions.
Look across several adverts
Read a few postings for the same kind of role to spot the terms that come up repeatedly. Those are the ones that matter most.
Include variations
Use both a term and its common abbreviation where natural, for example "search engine optimisation (SEO)".
How to use ATS keywords well
Place them naturally where they belong: in your personal statement, your skills section, and woven through your experience bullets. The skills section and the experience are the most important. A keyword that appears in the context of a real achievement carries more weight, with both the software and the recruiter, than one sitting in an isolated list.
"Experienced in improving how teams and processes work across the business."
"Led process improvement and stakeholder management across operations, raising efficiency by 18%."
What not to do with ATS keywords
Do not stuff your CV, hide white keyword text, or paste the entire job advert into your skills section. Modern systems and the recruiters reading behind them detect this easily, and it reads as dishonest. Every keyword should be genuinely true of you and earn its place in context. Honest relevance is what wins, as covered in how to beat applicant tracking systems. Keywords work alongside a clean ATS-friendly format; you need both.
Want to know if your CV has the right keywords?
Send it over and a recruiter will tell you what the software is looking for and what you are missing. No obligation.