ATS resume keywords (without stuffing)
The fastest way to improve ATS and human screening is to use the right keywords in the right places — inside bullets that prove you did the work.
Step 1: Extract the real requirements
- • Skills & tools (languages, frameworks, cloud, databases)
- • Responsibilities (design, build, own, optimize, collaborate)
- • Domain signals (payments, healthcare, infra, growth, etc.)
- • Seniority signals (leadership, architecture, stakeholder work)
Step 2: Map each keyword to evidence
For each key requirement, your resume should contain a bullet that shows what you did, how you did it, and what changed (metric).
Example
If the JD mentions PostgreSQL, query optimization, and latency, a strong bullet might be:
Optimized PostgreSQL indexes and query plans for high-traffic endpoints, reducing p95 latency by 38% and cutting DB CPU by 22%.
Avoid these mistakes
- • Copy-pasting the JD into a “Skills” section
- • Listing tools with no bullets that prove usage
- • Repeating keywords across sections with no added meaning