500+ Resume Keywords: Complete List by Industry

Keywords are the bridge between a job description and an ATS score. Miss them and your resume lands near the bottom of the stack; match them and you’re pre-qualified before anyone reads a word. This post gives you 500+ ATS-ready keywords organized by industry, so you always have something truthful to pick from when you’re tailoring.

How to use these lists

1. Start with the job description. Highlight every noun, verb, and tool name.
2. Cross-reference against the lists below for synonyms and adjacent terms you’ve actually done.
3. Work the matches into your summary, most recent role, and skills section.
4. Never lie. ATS keywords get you to the interview; interviews get you to the offer.

Software engineering & IT

Languages & runtimes: Python, TypeScript, JavaScript, Go, Rust, Java, Kotlin, Swift, C++, SQL, HTML, CSS.

Frameworks & tools: React, Next.js, Node.js, Express, FastAPI, Spring Boot, Django, Rails, Flutter, React Native, Kubernetes, Docker, Terraform, Git, GitHub Actions.

Roles & specialties: Full-stack developer, backend engineer, frontend engineer, mobile developer, DevOps engineer, SRE, data engineer, ML engineer, platform engineer, security engineer.

Marketing & sales

Marketing: SEO, SEM, paid social, content marketing, conversion rate optimization, A/B testing, marketing automation, HubSpot, Marketo, Salesforce, attribution modeling, Google Analytics, retention, growth, brand strategy.

Sales: B2B sales, SaaS sales, outbound, inbound, SDR, BDR, AE, account management, pipeline, quota, CRM, Salesforce, HubSpot, MEDDIC, SPIN, Challenger, closed-won, forecasting.

Finance & banking

Financial modeling, FP&A, budgeting, forecasting, variance analysis, M&A, DCF, LBO, credit analysis, risk management, compliance, IFRS, GAAP, SOX, Bloomberg, Excel, Power BI, SQL, CPA-10, CPA-20, CEA, Anbima (Brazil-specific).

Healthcare

EHR, EMR, HIPAA, Epic, Cerner, triage, patient care, medication administration, BLS, ACLS, infection control. In Brazil: COREN, CRM, CRF, SUS, Portaria 380.

Human resources

Talent acquisition, full-cycle recruiting, employer branding, onboarding, DEI, compensation, benefits, HRIS, Workday, BambooHR, performance management, OKRs, employee engagement, culture, retention, succession planning.

Operations & supply chain

Supply chain management, procurement, logistics, S&OP, lean, Six Sigma, Kaizen, process improvement, WMS, ERP, SAP, Oracle, inventory management, demand planning, vendor management.

Industry-neutral power verbs

Led, owned, shipped, launched, scaled, grew, reduced, saved, optimized, automated, built, designed, architected, migrated, mentored, influenced. Pair every verb with a number where you can.

Ready to put these to work? Run your resume through our free ATS analysis — we’ll show you which keywords from a target job description are missing, and where in your document to add them.