Keywords in your CV: How to choose them to pass automated screening (ATS)

📅 2026-07-06 ⏱️ 6 minutes read ✍️ CVVApp Career Team

Did you know that choosing the wrong words could get you fired from the job? Learn how to extract and use keywords intelligently in your CV.

What are keywords in recruitment?

Keywords are the skills, tools, and job titles that the hiring manager has programmed the ATS system to search for in thousands of resumes. A resume that does not contain these words will never reach the manager's screen.

How to extract keywords?

  • Analysis of the job description: Print the job advertisement and highlight in fluorescent color all the required technical (Hard Skills) and Soft Skills.
  • Using artificial intelligence tools: You can copy the job description and place it in ChatGPT with the request: “Extract the 10 most important keywords from this Description.”
  • Monitoring expert accounts: Search for LinkedIn accounts for people who hold the same position you aspire to, and note the terms they use frequently in the “Experience” section.

How do you combine them intelligently without exaggeration?

The biggest mistake is (word stuffing) or what is called Keyword Stuffing. Instead of listing words in a long, meaningless list, integrate them into the context of your accomplishments. For example, instead of writing “Project management, agile, data analysis,” write: “I managed software projects using Agile methodology, which increased data analysis efficiency by 30%.”