Many employers use software called applicant tracking systems (ATS) to sift through CVs to find candidates for interview. Your application has to successfully get through the ATS before it even reaches the recruiter or hiring manager. So how do you get your CV through to the next stage, where it’s seen by a human being?
The answer is keywords. The ATS scans hundreds of CVs and ranks candidates based on keywords chosen by the employer.
These are specific words or phrases companies identify as requirements. They can include terms based on education, skills, experience, the role or industry.
Optimising your CV for ATS keywords will boost the chances of a manager seeing your application and selecting you for phone or online screening or interview.
There are several steps to work through to get your CV in front of a person.
Read the job advert closely
Look for specific keywords the employer included in the advert. Find them in areas such as education, duties and responsibilities and preferred qualifications.
When writing your CV, reflect the keywords from the job description.
Include keywords for the role
The two major keywords you should always use are the company’s name and the exact job title. Include them in your summary statement or career objective section.
You should also include any qualifications that are relevant to the position. Finally, make sure your CV includes relevant hard skills – the technical skills required for the role.
Include industry keywords
Simply search for “[industry] CV keywords”. Some of these may already have been included in the job description. If you find other industry keywords that reflect your experience, including them in your CV could help you stand out.
Put keywords in the right place
Make sure that your cover letter includes several of the keywords you have identified. Look at the summary statement, education, experience and skills sections.
Focus on the keywords that show your strengths and highest level of experience right at the start, in your summary statement or career objective.
Include role-specific keywords from the responsibilities section of the job advert in the experience section of your CV. Finally, make sure your skills section includes both soft and hard skills relevant to the role and industry and position.
Review your CV
Check your CV to make sure your keywords are spelled correctly – match the spelling to the way they appear in the job description. If the advert uses abbreviations, use them as well as the full word. If the job description spells out numbers (often from one to nine) you should do the same.
Remember the hiring manager
Don’t just write your CV for the ATS. You need to impress the hiring manager. While it is important to include ATS keywords, don’t just stuff your CV full of them. It needs to be readable by humans. Don’t include an ATS keyword if it doesn’t match your education, experience or skills – the recruiter or hiring manager won’t be impressed if you can’t back your claims up with real facts. And even if you get the job, lying on your CV can be a sacking offence. It’s not worth the risk.
Top tips
- The ATS has to scan and read your CV for your keywords to work. PDF files may be best for maintaining your CV’s format but they are not always compatible with ATS. If the application doesn’t offer PDF as an acceptable file type, use DOC, DOCX or plain text file instead.
- ATS struggles to read images, graphics, tables and charts, so avoid using them.
- Keywords matter but avoid using clichés. These are words and phrases that are overused in applications such as “hard worker” or “self-starter”. They are so common they don’t add anything to your application.
Further information
- How to write the perfect CV
- The best keywords for your cover letter
- Get inspiration for your next move from our career guides