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ATS Keywords Without Stuffing: A Practical Checklist

How to mirror a job description in a way an ATS can read, without turning your CV into a thesaurus.

Spyre Editorial · Feb 10, 2026
Close-up of a laptop with resume notes and keyword highlights

Most "ATS advice" online is either too vague ("add more keywords") or too literal ("copy the job ad into white text"). The real win is simpler: make sure the exact role language appears where it naturally belongs.

What an ATS Usually Reads Reliably

Different systems behave differently, but most are strong at extracting plain text from predictable sections. Your goal is to remove ambiguity.

  • Job titles (especially your most recent 1-2 roles)
  • Skills lists (tool names, platforms, certifications)
  • Company + dates + location
  • Bullet points with clear nouns + verbs + outcomes
Quick rule
If a keyword only appears in a "Skills cloud" but never in a bullet that proves it, it is weak. If it only appears in a bullet but never in a skills list, it is hard to spot quickly. Aim for both.

The "Keyword Triangle" That Avoids Stuffing

For each target role, build a small triangle of terms. You do not need 60 keywords. You need the right 12-18, placed correctly.

  1. Role nouns: your target title and the role family (e.g., "Customer Success Manager", "CSM", "Onboarding").
  2. Tool nouns: the systems you actually used (e.g., "Salesforce", "HubSpot", "Zendesk").
  3. Outcome nouns: what you produced (e.g., "renewals", "retention", "pipeline", "time-to-value").

Example: Before / After

Before: Worked with clients to ensure success and drive results.
After: Managed onboarding for 35+ mid-market accounts, reducing time-to-value by 22% using Salesforce + Zendesk workflows.

Notice the "after" line naturally includes the nouns the ATS and the recruiter care about: onboarding, accounts, time-to-value, plus the tools used to do the work.

Where to Put Keywords (So It Looks Human)

  • Headline: one target title + one specialty (not five buzzwords).
  • Skills: grouped, not a wall of comma-separated terms.
  • Experience bullets: the strongest place for keywords because they are evidence.
  • Projects: especially for career switchers or early-career candidates.
Avoid
Charts, text boxes, columns, and icon-heavy "designer CVs" often lose text when parsed. If the content matters, make sure it exists as plain text in the main flow.

A 10-Minute Checklist

  • Your current title matches the target title (when honest).
  • Top 8-12 role terms appear at least once in bullets.
  • Tools mentioned in the job ad appear where you used them.
  • Every key skill is backed by an outcome line.
  • PDF export is selectable text (try copy/paste into Notes).

If you do nothing else: align your job titles and replace vague bullets with outcome bullets. That single change does more for ATS and humans than any "keyword hack."

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