ATS Resume Keywords: How to Tailor Your CV for Remote and Entry-Level Jobs

Overview

An applicant tracking system, or ATS, may be used to collect, sort, or search applications before a recruiter reviews them. The exact software and screening process vary by employer, so no resume can guarantee a particular result. However, a clear document that reflects the language and requirements of a specific role is easier for both software and people to understand.

ATS resume keywords are the words and phrases that describe the role’s responsibilities, skills, tools, qualifications, work arrangements, and industry context. They might include a platform such as “Google Analytics,” a method such as “content planning,” a qualification such as “customer service experience,” or a work requirement such as “remote collaboration.” The goal is not to insert as many terms as possible. The goal is to show, accurately and clearly, how your experience connects to the opportunity.

Start with the full job description rather than a generic list of popular resume keywords. Read it once for context, then scan it again for repeated or specific terms. Separate the findings into four groups:

• Responsibilities: the work you would perform, such as scheduling, editing, research, or client communication.
• Skills and tools: abilities, software, platforms, methods, or technical knowledge.
• Qualifications: education, certifications, language ability, experience level, or legal requirements stated by the employer.
• Context: the audience, industry, work setting, schedule, or type of contract.

Then compare those groups with your own background. Keep terms you can support with evidence. If a job description asks for a skill you do not have, do not add it simply to improve a keyword match. Instead, emphasize adjacent experience or transferable skills where they genuinely apply.

Checklist by scenario

For remote jobs

• Identify the employer’s preferred remote-work language, such as distributed team, asynchronous communication, virtual collaboration, or work from home.
• Show the behaviors behind those phrases. Examples include documenting processes, managing priorities independently, communicating progress, or coordinating across time zones.
• Name the collaboration tools you have actually used, such as project management, video conferencing, shared documents, or messaging platforms.
• Place remote-work evidence in your experience bullets rather than relying only on a “Remote” label in the headline.

A stronger bullet might be: “Coordinated a weekly content calendar with three collaborators using shared documents and project-tracking software.” This communicates remote-ready habits without repeating “remote” throughout the resume.

For entry-level jobs and paid internships

• Extract the core tasks, not just the minimum years of experience requested.
• Look for relevant evidence in coursework, student organizations, volunteer work, personal projects, part-time jobs, and placements.
• Translate activities into workplace language where accurate. “Created a social media plan for a student society” may demonstrate content planning, audience research, and scheduling.
• Include tools and outputs, such as presentations, reports, dashboards, edited videos, research summaries, or customer-facing work.
• Use an entry-level resume structure that gives relevant projects enough space instead of treating them as an afterthought.

For student internships, do not assume that only paid employment counts. A project can be useful evidence when you state your contribution, the method used, and the result or deliverable. Avoid claiming business impact you cannot verify.

For freelance and contract roles

• Match the client’s wording for the service: copywriting, video editing, illustration, community management, web development, or another specific deliverable.
• Show the type of client, audience, channel, or project you have worked with when relevant.
• Include workflow terms that matter to the brief, such as revisions, deadlines, briefs, stakeholder feedback, file handoff, or content calendars.
• Link to a focused portfolio if the application permits it, and make sure the examples support the keywords used in your resume.
• Describe independent work honestly. Freelance projects, volunteer assignments, and personal projects can be included when clearly labeled.

If you are building a service-based career, the Freelance Skill Stack Guide can help you identify related capabilities to present consistently across your resume and portfolio.

For a general application

• Choose one target role before editing the document.
• Keep a master resume containing your complete experience, then create a tailored version for each serious application.
• Place the most relevant keywords in the headline, summary, skills section, and recent experience where they fit naturally.
• Use the same term consistently unless the job description clearly uses a recognized alternative. For example, do not switch between several labels for the same skill without a reason.

What to double-check

Before submitting, run a simple keyword-matching review. Copy the job description into a separate document and mark each important term as supported, partially supported, or not supported. Supported terms should appear in a relevant section of your resume. Partially supported terms may be represented by transferable experience, but should not be presented as direct expertise. Remove unsupported terms unless you are using them in a clearly labeled learning or development context.

Review placement as well as presence. A keyword in a long skills list has less context than the same term attached to an accomplishment or responsibility. Compare these two approaches:

• “Project management” in a list of skills.
• “Managed a four-week editorial project, tracking tasks, deadlines, and feedback from initial brief to final delivery.”

The second version explains how the skill was used. If the work involved a named tool, add it only when accurate and useful.

Check the document’s structure. Use conventional section headings such as Summary, Experience, Education, Projects, Certifications, and Skills. Keep contact details in the main document body where possible, rather than placing essential information in headers, footers, text boxes, graphics, or images. Use a readable font, consistent dates, clear bullet points, and standard file formats requested by the employer.

Open the final file after exporting it. Confirm that text can be selected, links work, pages display in the intended order, and symbols have not changed. A resume optimizer or CV optimizer can help identify missing terms or formatting concerns, but treat its suggestions as prompts for review rather than automatic instructions. Your judgment still determines whether a keyword is truthful and relevant.

Common mistakes

• Keyword stuffing: Repeating a phrase unnaturally can make the resume harder to read and may create claims you cannot support.
• Using a generic resume everywhere: A broad document may omit the specific language that explains your fit for a particular remote job, internship, or contract.
• Copying the job description: Mirroring the employer’s wording is useful only when it accurately describes your experience. Your bullets should still show what you did.
• Hiding information in design elements: Tables, icons, columns, text boxes, and graphics can create parsing problems in some systems.
• Listing tools without evidence: A software name is more credible when connected to a task, project, or outcome.
• Overstating transferable skills: Adaptability and communication matter, but they should be demonstrated through specific examples rather than listed as unsupported traits.
• Ignoring the application instructions: File type, page limits, naming conventions, questions, and portfolio requests are part of the application and should be checked separately.

Your resume is only one part of the process. Prepare a short explanation for the most important keywords you used, because an interview question generator or hiring manager may prompt you to discuss them. For freelance roles, also review the client and project carefully; resume optimization should not replace basic checks for scope, payment terms, or communication expectations.

When to revisit

Revisit your ATS resume keywords whenever you apply for a different type of role, move from study into employment, add a meaningful project, learn a tool, complete a certification, or change the services you offer. A remote job application may emphasize collaboration and independent delivery, while an internship may emphasize learning, research, and project support. The underlying resume can remain consistent, but the evidence and emphasis should change.

Set aside a short review before seasonal planning cycles or any period when you expect to apply regularly. Also review the document when your workflow or application tools change. Job boards, employer portals, portfolio links, and resume tools can display files differently, so check the actual version you intend to submit.

Use this final pre-submission checklist:

1. Read the job description twice and highlight its essential terms.
2. Choose the terms that accurately match your experience.
3. Add them to relevant bullets, projects, or skills sections.
4. Replace vague statements with evidence of tasks, tools, and deliverables.
5. Check the document for simple headings, readable formatting, and consistent dates.
6. Remove unsupported claims, repetition, and irrelevant skills.
7. Open the exported file and test every link.
8. Save the tailored version with a clear file name and keep a record of the application.

After applying, track which version you used and what questions arise in follow-ups or interviews. The guide to following up after applying for a freelance job or contract role can help with the next step. Treat each application as feedback: update your master resume when you gain new evidence, and tailor the next version when the role’s requirements change.