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How to Find Keywords in a Job Description (Fast + Free)

Stop guessing what recruiters and ATS tools look for. Extract the right keywords from any job ad, then match them to your resume in minutes.

Quick Answer

To find keywords in a job description, look for repeated skills, tools, certifications, and responsibilities, especially in the Requirements and Qualifications sections. Then mirror the relevant wording in your resume Skills and Experience bullets.


Step 1: Copy the Job Description into a Notes Doc

  • Copy everything, not only the bullet list.
  • Include the title, summary, responsibilities, and requirements.
  • Leave it unedited so you do not miss wording variations.

Step 2: Highlight 4 Types of Keywords

Most job description keywords fall into these buckets:

  • Hard skills: SQL, financial modeling, forecasting, editing, Figma
  • Tools and platforms: GA4, HubSpot, Salesforce, Jira, Tableau
  • Role responsibilities: manage stakeholders, own roadmap, run experiments
  • Soft skills: communication, leadership, collaboration, problem-solving

Step 3: Pick the Keywords That Actually Fit You

  • Keep keywords that reflect real experience, projects, or training.
  • Skip keywords that would be misleading if asked in an interview.
  • Prioritize keywords that appear multiple times or feel central to the role.

Step 4: Place Keywords in the Right Resume Sections

  • Skills: tools, hard skills, certifications
  • Experience bullets: responsibilities + outcomes + numbers
  • Summary: the 2 to 3 most important keywords, max

The goal is relevance and clarity, not repetition.


Do It Instantly with the Free Resume Keyword Scanner

If you do not want to manually hunt keywords, use our free scanner: paste the job ad, compare it to your resume, and instantly see gaps.

Open the Free Resume Keyword Scanner

If you want the tool to also rewrite your bullets using the job ad wording, use: AI Resume Keyword Matcher


Common Mistakes to Avoid

  • Keyword stuffing: repeating terms without meaning or proof
  • Wrong placement: putting tools inside Education or irrelevant sections
  • Ignoring synonyms: job ads often use variations for the same skill
  • Overfitting one job: save a version per application instead

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: How to find keywords in a job description?
A: Highlight repeated skills, tools, and responsibilities, then place the relevant ones into your Skills and Experience bullets.

Q: How to identify keywords in a job description?
A: Look at Requirements and Qualifications first, then scan for repeated tools and role verbs like manage, build, analyze, lead.

Q: How to pick out keywords in job description?
A: Pick keywords you truly match, prioritize repeated terms, then prove them with outcomes in your experience bullets.

Q: How to find keywords in a job description quickly?
A: Use a scanner tool to compare your resume against the job ad and surface missing terms instantly.

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