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Create ResumeATS keywords for a resume in Australia are the specific skills, job titles, qualifications, tools, industry terms, and experience markers that match the role you are applying for. They help applicant tracking systems identify whether your resume is relevant, but they also help recruiters and hiring managers quickly understand your fit. The mistake I see candidates make is treating ATS keywords like a secret code. They are not. They are evidence signals. If the job ad asks for stakeholder management, MYOB, WHS compliance, case management, payroll processing, or Python, your resume needs to show where you have actually used those things. Keywords get you found. Context gets you shortlisted.
An applicant tracking system is software employers use to receive, store, search, filter, and manage job applications. In Australia, ATS platforms are common across corporate employers, government departments, universities, healthcare organisations, recruitment agencies, mining companies, banks, consultancies, and larger SMEs.
But here is where candidates often misunderstand things. The ATS is not usually making the final hiring decision. It is helping organise applications. Recruiters still search, scan, compare, question, and shortlist. Hiring managers still decide whether your experience looks credible.
So when people ask, “What keywords should I put in my resume to beat the ATS?”, the better question is: “What language does this employer use to describe the person they are trying to hire, and does my resume prove I match it?”
That is the practical reality.
ATS keywords are not random magic words. They usually fall into categories such as:
Job titles and role variations
Technical skills
Software and systems
Industry terminology
Most ATS advice online makes the process sound more robotic than it really is. Yes, systems can parse your resume. Yes, recruiters can search by keyword. Yes, some employers use screening questions or ranking functions. But in real hiring, the process is messier and more human than candidates are led to believe.
A typical Australian recruitment workflow may look like this:
The employer posts a job ad with required and preferred criteria
Applications are collected in the ATS
Screening questions may remove clearly unsuitable applicants
Recruiters search or filter by job title, location, skills, qualification, visa status, salary range, or availability
Resumes are opened and scanned manually
Shortlisted candidates are compared against hiring manager priorities
Qualifications and licences
Compliance requirements
Certifications
Methods and frameworks
Core responsibilities
Seniority indicators
Sector specific language
Location or work arrangement terms
For example, an Australian payroll officer resume may need terms like payroll processing, end to end payroll, STP, superannuation, awards, enterprise agreements, MYOB, Xero, Chris21, or MicrOpay, depending on the role.
A project manager resume may need terms like stakeholder engagement, risk management, governance, budget control, Agile, Waterfall, Prince2, change management, vendor management, or delivery milestones.
The goal is not to stuff every possible term into the document. The goal is to mirror the role accurately and prove relevance quickly.
Hiring managers review a smaller group of resumes
Interviews are offered to candidates who show the strongest practical match
The ATS may help surface your resume, but a person still needs to believe your experience makes sense.
This is where many candidates lose ground. They add the right keywords, but the resume still reads like a list of disconnected tasks. A recruiter may find the resume through search, then reject it because the evidence is weak.
For example, writing stakeholder management in a skills section may help your resume appear in a search. But if your work history does not show who those stakeholders were, what you managed, and what outcome you supported, the keyword alone does very little.
Recruiters are not just asking, “Did this person mention the phrase?” They are asking:
Has this person done this in a comparable environment?
Is the experience recent enough?
Is the scale relevant?
Does the responsibility match the level of the role?
Is this a real skill or just a copied keyword?
Would the hiring manager believe this person can do the job?
That is the part keyword tools do not understand, but recruiters absolutely do.
The most reliable source of ATS keywords is the job advertisement itself. Not a generic keyword list. Not a random resume template. Not a blog post with 100 “power words” that could apply to everyone from a receptionist to a regional operations director.
The employer has already told you what they care about. Your job is to decode it.
When reading an Australian job ad, look for repeated or specific language in these areas:
Job title
Key responsibilities
Required skills
Preferred experience
Systems and tools
Qualifications
Industry knowledge
Compliance obligations
Soft skills that are tied to actual work outcomes
Keywords used in the selection criteria
Words that appear in both the job title and responsibilities
For example, if a job ad repeatedly mentions case management, NDIS, client records, risk assessments, and person centred support, those are not decorative phrases. They are screening signals.
If a finance role mentions month end reporting, budgeting, variance analysis, forecasting, and stakeholder reporting, those terms should appear naturally in your resume if you have that experience.
A good keyword approach starts with separating the job ad into three layers.
These are the non negotiables. If the job ad says the role requires CPA qualification, AHPRA registration, white card, Australian working rights, SAP experience, advanced Excel, or baseline security clearance, you need to include the relevant term clearly if you genuinely have it.
Do not bury mandatory requirements where they are hard to find. Recruiters are not reading your resume with a candle and a detective hat. They are scanning quickly because there may be 80, 150, or 300 applications.
These are the responsibilities and capabilities that show you understand the job. They may include phrases like account management, inventory control, claims processing, rostering, policy development, client onboarding, campaign reporting, procurement, or quality assurance.
These terms help connect your background to the actual work.
These are useful but not always essential. They may include systems, methods, industries, stakeholder types, reporting tools, or soft skill phrases. Supporting keywords strengthen your resume when used in the right context, but they should not overpower the core experience.
A resume that nails the required and role relevance keywords usually performs better than one trying to cram in every possible supporting phrase.
The best resumes do not hide keywords in one giant skills section. They distribute them naturally across the document, so both the ATS and the human reader can understand the match.
Your summary should include the strongest role alignment terms, especially job title, industry, seniority level, and core capability areas.
Weak Example
Experienced professional with strong communication skills and a proven ability to work in fast paced environments.
Good Example
Accounts payable officer with experience across high volume invoice processing, supplier reconciliations, payment runs, purchase orders, and ERP systems within Australian corporate environments.
The good version gives the ATS and recruiter actual search relevant language. The weak version could belong to almost anyone, which is exactly the problem.
A skills section is useful, but only when it is specific. Avoid vague phrases like hard worker, team player, excellent communicator, and attention to detail unless they are connected to role specific evidence elsewhere.
Better skills section examples include:
Payroll processing
Awards and enterprise agreement interpretation
STP reporting
Superannuation and leave calculations
Chris21 and SAP SuccessFactors
Employee query resolution
Payroll compliance
High volume data processing
This gives the ATS searchable terms and gives the recruiter quick role context.
This is where keywords become believable. I care far more about keywords in your work history than in a standalone skills list, because that is where I can see whether you actually used them.
Weak Example
Responsible for stakeholder management and reporting.
Good Example
Managed weekly stakeholder reporting for senior operations leaders, tracking project risks, delivery milestones, budget movements, and vendor performance across multiple workstreams.
The good version uses keywords, but it also shows scope. That is the difference between a keyword and evidence.
Use standard Australian job titles where possible. Creative titles can hurt you if they do not match what recruiters search for.
If your internal title was Customer Happiness Ninja, please do not make the recruiter work harder than necessary. Use a clearer title such as Customer Service Representative or Customer Success Specialist, provided it accurately reflects the role.
You can format it like this:
Customer Success Specialist, previously titled Customer Happiness Ninja
That way, the ATS and recruiter see the searchable title while you remain accurate.
If a qualification is relevant to the role, name it clearly. Australian employers often search for specific credentials, especially in regulated industries.
Examples include:
Bachelor of Nursing
AHPRA Registration
CPA Australia
CA ANZ
Certificate IV in Training and Assessment
White Card
Working with Children Check
Responsible Service of Alcohol
Forklift Licence
Do not assume the recruiter will infer your eligibility. If it matters, state it clearly.
Generic keyword lists are usually lazy, but examples can help when they are tied to actual job families. Use these as prompts, not as words to blindly copy.
Common ATS keywords may include:
Diary management
Inbox management
Data entry
Document control
Records management
Meeting coordination
Travel coordination
Stakeholder support
Reception duties
Microsoft Office
CRM systems
Purchase orders
Invoicing support
Compliance documentation
Recruiter reality: administration resumes often sound too general. The strongest ones show volume, systems, stakeholders, and the level of responsibility. “Admin support” is vague. “Coordinated executive diaries, board papers, travel bookings, supplier invoices, and confidential records” is much more useful.
Common ATS keywords may include:
Accounts payable
Accounts receivable
Bank reconciliations
Month end reporting
BAS
GST
Payroll
Budgeting
Forecasting
Variance analysis
Recruiter reality: finance hiring managers look for accuracy, systems, volume, deadlines, and reporting exposure. If your resume says “finance duties”, it is too weak. Name the actual processes.
Common ATS keywords may include:
Talent acquisition
End to end recruitment
Onboarding
Employee relations
HRIS
Performance management
Workforce planning
Policy development
Award interpretation
Industrial relations
Recruiter reality: HR resumes often overuse people focused language and under explain delivery. Employers want to know what you supported, how complex the environment was, and whether you understand Australian employment context.
Common ATS keywords may include:
Campaign management
Content strategy
SEO
Google Analytics
Paid media
Email marketing
Social media management
Brand management
Stakeholder engagement
Marketing automation
Recruiter reality: marketing candidates often list tools but forget outcomes. A keyword like SEO is stronger when paired with content performance, organic traffic growth, campaign visibility, or conversion improvement.
Common ATS keywords may include:
Software development
Business analysis
Cybersecurity
Cloud infrastructure
AWS
Azure
Python
JavaScript
SQL
DevOps
Recruiter reality: tech resumes need technical specificity. Saying “worked on IT projects” does not help much. Tell me the stack, environment, project type, users supported, and business problem solved.
Common ATS keywords may include:
AHPRA registration
Patient care
Clinical assessment
Care planning
Case management
NDIS
Mental health support
Risk assessment
Progress notes
Medication management
Recruiter reality: in regulated sectors, the right keywords are often tied to compliance and safety. If your resume is too warm and vague, it may not show enough professional rigour.
Keyword stuffing is when candidates copy large chunks of a job ad into their resume or overload the document with terms that are not properly supported.
It usually looks like this:
Weak Example
Skills include leadership, communication, stakeholder management, project management, change management, risk management, reporting, compliance, strategy, collaboration, problem solving, innovation, and business improvement.
This tells me almost nothing. It reads like someone swallowed a job ad and hoped the ATS would be impressed.
A better version would be:
Good Example
Led cross functional process improvement projects across customer operations, working with finance, compliance, IT, and frontline teams to reduce manual reporting, improve escalation tracking, and strengthen service delivery controls.
The second version still includes keywords, but it makes them believable. It shows action, stakeholders, scope, and outcome.
Here is the uncomfortable truth: ATS keyword stuffing may help you appear in a search, but it can also make the recruiter trust you less. If the resume feels artificially loaded, I start questioning judgement. Candidates forget that resumes are not just screening documents. They are credibility documents.
When I open a resume, I am usually trying to answer a few questions quickly.
What role is this person targeting?
Have they done this type of work before?
Is their experience at the right level?
Are the required systems, qualifications, or licences present?
Are the keywords supported by actual achievements?
Is the resume easy to scan?
Would this make sense to the hiring manager?
That last question matters more than candidates realise. A recruiter may personally understand your transferable experience, but still hesitate if the resume does not present a clear enough case for the hiring manager.
Hiring managers are not always generous readers. They often look for familiar language because familiar language reduces perceived risk. This is why keyword alignment matters. It helps the hiring manager connect your background to their vacancy without having to translate your experience from scratch.
For example, if you are moving from retail management into office administration, do not only say store operations and team support. Translate your experience into relevant terms such as:
Rostering
Supplier coordination
Inventory reporting
Customer records
Cash handling
Compliance procedures
Staff onboarding
Complaint resolution
Sales reporting
Administrative support
That is not dishonesty. That is positioning. You are making the relevant parts of your experience easier to recognise.
Do not start by asking, “What words should I add?” Start by asking, “What is this employer really hiring for?”
Use this simple framework before tailoring your resume.
If a phrase appears in the title, summary, responsibilities, and selection criteria, it is probably important. Repetition usually signals priority.
For example, if stakeholder engagement appears three times, use that exact phrase if it reflects your experience. Do not replace it with a weaker phrase like “people skills”.
Australian job ads often blur required and preferred criteria. Phrases like must have, essential, required, and you will need usually point to stronger screening criteria. Phrases like highly regarded, desirable, or advantageous are useful, but usually secondary.
Candidates sometimes over focus on nice to have keywords while missing the essentials. That is backwards.
Look at three to five similar Australian job ads for the same role. You will start seeing repeated language across the market. Those repeated terms are usually the core keyword set for that role.
For example, business analyst ads often repeat terms like:
Requirements gathering
Process mapping
Stakeholder workshops
User stories
Business process improvement
Agile delivery
UAT
Data analysis
JIRA
Documentation
If you are applying for business analyst roles and none of those terms appear in your resume, you are probably making the recruiter work too hard.
If the job ad says customer service, use customer service. If it says client service, use client service where accurate. If it says account management, do not only say relationship building.
Small wording differences can affect searchability. Recruiters often search using the exact words in the job brief because that is how the hiring manager framed the need.
But do not claim what you have not done. Adding SAP because the job ad mentions SAP, when you have never used it, is not optimisation. It is a future interview problem wearing a nice outfit.
A keyword is a relevant searchable term tied to the job. A buzzword is a vague phrase that sounds positive but does not prove anything.
Strong ATS keywords include:
Salesforce
Accounts payable
Risk assessment
Stakeholder engagement
AHPRA registration
Month end reporting
Data analysis
Case management
Inventory control
Award interpretation
Weak buzzwords include:
Passionate
Motivated
Dynamic
Results driven
Hard working
Go getter
Team player
Fast learner
Excellent communicator
This does not mean soft skills are useless. It means they need proof.
Instead of saying excellent communicator, write something like:
Good Example
Prepared weekly project updates for senior stakeholders, translating delivery risks, budget changes, and operational blockers into clear action points for decision making.
That shows communication in a way a recruiter can believe.
No. Do not use hidden keywords, white text, copied job ads, or keyword blocks designed to manipulate ATS screening.
This advice still floats around, and it is terrible. Some systems may parse hidden text. Some may not. Some recruiters may notice strange formatting. Some documents may display differently when uploaded. Even if it technically works, it makes your resume look untrustworthy if discovered.
Recruitment is already full of enough nonsense. Do not add digital camouflage to the list.
A better strategy is simple:
Use the correct job title where accurate
Include a focused skills section
Mirror the job ad language naturally
Show keywords inside achievement based bullet points
Include relevant systems, licences, qualifications, and tools
Keep formatting clean and readable
Tailor the resume for each serious application
You do not need tricks when the resume is properly aligned.
ATS keywords work best when the resume format is easy to parse. That means your resume should be clean, simple, and structured.
Use:
Clear section headings
Standard fonts
Normal margins
Reverse chronological work history
Plain text job titles
Simple bullet points
Consistent date formatting
Standard file types such as Word or PDF, depending on employer instructions
Avoid:
Text boxes
Excessive tables
Icons used instead of words
Graphics that contain important text
Unusual columns that break reading order
Headers or footers containing critical contact details
Overdesigned templates
Photos unless specifically relevant or requested
Australian employers generally do not need your photo, date of birth, marital status, or overly personal details. Keep the resume focused on professional relevance.
But let me be clear: formatting is only the container. It helps the ATS and recruiter read your resume. It does not create relevance where none exists.
A clean resume with weak content is still weak. A beautiful template with no role alignment is still just a nice looking missed opportunity.
There is no perfect number. The right amount depends on the role, industry, seniority, and job ad. A graduate resume will naturally have fewer technical keywords than a senior cyber security resume or an engineering project manager resume.
As a practical guide, your resume should include:
The target job title or a close accurate variation
The main technical skills from the job ad
The required tools, systems, or platforms you have used
Relevant qualifications, licences, or certifications
Core responsibilities that match the role
Industry specific terminology where applicable
Evidence based examples in your work history
If you are applying for a role and only three or four terms from the job ad appear in your resume, it is probably not tailored enough.
If your resume contains 80 disconnected keywords and very little evidence, it is probably overdone.
The sweet spot is relevance plus proof.
A recruiter should be able to scan your resume and think, “Yes, I can see why this person applied.” That is the standard. Not perfection. Not keyword gymnastics. Just a clear, credible match.
Before submitting your resume, check it against this list.
Does the resume include the target job title or a closely related title?
Have you included the most important required skills from the job ad?
Are mandatory qualifications, licences, or registrations clearly visible?
Are important systems and tools listed by name?
Do your work history bullet points prove the keywords, not just mention them?
Have you used Australian terminology that matches the job market?
Is the resume tailored to this role rather than copied from a generic version?
Are soft skills demonstrated through examples?
Is the formatting simple enough for an ATS to parse?
Have you avoided hidden text, keyword stuffing, and copied job ad blocks?
Would a hiring manager understand your fit within 20 seconds?
That final question is the one I would not skip. If the answer is no, the issue is usually not the ATS. It is positioning.
ATS keywords matter, but not in the robotic way most candidates are taught. The real purpose of keywords is to help your resume speak the same language as the job ad, the recruiter, the ATS, and the hiring manager.
The strongest Australian resumes do three things well:
They match the employer’s language without copying it blindly
They place relevant keywords in clear, searchable sections
They prove those keywords through specific work experience
Weak resumes either ignore keywords completely or abuse them until the document sounds unnatural. Strong resumes use them as signposts. They guide the reader towards the evidence.
My advice is simple: do not write for the ATS instead of the human. Write for both. The ATS may help your resume get found, but the recruiter and hiring manager still need to believe it.
That belief comes from clarity, relevance, and proof.
Written by Simar Malhi, a recruiter and headhunter with international recruitment experience. I write about CVs, job applications, hiring decisions, and the reality behind recruitment processes. My goal is to help candidates understand more honestly how employers, recruiters, and hiring managers actually select candidates.
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