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Create ResumeATS keywords for a resume are the job specific words and phrases that connect your experience to what an employer is actively screening for. In Canada, these usually include job titles, technical skills, software, certifications, industry terms, education, licences, and core responsibilities from the job posting. But here is where candidates go wrong: they treat ATS keywords like magic words. They are not magic. They are evidence signals. A strong resume does not simply repeat keywords. It proves them through relevant experience, achievements, tools, scope, and context. The goal is not to trick the applicant tracking system. The goal is to make it painfully obvious, to both the system and the recruiter, that your background matches the role.
ATS keywords are the specific terms an applicant tracking system, recruiter, or hiring team may use to identify whether your resume matches a role. They help connect your resume to the job posting.
That sounds simple, but in real hiring, keywords are not all equal.
Some keywords are hard requirements. If a Canadian employer asks for CPA, PMP, DZ licence, bilingual French and English, payroll experience, Salesforce, AutoCAD, WHMIS, or Workday, those terms can matter because they represent qualifications, tools, or requirements the employer may need.
Other keywords are soft signals. Words like communication, leadership, collaboration, multitasking, and problem solving may appear in job postings, but they usually carry less weight unless you show them through real work examples.
The best ATS keywords are not decorative. They answer a recruiter’s quiet screening question:
Does this person have the experience we actually asked for, or are they just hoping we do not notice the gap?
That is the real function of keywords. They help hiring teams sort through a pile of resumes faster. They do not replace judgement. They support judgement.
The biggest misconception is that ATS keywords are only for software.
Candidates often imagine a cold robot rejecting resumes before a human ever sees them. Sometimes screening systems are strict, yes. Some employers use knockout questions, keyword ranking, filters, or automated parsing. But in many hiring processes, especially in the Canadian job market, the bigger issue is much more ordinary: a recruiter is scanning too many resumes too quickly.
That recruiter may search the ATS for specific terms. They may filter for a licence, tool, location, title, certification, or skill. They may skim your resume for eight seconds and decide whether it deserves a closer look.
So when I talk about ATS keywords, I am not only talking about software. I am talking about the language of the hiring process.
A good keyword strategy helps with three things:
The ATS can parse your resume correctly
The recruiter can find the required skills quickly
The hiring manager can understand your fit without translating your background
This is why keyword stuffing fails. It may look like optimization, but it often reads like desperation. A recruiter can spot a resume that has been stuffed with words the candidate cannot actually support. It has that strange “I copied the job posting into my resume and hoped nobody would ask questions” smell. Not ideal.
In theory, an ATS stores, parses, and organizes applications. In practice, the system is only one part of the decision.
A resume may be screened through a combination of:
Job title matching
Required skills
Years or type of experience
Certifications and licences
Education requirements
Location or work authorization
Industry background
Tools, software, or systems
Recruiter search filters
Hiring manager review
This matters because candidates often optimize for the wrong thing. They obsess over whether the ATS will “reject” them, but they forget that the resume still has to make sense to a person.
A resume can include every keyword and still fail if it does not show credible fit.
For example, if a job posting asks for full cycle recruitment, adding that phrase once in a skills section is weak. Showing that you managed intake meetings, sourcing, screening, interview coordination, offer negotiation, and stakeholder updates across 20 active requisitions is much stronger.
The keyword opens the door. The evidence keeps it open.
The best source of ATS keywords is the job posting itself. Not a random keyword list. Not a resume scanner that tells every candidate to add “leadership” and “communication.” The job posting is the employer telling you what they care about, although sometimes in the most bloated language known to humanity.
Start by reading the posting like a recruiter would. Do not just look for words that sound impressive. Look for patterns.
If the posting mentions the same skill, tool, or responsibility several times, it is probably important. For example, if a marketing role repeatedly mentions campaign reporting, Google Analytics, paid social, and conversion tracking, those are likely stronger keywords than a vague phrase like “creative mindset.”
Anything under “required,” “must have,” “minimum qualifications,” or “mandatory” deserves careful attention. Canadian employers may be flexible on some preferences, but they are usually less flexible on legally required licences, regulated certifications, language requirements, or safety credentials.
ATS systems and recruiters often search by job title. Use the title that matches the market, not only your internal company title.
For example, if your company called you a “Client Happiness Specialist,” but the market calls the role “Customer Success Specialist,” you can write:
Customer Success Specialist, Client Happiness Team
That gives the ATS and recruiter the recognizable title without lying about your background.
Software keywords are often high value because recruiters search for them directly. Examples include Salesforce, HubSpot, SAP, Workday, QuickBooks, Excel, Power BI, Tableau, AutoCAD, Revit, Jira, ServiceNow, and Microsoft Dynamics.
But do not list tools you barely touched. If you claim advanced Excel and freeze when asked about pivot tables, formulas, or reporting, the interview will handle the correction for you. Swiftly.
For Canadian roles, certifications and licences can be decisive. Depending on the field, this may include CPA, PCP, CHRP, PMP, P.Eng., Red Seal, Smart Serve, First Aid, WHMIS, forklift certification, Class 1, Class 5, DZ, AZ, or provincial registration.
Use the exact abbreviation and full term where useful. For example:
Project Management Professional, PMP
That helps both keyword matching and human readability.
Not every keyword deserves the same space on your resume. Some carry more hiring weight than others.
These tell the recruiter what kind of role you have done or are positioned for.
Examples include:
Administrative Assistant
Financial Analyst
Project Coordinator
Customer Service Representative
Software Developer
Human Resources Generalist
Account Manager
Operations Manager
Registered Practical Nurse
Warehouse Supervisor
Use realistic title alignment. Do not inflate your title to match the posting. If you were a coordinator, do not call yourself a manager because the job posting says manager. Recruiters notice title inflation, and hiring managers usually notice faster.
These are the capabilities required for the role.
Examples include:
Budgeting
Forecasting
Stakeholder management
Data analysis
Payroll processing
Case management
Inventory control
Contract negotiation
Technical support
Policy development
The strongest skill keywords are tied to outcomes. “Budgeting” is fine. “Managed monthly budget tracking and variance reporting for a $2.4M department budget” is better.
These are especially important for technical, operations, finance, marketing, HR, sales, and administrative roles.
Examples include:
SAP
Oracle
Workday
Salesforce
HubSpot
QuickBooks
Excel
Power BI
Tableau
Jira
If a tool is central to the job, place it in your skills section and inside the relevant work experience bullet. Recruiters trust it more when they can see how you used it.
Industry terms help show that you understand the working environment.
Examples include:
Public sector
SaaS
Manufacturing
Retail banking
Construction
Health care
Logistics
Insurance
Telecommunications
Nonprofit
Industry keywords can be helpful when the employer wants someone who understands the pace, regulations, clients, or operational realities of that sector.
These matter when the posting includes formal requirements.
Examples include:
CPA
PCP
CHRP
PMP
P.Eng.
Red Seal
Bachelor of Commerce
Diploma in Business Administration
Registered Nurse
Licensed Practical Nurse
Place these clearly. Do not bury required credentials in a dense paragraph where the recruiter has to go treasure hunting.
For Canadian job applications, location can matter. Some employers search or filter by city, province, hybrid availability, relocation, or work authorization.
Examples include:
Toronto, Ontario
Vancouver, British Columbia
Calgary, Alberta
Open to relocation
Hybrid work
Eligible to work in Canada
Canadian work authorization
Use this naturally. You do not need to overstate personal details. Just make it easy for the employer to understand whether location and eligibility are aligned.
Keyword stuffing is when a resume repeats terms unnaturally to manipulate screening. It usually makes the resume worse.
A recruiter does not want to see this:
Weak Example
Skills: Project management, project management tools, project management planning, project management communication, project management leadership, project management scheduling, project management delivery.
This tells me almost nothing except that the candidate has discovered copy and paste.
A stronger version would be:
Good Example
Managed project schedules, stakeholder updates, risk logs, and delivery timelines for cross functional software implementation projects using Jira and Excel.
This works because it includes relevant keywords, but it also gives context. It tells me what you did, where you applied the skill, and what tools were involved.
The best way to use ATS keywords is to place them where they belong:
Resume headline
Professional summary
Skills section
Work experience bullets
Certifications section
Education section
Technical skills section
The keyword should appear in the section where it makes the most sense. A certification belongs under certifications. A software tool belongs under technical skills and work experience. A responsibility belongs in a bullet where you show how you performed it.
When I review a resume for keyword strength, I do not ask, “Did this person add enough keywords?”
I ask better questions.
A keyword only helps if it supports the job you are applying for. If you are applying for a payroll role, payroll compliance, ROE preparation, benefits administration, union payroll, ADP, Ceridian, Excel, and employment standards are relevant. Your beginner Canva skills are probably not the selling point.
Relevance beats volume.
If you list “stakeholder management,” your experience should show stakeholders. Which ones? Executives? Vendors? Clients? Hiring managers? Cross functional teams? Government partners?
Vague skills become stronger when the resume proves them.
Use the employer’s language where it is honest. If the posting says “client relationship management” and your resume says “account support,” consider whether client relationship management is a more accurate and searchable phrase.
This does not mean copying the entire posting. It means translating your experience into the language the employer is already using.
Important keywords should not be hidden. A recruiter should not need to read every line to discover you have the required certification, tool, or core experience.
For high value keywords, use clear sections and clean formatting. Fancy design is lovely until the system parses your sidebar incorrectly and your best qualifications disappear into formatting soup.
This is the part many ATS articles miss. Your resume is not only being read by software. It is being judged by people who are trying to understand whether you can do the job.
If your resume sounds like a keyword list wearing a blazer, it will not build confidence.
ATS keywords should appear naturally across your resume. Do not dump them all into one skills section and call it strategy.
Your headline can include the target role and a few high value areas.
Good Example
Human Resources Generalist with Employee Relations, Recruitment, Payroll Coordination, and HRIS Experience
This tells the ATS and recruiter what lane you are in immediately.
Your summary should connect your background to the target role. Keep it specific.
Weak Example
Motivated professional with strong communication skills and a passion for success.
This says nothing. I know people write it because it feels safe. Safe is not the same as useful.
Good Example
Human resources professional with experience supporting recruitment, onboarding, employee relations, HRIS updates, and payroll coordination in fast paced Canadian service environments.
This version includes meaningful keywords and gives the recruiter a clearer match.
Your skills section should be clean and targeted. It is not a drawer for every skill you have ever touched.
Group skills if needed:
HR Skills: Recruitment, onboarding, employee relations, policy administration, payroll coordination
Systems: Workday, ADP, Excel, Microsoft Teams, SharePoint
Compliance: Employment standards, workplace safety, confidential employee records
This makes the resume easier to scan and easier to search.
This is where ATS keyword strategy becomes credible. Keywords in your skills section tell me what you claim. Keywords in your work experience show me what you have done.
Good Example
Coordinated full cycle recruitment for hourly and salaried roles, including job postings, resume screening, phone interviews, interview scheduling, reference checks, and offer documentation.
This bullet includes multiple relevant keywords, but it reads like real work.
Use the exact credential names. If the posting asks for a diploma, degree, licence, or certification, make sure the wording is clear.
For example:
Certified Payroll Compliance Professional, PCP
Bachelor of Commerce, Human Resources Management
WHMIS Certification
Do not make recruiters infer required credentials. We are not detectives. Well, sometimes we are, but we prefer not to be.
Here is how I would think about keyword placement in a practical Canadian resume.
Use keywords that describe your overall fit:
Target job title
Years or level of experience if strong
Core functional areas
Industry background
Key tools or systems
Required credentials
Do not overload the summary. It should position you, not become a crowded suitcase.
Use keywords that are easy to search and verify:
Technical skills
Software
Role specific skills
Certifications
Languages
Compliance knowledge
Methodologies
For example, a project coordinator may include MS Project, Jira, budget tracking, risk logs, meeting minutes, stakeholder coordination, vendor communication, and project documentation.
Use keywords that connect to action:
Managed
Coordinated
Analyzed
Implemented
Processed
Reconciled
Supported
Delivered
Improved
Reduced
Action words alone are not enough. Pair them with job specific keywords and results.
Use both abbreviations and full names when appropriate:
CPA, Chartered Professional Accountant
PMP, Project Management Professional
CHRP, Certified Human Resources Professional
PCP, Payroll Compliance Professional
This helps because some recruiters search abbreviations while others search full terms.
Good candidates get screened out or overlooked more often than people realize. Not always because they are unqualified. Sometimes because the resume makes the fit too hard to see.
Many companies invent titles, team names, and process terms that mean nothing outside their walls.
If your title was “Partner Experience Ninja,” translate it into market language. Customer Success Specialist, Account Coordinator, Client Support Representative, or Partner Relations Coordinator may be more searchable and credible.
Use the official title if needed, but help the reader understand the equivalent.
Candidates sometimes assume tools are too basic to mention. But if the job posting asks for Excel, Salesforce, QuickBooks, SAP, or Workday, include it.
Recruiters often search by tool because it is a simple way to narrow the pool. If you have the experience but do not mention the tool, the system cannot guess. Neither can the recruiter.
Communication, leadership, teamwork, and organization are not bad skills. They are just weak on their own.
Instead of saying “strong communication skills,” show the communication context:
Good Example
Prepared weekly project updates for senior leaders, vendors, and internal teams to track deliverables, risks, timelines, and budget changes.
That tells me much more than “excellent communicator.”
Do not add keywords you cannot defend in an interview. This is especially important for technical tools, regulated credentials, and senior responsibilities.
If you list SQL, I may ask how you used it. If you list employee relations, I may ask about the types of cases you supported. If you list budget ownership, I may ask about budget size, forecasting, variance, and approvals.
Your resume should stretch toward the role, not invent a parallel universe.
If you are applying in Canada, use terminology that Canadian employers recognize. For example, use resume instead of CV unless the role or sector expects CV language, such as academia, medicine, or research.
Use province specific licences and certifications where relevant. If your experience is international, translate it into Canadian hiring language without erasing the value of your background.
For example, “managed statutory benefits administration” may need clearer Canadian context depending on the role. Explain the transferable function in language the employer recognizes.
Here is a practical way to extract keywords without overthinking it.
Read the job posting and separate the language into four groups.
These are the non negotiables. They may include certifications, licences, work authorization, tools, years of experience, bilingual requirements, or specific technical skills.
If you meet them, they should be clearly visible. If you do not meet them, do not fake them. Instead, decide whether the gap is flexible enough to apply.
These describe what the person will actually do.
Examples include:
Manage accounts payable
Conduct intake meetings
Prepare financial reports
Resolve customer escalations
Coordinate logistics
Develop training materials
Perform data analysis
Maintain inventory accuracy
These belong mostly in your work experience.
These should appear in both your skills section and work experience if they are important.
For example, if the posting requires Salesforce, do not only write Salesforce under skills. Show how you used it:
Good Example
Maintained Salesforce records, updated opportunity stages, tracked client activity, and prepared weekly pipeline reports for account managers.
These can help, but they should not dominate the resume. Employers often list nice to haves because they want the perfect candidate. The perfect candidate is usually fictional and already employed.
If you have the nice to haves, include them. If you do not, focus on proving the must haves and core responsibilities.
Job postings are not always written cleanly. Some are thoughtful. Some are stitched together from old postings, manager wish lists, and HR templates that have survived too many fiscal years.
Here is how I decode common phrases.
They usually mean: Can you explain things clearly, manage expectations, write professionally, and avoid creating confusion?
On your resume, show communication through reporting, presentations, client updates, stakeholder coordination, documentation, training, or conflict resolution.
They usually mean: The workload is high, priorities change, and you may need to function without perfect structure.
On your resume, show volume, deadlines, multitasking, competing priorities, urgent requests, or process improvements.
They usually mean: Mistakes in this role create problems.
On your resume, show accuracy, reconciliation, compliance, quality checks, documentation, audits, reporting, or error reduction.
They usually mean: The manager does not want to chase you for every small task.
On your resume, show ownership, independent work, initiative, process creation, problem solving, or projects you moved forward without constant supervision.
They usually mean: Can you work with people who have different priorities without making the situation worse?
On your resume, name the stakeholder groups and show the outcome.
These are not copy and paste lists. Use them as thinking prompts. The right keywords depend on the job posting.
Relevant ATS keywords may include:
Calendar management
Meeting coordination
Travel arrangements
Data entry
Document preparation
Microsoft Office
Excel
Outlook
Records management
Vendor communication
Expense reports
Office administration
A strong administrative resume should not just say “organized.” It should show what was organized, for whom, at what volume, and with what level of accuracy.
Relevant ATS keywords may include:
Customer inquiries
Escalation resolution
CRM
Call centre
Client support
Order processing
Complaint handling
Live chat
Email support
Salesforce
For customer service roles in Canada, bilingual language ability can be a major advantage if the job requires it. Put it where it is easy to see.
Relevant ATS keywords may include:
Financial reporting
Forecasting
Budgeting
Variance analysis
Month end close
Excel
Power BI
SAP
General ledger
Reconciliations
The strongest finance resumes connect tools to business decisions. “Excel” is a keyword. “Built Excel models to track monthly variance across operating expenses” is evidence.
Relevant ATS keywords may include:
Project scheduling
Stakeholder coordination
Risk logs
Budget tracking
Meeting minutes
Project documentation
Jira
MS Project
Smartsheet
Vendor coordination
Project keywords work best when they show structure. Hiring managers want to know whether you can keep moving parts under control without turning every update into a small emergency.
Relevant ATS keywords may include:
Recruitment
Onboarding
Employee relations
HRIS
Payroll coordination
Benefits administration
Policy administration
Employment standards
Performance management
Workday
HR resumes need careful wording because many candidates list every HR function they have seen, not every function they have owned. Be clear about your actual level of involvement.
Relevant ATS keywords may include:
JavaScript
Python
Java
React
Node.js
SQL
APIs
Git
Agile
Unit testing
For technical roles, exact terminology matters. If the posting asks for React and your resume only says “front end development,” you may be underselling yourself.
There is no perfect number. The better question is whether your resume covers the main requirements of the job posting in a natural and credible way.
A focused resume usually includes:
The target job title or close equivalent
The most important technical skills
Required tools and systems
Relevant certifications or licences
Core responsibilities from the posting
Industry terms where relevant
Measurable achievements connected to those skills
If your resume has too few keywords, the match may not be obvious. If it has too many, it may look unfocused.
Think of ATS keywords as signposts. A few clear signposts help the reader. A hundred signposts in one hallway creates chaos.
Keywords only help if the ATS can read them. A beautifully designed resume that parses badly can create unnecessary risk.
For most Canadian job applications, use clean formatting:
Standard headings such as Professional Summary, Skills, Work Experience, Education, and Certifications
Simple fonts
Clear dates
No photos
No charts or graphics
No text hidden in headers, footers, or sidebars
No important information placed only in tables
Consistent job titles and employer names
Word or PDF format depending on the employer’s instructions
This does not mean your resume has to look boring. It means design should not interfere with readability. The resume is not an art installation. It is a hiring document.
Tailoring does not mean rewriting your entire resume every time. That is how candidates burn out and start making strange resume choices at midnight.
A practical tailoring process looks like this:
Keep a strong master resume with all major experience, tools, achievements, and projects
Review the job posting for must have keywords and repeated requirements
Adjust your headline and summary to match the target role
Reorder your skills so the most relevant ones appear first
Rewrite selected bullets to reflect the employer’s language
Add missing relevant tools, certifications, or responsibilities you genuinely have
Remove unrelated details that distract from the target role
The goal is alignment, not reinvention.
If you are applying for a project coordinator role, your resume should not make the recruiter work through five unrelated paragraphs before discovering you can coordinate timelines, stakeholders, documentation, and reporting.
Make the match visible.
Career changers and newcomers to Canada often struggle with ATS keywords because their previous titles, industries, or credentials may not match Canadian employer language perfectly.
This does not mean your experience is weak. It means your resume may need translation.
Focus on transferable keywords that connect your past work to the target role.
For example, if you are moving from retail management into HR coordination, useful keywords may include:
Scheduling
Employee training
Conflict resolution
Interview coordination
Onboarding
Performance documentation
Payroll support
Policy compliance
The mistake is trying to hide your past. Do not hide it. Reframe it.
Use Canadian terminology where appropriate and explain international experience in a way local employers can understand.
For example, instead of relying only on an unfamiliar employer name or overseas job title, clarify the scope:
Good Example
Managed payroll processing, employee records, attendance tracking, and benefits documentation for a 300 employee manufacturing workforce.
That gives the Canadian recruiter context. The employer name may be unfamiliar, but the work is understandable.
If you have Canadian certifications, bridging programs, local volunteer experience, or Canadian workplace exposure, include them when relevant. They can reduce uncertainty for employers who are trying to understand how your experience transfers.
ATS keywords work when they are accurate, relevant, visible, and supported by evidence.
The strongest resumes do not chase every keyword. They build a clear argument for fit.
A strong ATS keyword strategy says:
I understand what this role requires. I have done relevant work. Here is the language you are screening for. Here is the evidence behind it.
That is the balance.
The ATS may help sort the resume. The recruiter may help shortlist it. The hiring manager may decide whether the experience is strong enough to interview. Your keyword strategy needs to serve all three.
If you only write for software, your resume may become unreadable.
If you only write for humans and ignore searchable language, your resume may be missed.
The best resume does both.
Before submitting your resume, check the following:
Does your resume include the target job title or a close market equivalent?
Are the most important job posting keywords included naturally?
Are required tools, software, certifications, and licences easy to find?
Are keywords supported by actual work experience?
Does your skills section match the role rather than listing everything?
Are important keywords used in both the skills section and work experience where relevant?
Is the formatting clean enough for ATS parsing?
Are you using Canadian resume terminology and employer expectations?
Have you removed unrelated details that weaken the focus?
Could a recruiter understand your fit in less than 15 seconds?
That last question matters more than candidates realize. Recruiters are not reading resumes in a peaceful library with tea and classical music. They are usually reviewing applications between calls, hiring manager updates, interview scheduling, and inbox chaos. Make the fit easy to see.
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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