Optimise Resume Keywords for ATS: A Practical Guide

When I think back to the first time an ATS thoroughly filtered out my resume, it still annoys me. I had relevant experience, solid achievements, and even a referral. Yet the hiring manager later said, “Your CV didn’t show up on my screen.” In this guide, we will talk about how to optimise resume keywords for ATS. You’ll also see examples, mistakes to avoid, and a few observations gathered from reviewing hundreds of resumes for candidates in the UAE and across MENA.

Why ATS Keyword Optimisation Matters More Than Ever

That was years ago, but the problem hasn’t gone away. ATS (Applicant Tracking Systems) are stricter, more common, and far more literal than most job seekers assume. Today, optimising resume keywords for ATS isn’t a “nice to have”; it’s survival.

Most large organisations, and a growing number of SMEs in MENA, use ATS software to automatically filter applicants. And when a job post attracts 200–800 applications (which is common in Dubai’s tech scene), ATS becomes the first gatekeeper.

These systems scan your resume for:

• Keywords that match the job description
• Skill terminology (hard and soft skills)
• Experience alignment
• Role-specific phrasing
• Industry language

The frustrating part? You might be fully qualified, but if your resume doesn’t sound qualified to the algorithm, you get filtered out.

That’s why learning to optimise resume keywords for ATS isn’t about “gaming the system.” It’s about speaking the employer’s language and ensuring your abilities don’t get buried by formatting quirks or mismatched terms.

What ATS Actually Looks For (Not What People Assume)

A lot of advice online about ATS is outdated. I still see people repeating things like “ATS can’t read PDFs” (they can), or “ATS ignores soft skills” (nope).

Here’s the real checklist modern ATS systems use:

1. Keyword Match

Exact and close variants of terms in the job description, such as:

• “Project Management”
• “Agile Delivery”
• “Customer Onboarding”

2. Skills Section Density

If your skills are buried deep in a paragraph, ATS may miss them.

3. Job Title Relevance

If your real title was “Product Ninja,” but the industry calls it “Product Manager,” you’ll need both.

4. Experience Context

ATS attempts to see where a keyword appears: responsibilities, summary, achievements, etc.

5. Hard Skills vs Soft Skills

Hard skills weigh more, but soft skills still matter if the posting emphasises them.

This is why unthinkingly stuffing keywords never works. ATS checks for placement, repetition, and relevance, not noise.

How to Find the Right Keywords: The Simple, Repeatable Method

Let’s get into the practical part. If you want to optimise resume keywords for ATS effectively, start here.

Step 1: Gather 3–5 Job Descriptions

Don’t rely on a single posting. I usually open several roles from LinkedIn, Bayt, Indeed, and GulfTalent.

Copy the text into a document and highlight repeating terms. These are almost always “core keywords.”

Step 2: Break Keywords Into Categories

A human employer will skim for three things:

1. Hard skills: Tools, technologies, processes
2. Soft skills: Communication, teamwork
3. Industry terms: Compliance, frameworks, methodologies
4. Role-specific verbs: Lead, develop, manage, deliver

ATS behaves the same way.

Step 3: Prioritise Hard Skills First

Because these carry the most weight in most ATS scoring engines.

Some examples from real UAE postings:

Step 4: Mirror the Employer’s Language

This is where most candidates slip.

If a job posting says “Content Strategy,” and your resume says “Content Planning,” you’re not matching the terminology.

Using the employer’s wording is not cheating; it’s clarity. You’re making sure the ATS recognises what you genuinely do.

Where to Place Keywords So ATS Actually Counts Them

Sprinkling keywords randomly won’t help; placement matters.

1. Resume Title / Headline

Strong example:
Digital Marketing Specialist,  SEO | Paid Ads | Analytics

Weak example:
Digital Marketer looking for opportunities

The first one gives ATS 4 valuable search terms immediately.

2. Professional Summary

This is the most underused keyword hotspot.

A real-world example (after optimisation):

“Digital Marketing Specialist with 4+ years of experience in SEO, Google Ads, content optimisation, and conversion rate improvement across the UAE and KSA markets.”

Clean, specific, keyword-rich, and human.

3. Skills Section

Use bullet points, not paragraphs.

Even better: group skills by category, like:

• Technical Skills: Python, Pandas, SQL, Tableau
• Marketing Tools: Google Analytics, Meta Ads Manager
• Soft Skills: Leadership, Stakeholder Communication

4. Work Experience

This is your main keyword engine.
Two tricks that work surprisingly well:

• Start every bullet with a verb
• End bullets with measurable outcomes

Example:

“Optimised SEO strategy using keyword & technical improvements, increasing organic traffic by 37% in 4 months.”

You’re giving ATS the keyword “SEO”, but to a human, it reads as an impressive achievement.

5. Job Description Matching Tools (Optional But Helpful)

Tools like FormuCV’s job match scoring (which highlights missing keywords and compares your resume to the posting) make this much easier.

Real Example of ATS Keyword Optimisation (Before/After)

Here’s a simplified transformation from an actual case I worked on with a candidate applying for a Data Analyst role in Dubai:

Before

“Handled data tasks, made dashboards, and helped teams understand data.”

Feels vague. No ATS keywords.

After

“Developed interactive Power BI dashboards, automated SQL queries, and performed data cleansing using Python (Pandas) to support reporting for sales and operations teams.”

Now you have 7+ high-value keywords:
Power BI, SQL, Python, Pandas, dashboards, data cleansing, and reporting.

The content is still natural.
But ATS can finally see what the candidate is capable of.

Keyword Stuffing: The Fastest Way to Get Rejected

Keyword optimisation is good.
Keyword stuffing is not.

Here’s how stuffing usually looks:

“SEO expert skilled in SEO, Google Ads, SEO tools, SEO reporting, SEO strategy…”

ATS will flag this as unnatural.
Employers will reject it instantly.

Use each important keyword once in the summary, once in the skills section, and 2–3 times across achievements, as long as it fits naturally.

The golden rule:

If it sounds fake when you read it aloud, remove it.

Optimising Resume Keywords for ATS Without Losing Your Personality

People often ask:

“Won’t optimising resume keywords for ATS make my resume sound robotic?”

Not if you mix keywords with your authentic style.

Try these methods:

✔ Use action-driven language

“Designed”, “Led”, “Improved”, “Coordinated”, “Executed”.

✔ Tell micro-stories within bullets

A small detail can humanise your experience:

“Launched the company’s first automated reporting dashboard after noticing teams were manually combining spreadsheets.”

A little observation like this shows initiative, and ATS still picks up “automated reporting dashboard.”

✔ Use conversational phrasing in your summary

Something like:

“I enjoy digging into messy datasets and finding the patterns people miss.”

Employers appreciate personality.
ATS focuses on the hard skills around it.

What About Soft Skills? Do They Matter to ATS?

Surprisingly, yes, but only when the job description emphasises them.

If a posting mentions:

• communication
• adaptability
• mentorship
• collaboration

Include those words, but place them where they feel genuine.

Example:

“Collaborated with cross-functional teams to roll out new product features, improving adoption by 22%.”

The keyword is there, but the sentence still feels lived-in.

The Most Overlooked ATS Keyword Trick: Job Titles

If your original job title is unusual, too creative, or company-specific, do this:

Official Title (Industry-Recognised Title)

Example:

Growth Wizard (Growth Marketing Specialist)

Why?
Because ATS searches for industry titles, not quirky ones.

This trick alone raised one candidate’s interview callback rate from 1% to 18%.

Should You Use Synonyms? Yes, but Carefully

Employers use different terminology across countries.
In the UAE, for example, I often see both “Customer Success” and “Client Success.”

Use synonyms only when:

• They appear in job postings
• They are accurate to your work
• They don’t disrupt your natural writing style

Example:

“Led customer onboarding (client onboarding) processes for enterprise accounts.”

This captures both terms without sounding forced.

How FormuCV Helps With Keyword Optimisation (Short Practical Note)

Since many MENA-based job seekers struggle with keyword alignment, tools like FormuCV have become popular.

This resume builder platform automatically:

• Extracts keywords from job descriptions
• Highlights missing skills
• Compares your resume to the posting
• Suggests better phrasing based on employer-approved templates
• Supports English & Arabic
• Offers ATS-friendly layouts

This kind of automation isn’t a replacement for thinking, but it reduces the guesswork. And honestly, when you’re applying to 15–20 jobs a week, anything that saves time is worth using.

Final Checklist: How to Optimise Resume Keywords for ATS (Quick Version)

Here’s a simple list you can follow each time you customise your resume:

✔ Gather 3–5 job descriptions

Look for repeating keywords.

✔ Categorise skills

Hard skills, tools, soft skills, verbs.

✔ Use employer terminology

Mirror exact phrasing where accurate.

✔ Integrate keywords in 5 places: headline, summary

• skills,
• experience bullets, 
• education/certifications (when relevant)

✔ Include numbers wherever possible

ATS loves specifics; humans love proof.

✔ Avoid keyword stuffing

2–3 natural placements are enough.

✔ Check your final version using a job-match tool

Helpful in spotting missing terminology.

Closing Thoughts: ATS Is a Gatekeeper, Not the Enemy

It’s easy to feel frustrated with automated hiring systems. But once you understand how to optimise resume keywords for ATS, the process becomes far less intimidating.

And here’s the truth you can see again and again:

Strong resumes don’t trick AT; they communicate clearly.

Optimising keywords ensures that clarity is recognised.

When you blend natural writing, accurate terminology, and small lived-in details, you don’t just pass the algorithm; you make your application memorable to the human who reads it next. And follow us on FormuCV LinkedIn to see more tips.