How to use the Resume Keyword Checker
- Paste the full job description into the left box, including the requirements or qualifications section.
- Paste your resume into the right box, or load it as a PDF, Word (.docx) or plain-text file.
- Read your match score and the matched and missing lists. Keywords marked High matter most.
- Work through the suggestions, edit your resume where a missing term honestly applies, and check again.
Features
- Finds skills and multi-word phrases in any job post
- Weights requirement sections and repeated terms higher
- Reads PDF, Word (.docx) and TXT resumes in your browser
- Matches word forms such as “test”, “tests” and “testing”
- Shows where each keyword appears in your resume
- Concrete suggestions, from missing skills to exact phrasing
Why keywords decide who gets found
Most online applications go into an applicant tracking system, and recruiters find candidates in it by searching and ranking with the language of the job: tool names, certifications, job titles and skills. If a posting asks for “financial modeling” and your resume says “built forecasts in spreadsheets”, a person might connect the two, but a keyword search will not. Using the posting’s vocabulary, wherever it is true for you, is the simplest way to stay visible.
How this checker picks out keywords
- It ignores filler. Common words such as “the” and “with”, and job-ad boilerplate such as “excellent”, “ability” or “fast-paced”, never show up as keywords.
- It keeps phrases together. Terms like “project management”, “data warehouse” or “Google Analytics” stay as one keyword, because that is how they are searched.
- It weights what matters. Words under headings such as Requirements, Qualifications or What you’ll need count more than words in the company introduction, and benefits sections count very little. Terms repeated across the posting, product names and acronyms rank higher.
Your resume is then searched for each keyword. Matching is forgiving about word endings (plural, -ing, -ed) and about hyphens, slashes and dots, so “A/B tests” matches “A/B testing” and “e-commerce” matches “ecommerce”. A partial match means your resume contains the words of a phrase but not the phrase itself, for example “stakeholders” and “management” in different sentences.
Reading your score
The match score is the weighted share of the job’s keywords found in your resume. High-importance keywords count three times as much as low ones, and partial matches count half. Every employer configures its ATS differently and there is no universal pass mark, so treat the score as a to-do list rather than a grade.
| Score | What it usually means |
|---|---|
| 85–100% | Strong coverage. Focus on formatting and on quantifying results. |
| 70–84% | Good. Close the gaps in the High-importance keywords. |
| 40–69% | Fair. The resume is probably written for a different role; tailor the summary, skills and recent bullets. |
| Below 40% | Low. Check that you pasted the right posting, then tailor substantially or reconsider the fit. |
How to add missing keywords the right way
- Only add what is true. Interviewers ask about anything on your resume.
- Use the exact wording. If the posting says “customer success”, do not rely on “client happiness”.
- Show the skill in context. “Built weekly retention dashboards in Tableau for the sales team” is stronger than “Tableau” in a list. The resume action verbs list helps you open those bullets well.
- Cover both forms of an acronym once, such as “certified public accountant (CPA)”.
- Do not stuff. Repeating a term ten times or hiding white text does not fool modern systems, and the recruiter who reads your resume next will notice.
Loading your resume from a file
You can load a PDF, Word (.docx) or plain-text resume. The text is extracted in your browser and nothing is uploaded. If a PDF comes out empty, it is probably a scanned image; many ATS parsers would struggle with it too, so export a text-based PDF from your editor instead. Once the keywords line up, the ATS resume builder page explains how Resumate checks the rest: metrics, verbs, symbols and how your exported PDF parses.
Frequently asked questions
Is my resume uploaded anywhere?
No. Both texts are analyzed by a script running in your browser, and files you load are read on your device. Nothing is sent to a server or saved after you leave the page.
What is a good keyword match score?
On this checker, 70% or more means you cover most of the important terms, and 85% or more is a strong match. Real ATS products score differently, so use the number as a guide and focus on the High-importance keywords.
Why is a skill I have marked as missing?
Usually because your resume uses different wording, such as “spreadsheets” instead of “Excel”, or only an abbreviation. Use the exact term from the posting where it is accurate. If you loaded a PDF, check that its text extracted correctly.
Can I check a Word document?
Yes. Load a .docx file and its text is extracted in your browser. Older .doc files are not supported, so save them as .docx or PDF first.
Should I add every missing keyword?
No. Add only the ones that truthfully describe your experience, starting with those marked High. A missing keyword you cannot honestly claim is better addressed in your cover letter or left out.
Does it work for any kind of job?
Yes. It works with any English-language job posting, from nursing and teaching to sales, finance and engineering, because it reads the keywords from the posting itself rather than from a fixed list.