Software Engineer resume keywords that get past the screening software.

Engineering job ads are dense with tool names, and recruiters filter on them literally. If the ad says “CI/CD” and your resume says “automated deployments”, a keyword search can miss you, even though you did the work.

Hard skills and tools

The terms recruiters most often filter software engineer applications by. Use the ones you can back up, written the way the ad writes them.

PythonJavaJavaScriptTypeScriptSQLREST APIsGitDockerKubernetesCI/CDAWSUnit testingMicroservicesSystem designLinuxReact

Soft skills and ways of working

These count less on their own. Put them inside achievement bullets instead of a list.

Code reviewAgile / ScrumDebuggingTechnical documentationCross-functional collaborationMentoring

Certifications ads ask for

AWS Certified DeveloperAzure FundamentalsKubernetes (CKAD)

Before and after

Example bullet

Worked on the backend and made it faster.Cut API response time from 900ms to 300ms by adding Redis caching to the order service (Python, PostgreSQL).

Example only. Use your own real numbers. If you don’t know a figure, leave it out rather than guess.

Three rules for this role

Mirror the ad’s exact spelling: “Node.js” not “Node”, “PostgreSQL” not “Postgres”, when you use them.
Put the languages and frameworks the ad lists as required in the first lines of your Skills section.
Attach a tool to every achievement bullet, so the keyword appears in context, not only in a list.

Questions

What keywords should a software engineer resume include?

Start with the hard skills named in the job ad, then add certifications and tools you actually use. Common ones for software engineer roles include Python, Java, JavaScript, TypeScript, SQL, REST APIs.

Should I copy every keyword from the job ad?

No. Only add a keyword when your experience supports it. Recruiters read the resume after the software ranks it, and a claim you can’t back up costs you the interview.

How do I know which keywords I’m missing?

Paste the job ad and your resume into SubMac’s free checker. It shows your match score and lists the keywords from the ad that your resume doesn’t contain.

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