Keyword Atlas · Technology · No 02
The words hiring systems and software engineer hiring managers actually look for, drawn from the U.S. Department of Labor occupational database and the bodies that certify this field. Sourced, dated, and checked by machine.
The keywords
Tap any keyword to see exactly where it comes from and how to use it in a real bullet.
Skill mix
Federal knowledge ratings put Computers and Electronics well above every other area for this role, which surprises nobody. What is easy to under-keyword is the next tier: Mathematics and Customer and Personal Service both outweigh Engineering and Technology itself. Pair your language and framework keywords with a stakeholder-facing or cross-functional line.
Wage terrain
Placement
Title, years, primary stack, one scale or impact number. Densest keyword real estate on the page.
Hard skills and tools, each attached to a measurable outcome.
Exact-phrase matching for screening software. List languages, frameworks, and platforms by name.
One or two signature keywords woven into a story. Never a list.
The receipts
Employers admit their screening systems filter out qualified candidates who don't match a job posting's exact wording.VERIFIED · HBS 2021
Recruiters only spend about six seconds looking at your resume.VENDOR STUDY · N=30
Asked constantly
Junior resumes should lead with core languages and shipped project outcomes. Senior resumes should add systems-design and cross-functional collaboration language, both of which rate highly in federal knowledge data for this role.
No verified universal count exists. Match the specific languages, frameworks, and cloud platforms named in the job posting rather than listing every technology you have ever touched.
Only ones you are proficient in. A long unfiltered list reads as a red flag to reviewers and can trigger follow-up questions you cannot answer confidently.
The terms are functionally interchangeable in most systems, but mirror whichever term the posting itself uses since exact-phrase matching is common.