The job description is the source of truth for what the ATS and recruiter will search. Your job is to surface the terms that are true for you—in the order and phrasing the posting uses—not to invent a synonym list.
What to pull from the posting
Exact job titles and seniority language (e.g. “Senior,” “Staff,” “Lead”).
Named tools, platforms, and frameworks that appear in requirements or responsibilities.
Must-have skills and years of experience phrasing when accurate.
Domain terms the company uses (their product names, methodologies, compliance language).
Where to place them
Top of the most relevant experience bullets—recruiters and parsers weight early text.
A plain Skills section with the highest-signal terms from the JD.
Summary only if it stays short and mirrors the posting’s priorities.
Never in white text, headers-only, or graphics. Parsers ignore or misread those.
What to avoid
Keyword stuffing. One accurate match beats a paragraph of near-synonyms.
Copying entire sentences that are not true of your work.
Ignoring the rest of the application: knockout questions still filter first.
Assuming every ATS scores the same way. Match the language; keep the file parseable.
Athena’s role
Athena ATS scores your resume against the job description you paste and rewrites for that posting.
First rewrite is free. Founding Beta is $8/mo or $59/yr. No interview guarantee.