When a recruiter posts a software engineering role, they define required skills in the job description. The ATS extracts these as keywords and scores incoming resumes by match rate. A resume with 70% keyword coverage ranks dramatically higher than one with 40%, even if both candidates have similar experience. The catch: ATS keyword matching is often literal. Writing "JS" when the job says "JavaScript" can cost you a match. Writing "built REST APIs" when the description says "API development" might not register. You need to mirror the exact terminology. Core Keywords Every Software Engineer Needs Regardless of your specialization, these keywords appear across virtually all software engineering job descriptions: Languages: Python, JavaScript, TypeScript, Java, C#, Go, Rust, C++, SQL Version control: Git, GitHub, GitLab, Bitbucket Methodologies: Agile, Scrum, CI/CD, Test-Driven Development (TDD), code review General skills: debugging, performance optimization, system design, technical documentation, unit…