The exact keywords recruiters search for on Seek and Indeed

When a recruiter opens their candidate database on Seek or Indeed, they do not scroll through every application. They type a search query, usually a job title and one or two skills, and they look at who comes up. If your resume does not contain the exact terms they searched for, you are invisible, even if you are a strong match. Understanding how recruiter search actually works on these platforms is one of the most underrated skills in a job search.

How recruiter search works on Seek and Indeed

Both Seek and Indeed store your resume text in a searchable index. When a recruiter searches for candidates, they enter keywords and the platform returns profiles where those keywords appear. The search is primarily text-based: it looks for the presence of specific words and phrases in your resume. Some ranking logic weights where keywords appear (a job title in your most recent role headline carries more weight than a passing mention in a bullet point), but the fundamental mechanism is keyword matching.

This means two things for you. First, if you use different terminology from what recruiters typically search, you will not appear in results even for roles you are qualified for. Second, the most important keywords are ones you genuinely have: your actual job titles, your real skills, and the tools you have used. The goal is to make sure those real qualifications are expressed in the language recruiters use to search for them.

Finding the right keywords for your field

The most reliable source of recruiter keywords is job advertisements themselves. Search for the roles you are targeting on Seek and Indeed, read ten to fifteen ads, and note the language that appears repeatedly. The terms that show up across multiple ads from different employers are the terms recruiters have agreed are standard for that role. Those are your priority keywords.

Pay particular attention to job titles. In Australian job markets, job titles vary more than you might expect between industries and company sizes. A 'Customer Success Manager' at one company is a 'Client Relationship Manager' at another. A 'Software Engineer' at a startup is a 'Developer' or 'Technical Analyst' at a bank. If you have held a role under a non-standard title, consider including the industry-standard equivalent in your professional summary or skills section, with a note that it reflects the equivalent scope.

Qualifications and certifications follow a similar pattern. If your resume says 'completed a project management course', but the industry standard is 'PMP certified' or 'PRINCE2 practitioner', use the recognised credential name. Recruiters searching for 'PMP' will not find 'project management course'.

Hard skills versus soft skills in search

Recruiters search almost exclusively for hard skills. Soft skills like 'communication' and 'teamwork' appear in almost every resume and carry almost no search value. A recruiter filling a data analyst role searches for 'SQL', 'Power BI', 'Tableau', or 'Python'. They do not search for 'analytical mindset'.

This has a practical implication for how you structure your skills section. Lead with specific, searchable hard skills: software tools, technical methodologies, industry certifications, and domain knowledge. Save the soft skills for your professional summary or bullet points, where they provide context rather than sitting in a list that dilutes your searchable signal.

For most roles in Australia, the following categories of hard skills are worth checking explicitly: software tools relevant to your function (accounting software, project management platforms, design tools, programming languages), industry-specific methodologies or frameworks, regulatory or compliance knowledge relevant to your sector, and any relevant licences or accreditations.

Job title strategy: what to put where

Your current or most recent job title is one of the highest-weighted fields in candidate search results on both Seek and Indeed. If your actual title is obscure or company-specific, this can hurt your visibility significantly. There are a few ways to address this without misrepresenting your history.

In your professional summary, you can describe yourself using the industry-standard title: 'I am an operations manager with eight years of experience...' even if your actual title was 'Operations Lead' or 'Business Efficiency Specialist'. Your formal title remains accurate in your work history section, but your summary uses searchable language. Some candidates also add a parenthetical note in their work history: 'Operations Lead (equivalent to Operations Manager)' where the scope genuinely warrants it.

Do not fabricate seniority. If you were a junior analyst, do not describe yourself as a senior analyst. Recruiters verify this, and the mismatch causes immediate distrust.

Location and availability keywords

Australian recruiters on Seek and Indeed frequently filter by location. Make sure your suburb or city appears clearly in your contact details. If you are open to remote work or willing to relocate, state this explicitly in your professional summary. 'Open to remote and hybrid roles across Australia' or 'available to work in Sydney or remotely' are searchable phrases that expand your visibility significantly.

Contract type keywords also matter. If you are open to both permanent and contract roles, include 'contract' or 'fixed-term' somewhere in your profile or summary. If you are targeting a specific work arrangement, make it explicit rather than leaving it ambiguous.

Getting your keywords right is only half the equation. Your resume also needs to be formatted so that ATS systems can actually read the keywords you have placed in it. Karmik's free ATS Resume Checker analyses your resume against a specific job description and identifies which keywords are being detected and which are being missed, so you can fix both problems before you apply.