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2026 ATS keywords

Top Resume Keywords for
Civil Engineers

A recruiter's first look at a resume averages 7.4 seconds (Ladders eye-tracking study, 2018). These are the words that look has to find.

See the full Civil Engineer skill gap analysis
The keyword list

What a Civil Engineer resume has to say

Split by what the parser matches literally and what a human reads for. Both columns are ranked core-first.

Technical skills

These are the hard skills and tools that define the role. Mention these in your “Skills” section and within your work experience bullet points.

AutoCADStructural AnalysisConstruction ManagementBuilding CodesSite PlanningCivil 3DCost EstimationSurveyingRevitSTAAD ProGeotechnical EngineeringPE License

Soft skills

Use these keywords to describe how you work. Weave them into your summary and accomplishment stories.

Project ManagementProblem SolvingAttention to DetailCommunicationTeamwork

Keywords are a start. Check the whole resume.

Adding keywords is easy. The free Resume Score shows whether your resume as a whole has what a Civil Engineer role asks for, and names the skills it is still missing. Practice Civil Engineer interview questions →

Check my Civil Engineer score

Keywords only help if the ATS can read them. Check your resume's ATS parse rate free →