Clergy Resume Keywords & ATS Expectations
This isn't an article — it's the live data our resume scanner uses to analyze clergy resumes. When the engine improves, this page updates with it.
Keywords ATS systems expect on clergy resumes
Job titles recruiters recognize in this field
Certifications that anchor a clergy resume
Common questions
What keywords do ATS systems look for on clergy resumes?
The highest-weight terms in our clergy detection engine include ministry, congregation, sermons, preaching, pastoral care, worship services, bible study, discipleship. These come from the live tables our scanner runs on every clergy resume — use the exact recognized form of each term you can honestly claim, once, attached to real experience.
Which certifications matter most on a clergy resume?
Our scanner anchors clergy resumes on certifications like MASTER OF DIVINITY, MDIV, ORDINATION, THEOLOGY DEGREE, CPE CHAPLAINCY. List the ones you hold with their exact recognized abbreviation — recruiters and ATS searches both match on the standard form.
How do I check my clergy resume against this data?
Run the free scan — it checks your actual document against these exact keyword tables, plus parsing, structure, and red flags, and returns a full diagnostic report in about 20 seconds. No signup; your resume is never stored.
See how your resume scores against this data — free
A full diagnostic report in seconds: missing keywords, ATS parsing, weakest bullets rewritten, and a fix plan. No signup, resume never stored.
Scan my resume freeRole-specific keyword guides
Methodology: keyword and title lists come directly from the detection tables our scanner runs on every clergy resume, validated by a pinned regression suite. O*NET data is public domain from the U.S. Department of Labor. See our methodology.