How to write an ATS friendly resume

What an applicant tracking system actually does

An applicant tracking system, or ATS, is software that employers use to collect applications, store resumes and let recruiters search them. It does not usually reject people on its own. Most of the time it reads your file, pulls out text such as your job titles, dates and skills, and lets a recruiter filter or search that text.

That means two things matter. First, the software must be able to read your file, so the layout needs to be simple. Second, the words on your resume should match the words a recruiter would type into the search box. Everything else in this guide follows from those two points.

Different employers use different systems and set them up differently. Nobody can promise you a perfect score, and any tool that claims to predict what a particular employer's software will do is guessing. What you can do is remove the common problems that make a file hard to read.

Choose a layout that reads cleanly

A single column layout with clear headings is the safest choice. Multi column designs, text boxes, tables and icons can be read out of order, so your skills might end up in the middle of your job history. If you like a two column look, check that the text still comes out in a sensible order when you copy and paste it into a plain text editor.

• Use a standard font such as Arial, Calibri, Georgia or Times New Roman at 10 to 12 points.
• Keep text out of headers and footers, since some systems skip them. Put your name and contact details in the main body.
• Use simple round bullets rather than custom symbols.
• Avoid photos, charts, skill bars and rating stars. A bar showing "Excel: 80%" says nothing the software can use.
• Save as PDF unless the employer asks for Word. A PDF made from a word processor keeps selectable text. A scanned image of a page does not.

Use standard section headings

Software and recruiters both look for familiar labels. Name your sections "Summary", "Experience" (or "Work Experience"), "Education" and "Skills". Creative alternatives like "My Journey" or "Things I Am Good At" may not be recognised, and they slow a human reader down as well.

Dates should follow one consistent style, such as "Mar 2022 to Present" or "03/2022 to Present". Give each job a title, a company name and a location on predictable lines. If the system extracts these fields into a form, a clear pattern helps it fill them correctly.

Spell out an abbreviation at least once. Write "Search Engine Optimisation (SEO)" or "Certified Public Accountant (CPA)" so that a search for either form can find you.

Use keywords from the job posting, honestly

Read the posting and underline the skills, tools and qualifications it names. Then compare that list to your own experience. Where you have done the work, use the posting's wording. If it says "customer onboarding" and your resume says "helping new clients get started", change yours.

Do not add skills you do not have. It rarely works, because the interview exposes it, and some application forms ask you to confirm your claims. Never hide extra keywords in white text either. Recruiters who open the file will often see it, and it can end your application.

Put the most important terms in places that carry weight: your job titles, your summary and the bullets under your most recent roles. A skills section is useful, but a keyword that also appears inside a real bullet with a result is stronger evidence.

A worked example of a keyword fix

Imagine a posting for a "Payroll Administrator" that asks for payroll processing, month end reporting and experience with spreadsheets. Your first draft says: "Looked after staff pay and sent figures to my manager every month using Excel."

Revised: "Processed payroll for 85 employees each month, prepared month end reports for the finance manager and maintained pay records in Excel." The facts are the same. The second version simply uses the terms a recruiter would search for and gives a number for scale.

Do this for three to five of the most important requirements in the posting. You do not need to match every word, only the main ones that are true for you.

Common formatting traps

Some problems are easy to miss because the page looks fine to you. A resume saved from a design tool may contain text as images. A fancy template may place your contact details inside a shape. Hyperlinks hidden behind words like "my portfolio" may vanish, so also write the web address out in full.

File names matter a little too. Use something clear like "Priya_Nair_Resume.pdf" rather than "final_v7_NEW.pdf". Keep the file small, and make sure it opens without a password.

Length is not an ATS rule, but a long resume buries your keywords. One page suits most people with under ten years of experience, and two pages is fine for more.

A short checklist before you apply

Run through this list for each application. It takes five minutes and catches most problems.

• My contact details are in the main body, not a header.
• The layout is one column with standard headings.
• The text can be selected and copied from the PDF.
• My job titles, dates and employers appear in a consistent order.
• The main skills from the posting appear in my wording, only where true.
• Abbreviations are written out once.
• The file name includes my name.

What to do when you are unsure

If an application form lets you upload a file and also fill in fields, do both carefully. The fields are what the system stores in its database, so type your job titles and dates exactly as they appear on your resume. Differences between the two can look like mistakes.

When the employer offers a plain text box, paste your resume text there as well. Remove tabs and special characters first. Some forms strip formatting, so keep your lines short and put each job on its own block.

If you have applied to many roles with no replies, do not assume the software is the cause. The role may be filled, your experience may be a weaker match, or the posting may have received hundreds of applications. Ask a friend in the same field to read your resume, and compare it to the posting line by line. A person's feedback is often more useful than another round of formatting changes.