Most mid-sized and large employers use an applicant tracking system, or ATS, to collect and organize job applications. Your resume is parsed by software before a person reads it, so a fancy design that scrambles in the parser can hurt you. The goal is a resume that is clean for the machine and persuasive for the human. This guide shows how.
What an ATS actually does
An ATS stores applications, extracts information such as your name, job titles, dates and skills, and lets recruiters search and filter candidates. How much automatic filtering happens varies widely by employer and by how the system is configured. Many recruiters search by keywords and job titles, so if the parser misreads your resume, you may not appear in their results. The practical lesson: make your resume easy to read and easy to search.
Formatting that parses well
- Use a simple, single-column layout. Multi-column designs, text boxes and tables can be read out of order.
- Use standard section headings such as Summary, Experience, Education and Skills. Creative headings may not be recognized.
- Choose a common font like Arial, Calibri or Times New Roman at a readable size.
- Keep contact details in the body, not in the page header or footer, where some parsers ignore them.
- Avoid images, icons, skill bars and graphics. They carry no text for the parser and often clutter the page.
- Use standard bullet characters and consistent date formats.
- Follow the file format requested. If the posting does not specify, a Word document or a text-based PDF is usually safe.
Structure that works for people
- Header: name, city or region, email, phone and a professional profile link.
- Summary: two or three lines about who you are, your strengths and the role you are targeting.
- Experience: reverse chronological, with job title, company, location and dates for each role.
- Skills: relevant tools and abilities, using the terms employers use.
- Education and certifications.
For most people, one page is enough early in a career and two pages suit longer experience. Be selective rather than exhaustive.
Tailor keywords honestly
Read the job description and identify the skills, tools and phrases that appear repeatedly. Where you truly have the experience, mirror that language. If a posting says project management and you wrote leading initiatives, add the term the employer uses. Do not stuff in keywords you cannot back up; interviewers will test them.
Also note that both spelled-out and abbreviated forms can be useful, such as search engine optimization (SEO), because some systems search for one and some for the other.
Write achievement bullets, not duty lists
Employers want evidence of results. A helpful formula is: action verb + what you did + measurable result. Numbers make impact concrete, but only use figures you can support.
| Duty-style bullet | Achievement-style bullet |
|---|---|
| Responsible for customer emails | Answered 40 to 60 customer emails a day and kept average response time under two hours |
| Helped with social media | Grew the company’s Instagram audience from 2,000 to 5,500 in six months by posting three times a week |
| Worked on reports | Built a weekly sales dashboard that saved the team about four hours of manual work |
The figures above are examples; use your own. If you cannot measure something, describe scale or scope, such as team size, budget or number of clients.
Common resume mistakes
- Using one generic resume for every application.
- Long paragraphs instead of short bullets.
- Spelling and grammar errors, especially in job titles and company names.
- Unexplained gaps or vague dates.
- Listing every task you ever did instead of what is relevant.
- An unprofessional email address.
A quick pre-submit checklist
- Copy your resume into a plain-text editor. Does the order still make sense?
- Compare your keywords with the job description.
- Check dates, titles and contact details.
- Save the file with a clear name such as YourName-Resume.
- Ask someone to proofread it.
Beyond the resume
A strong resume gets you into the process; conversations get you the job. Reach out to people at target companies, keep your professional profile consistent with your resume and prepare short stories for interviews. If your resume reveals a skills gap, our guide to building a 12-month skills plan can help you close it, and the Lifestyle section has more on growing your career and habits.