An ATS-friendly resume is one that applicant tracking software can turn into clean, searchable text. That means a single-column layout, plain section headings (Summary, Experience, Education, Skills), real typed text instead of images or text boxes, contact details in the main body, and a .docx or text-based PDF file. It also has to use the same words as the job posting, including the exact job title, hard skills, tools and certifications, because recruiters search and rank applicants by those keywords.
What an applicant tracking system actually does
An applicant tracking system (ATS) is the software employers use to post jobs and manage applicants. Workday, Greenhouse, Lever, iCIMS and Oracle Taleo are common examples. Three of its jobs affect your resume:
- Parsing. It pulls your file apart into fields such as name, contact details, job titles, employers, dates, education and skills. It often uses those fields to pre-fill the application form, which is why a badly parsed resume leaves you retyping everything.
- Search and ranking. Your parsed profile goes into a searchable database. Recruiters search it by job title, skills and location, and many platforms now add match scores that rank applicants against the job description.
- Screening questions. Knockout questions such as “Are you legally authorized to work in this country?” or “Do you hold a current driver’s licence?” can filter applications out automatically.
You may have read that “75% of resumes are rejected by robots before a human sees them.” No published study backs that figure. Most systems don’t reject you for a font or a margin. You lose out when your details parse wrongly, when you never appear in a recruiter’s keyword search, or when better-matched applicants rank above you. So the job has two parts: be read correctly and be found.
Formatting rules: what to use and what to avoid
| Element | ATS-friendly | Risky |
|---|---|---|
| Layout | One column, read top to bottom | Two or three columns, sidebars |
| Section headings | Summary, Experience, Education, Skills, Certifications, Projects | Creative labels like “My Journey” or “Toolbox” |
| Contact details | First lines of the page body | Only in the header or footer |
| Text | Real, selectable text | Text inside images, icons, charts or text boxes |
| Skills | Listed as words | Skill bars, star ratings, logos |
| Dates | One consistent format, e.g. “Mar 2022 – Present” | Mixed formats, or dates with no months |
| Fonts | Arial, Calibri, Helvetica, Georgia at 10–12 pt | Decorative or very small fonts |
| Tables | None, or very simple | Tables used to lay out the page |
| File | .docx or text-based PDF | Scanned PDF, JPG, Pages file |
Two more habits help both software and people:
- Write acronyms both ways once, e.g. “Search engine optimization (SEO)”. A recruiter might search for either form.
- Use bullet points for achievements and start each one with a strong verb such as led, built, cut or grew. Include a number wherever you can.
PDF or Word: which file should you upload?
Follow the job posting first. If it asks for Word or .docx, send .docx. Otherwise, a text-based PDF works with modern ATS and keeps your layout the same on every screen.
PDFs cause trouble when they are images: scanned paper, a screenshot saved as a PDF, or a design-tool export where the text was flattened. You can check yours in 10 seconds:
- Open the PDF and press Ctrl+A (Cmd+A on a Mac) to select everything.
- Copy it and paste it into Notepad or TextEdit.
- If the text comes out complete and in the right order, an ATS can read it. If nothing selects, or the lines come out jumbled, rebuild the file.
The Resume Builder exports both a PDF with real, selectable text and a Word .docx. It uses Letter size when your browser is set to US or Canadian English and A4 otherwise. If your resume is already a Word document, the CV to PDF Converter turns a .docx, .txt or .html file into a PDF in your browser. Old .doc files need to be saved as .docx first.
How to find and use the right keywords
ATS keyword matching is mostly literal. “Stakeholder management” in the posting won’t match “worked with stakeholders” in your resume. Here’s how to close the gap:
- Copy the full job description, including the requirements and “nice to have” lists.
- Pick out the hard keywords: the job title, skills, software, certifications, licences, methods and industry terms. Generic phrases like “team player” carry little weight.
- Compare it with your resume. Paste both into the Resume Keyword Matcher. It pulls up to 35 of the most frequent words and two-word phrases from the posting, skips filler words, and lists which ones your resume contains and which are missing.
- Add the missing terms you genuinely have, in two places: the Skills section, and a bullet that proves it. For example: “Managed a $500K annual Google Ads and Meta budget, cutting cost per lead 28%.”
- Mirror the exact wording and job title. If the posting says “Senior Marketing Manager”, put that title in your headline or summary, as long as it matches your level.
Don’t paste the whole job description in white text or stuff your skills list. Recruiters read the parsed text, where hidden keywords show up as plain spam. A missing keyword you don’t have tells you something about fit. Don’t fake it.
Step by step: build and check your resume
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Build it. In the Resume Builder, choose the “Classic (single column, most ATS-friendly)” layout. Fill in contact details, target job title, a 2–3 sentence summary, comma-separated skills, each role with one achievement per line, education, and certifications or languages. Your draft saves automatically on your device.
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Write achievement bullets: verb + what you did + measurable result. “Cut paid-social cost per acquisition 32% while doubling monthly spend” beats “Responsible for paid social.”
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Run the ATS Resume Checker. Drop in your PDF, DOCX or TXT file (or paste the text) and add the job description. It checks for:
- an email address and phone number
- a LinkedIn profile URL
- at least three standard headings (Experience, Education, Skills, Summary, Certifications or Projects)
- a length of 350–900 words (400–800 is the sweet spot for one to two pages)
- at least 6 bullet points, 5 numbers or metrics and 6 action verbs
- no more than three uses of “I”, “me” or “my”
- no tab-separated columns
With a job description added, the score is 60% keyword match and 40% checklist. Without one, it’s the checklist alone.
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Check the extracted text. When you drop a file, the checker shows the text it pulled out. If that text is garbled or missing sections, an ATS will probably struggle with it too.
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Fix, re-run and export. Download the PDF or .docx. The builder names the file with your name, e.g. Alex-Morgan-Resume.pdf, which looks tidier to a recruiter than resume_final_v3.pdf.
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Tailor each application. Keep a master version and adjust the summary, skills and top three bullets for each job. It usually takes about 10 minutes.
Both checkers read your resume in your browser. Nothing is uploaded or stored on a server.
Country differences: US, UK, Canada and Australia
ATS behave the same everywhere, but what recruiters expect on the page differs.
| Country | Usually called | Typical length | Paper size | Leave out |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| US | Resume | 1 page early career, 2 pages experienced | Letter | Photo, date of birth, marital status |
| UK | CV | 2 pages | A4 | Photo, date of birth, marital status |
| Canada | Resume | 1–2 pages | Letter | Photo, age, Social Insurance Number |
| Australia | Resume (or CV) | 2–3 pages | A4 | Photo, date of birth; referees are often “available on request” |
In the US, a “CV” usually means a long academic record for research and teaching jobs, not a corporate resume. In the UK and Australia, the words CV and resume mean much the same thing. Everywhere, leaving out personal details such as age, photo and marital status keeps the focus on your skills and avoids putting information in front of employers that discrimination law says they shouldn’t use.
Finish the rest of the application
- Cover letter. Many ATS forms have a cover letter field. The Cover Letter Generator builds a draft from your role, top skills and numbered achievements in a professional, warm or short tone. Download it as .docx or PDF, then personalize the “why this company” part.
- LinkedIn. Recruiters also search LinkedIn by title and skills. The LinkedIn Headline Generator suggests 10 headline variations and counts characters against the 220-character limit. Keep your target title and two or three keywords in the first 120 characters.
- Screening questions. Answer knockout questions exactly and honestly. They’re often the real automatic filter.
FAQ
Can an ATS read a PDF resume?
Yes, if it’s a text-based PDF exported from Word, Google Docs or a resume builder. Scanned or image-only PDFs can’t be read reliably. Use the copy-and-paste test above, and send .docx if the posting asks for it.
Do two-column resumes fail ATS?
Not always, but they’re a common cause of jumbled parsing, where lines from the two columns get mixed together. A single-column layout is the safe choice, especially for large employers.
What is a good ATS score?
There’s no industry standard. Every tool scores differently, and employers don’t see your score from a third-party checker. In AnyShift’s checker, 75% or higher shows green. The most useful number is how many of the posting’s hard skills you have but haven’t yet mentioned.
Should I tailor my resume for every job?
Yes, at least the summary, skills and top bullets. Different postings use different wording for the same skill, and recruiters search using the wording from their own posting.
Are Canva and other designer templates ATS-friendly?
Many aren’t. They often use columns, text boxes, icons and skill bars. If you use one, run the copy-and-paste test and the ATS checker before applying.
Should I include my full home address?
No. City and state, province or region is enough, and it still lets recruiters filter by location.