Electronic and ATS-Friendly Resumes

A clean file alone isn't likely to win you an interview if you're missing what the job needs, but if you're one of many qualified applicants, a resume the software reads cleanly can be what lets a recruiter find you and keep reading. That's because the recruiter often meets your resume through a search box first.

An applicant tracking system, or ATS, is the software many employers use to collect applications, sort them and search them. It pulls the text out of your file and sorts it into fields such as name, job titles and skills. Words it cannot read may be lost.

How the software reads your resume

Most systems turn your file into plain text, then try to work out which line is your name, which lines are jobs and which words are skills. Clear, conventional layouts come through intact. Text boxes, tables, columns and graphics are where the trouble starts, because the software may read across two columns as if they were one line or skip words set inside a picture.

In many systems the software itself does not decide who gets an interview. Recruiters search and filter the pool, and screening questions on the application form can rule out applicants automatically. Answer those with care.

Layout rules that survive any system

These rules cost you nothing in looks, and they keep your details in the right fields.

• Use a single column, with plain section headings such as Experience, Education and Skills
• Put your name and contact details in the body of the page, since some systems skip the document's header and footer area
• Keep each job title, employer and set of dates together, in the same order for every job
• Use round or square bullet symbols and a common font, because unusual symbols can turn into empty boxes
• Leave out text boxes, tables, icons, photos and skill-level bars
• Write dates the same way everywhere, such as March 2024 or 03/2024

Keywords, in plain words

Keywords are the skills, tools, licenses and job titles a recruiter types into the search box. The posting lists them. Read it twice, mark every skill or credential it mentions more than once, and use the same wording in your summary, skills section and bullets wherever it truthfully fits.

Write a term in full and in short form at least once, as in Certified Public Accountant (CPA), because a recruiter might search for either. Stay away from hiding keywords in white text or pasting the whole posting into your file. Recruiters see it the moment the file is converted to plain text, and it reads as a trick.

PDF or Word file?

Follow the posting first. If it gives no instruction, both a Word file (.docx) and a PDF saved from a word processor are widely accepted. The PDF to avoid is a scan or a photo of a printed page, which is only a picture of text.

To test a PDF, open it, drag your cursor across a sentence and watch what happens: if the words highlight one by one, the software can read them too.

Make a plain-text version for online forms

Years ago, employers scanned paper resumes into their computers, and applicants kept a plain "scannable" version for the purpose. The idea survives today. Its descendant is the plain-text resume you paste into online forms and email messages.

Once you have a finished resume you will need to save a copy as a plain text (.txt) file and open it in a basic text editor. Then fix what broke: swap bullet symbols for hyphens, put section headings in capitals, move every line to the left margin and add a line break between sections.

Test it before you apply

Paste your resume into a plain-text editor and read what comes out. If the order is jumbled, words are missing or symbols have turned into boxes, the software will most likely see the same mess. Fix it before you upload.

Many application portals also show you the fields they filled in from your upload. Check each one, fix anything that landed in the wrong place and keep a copy of the version you sent. It's worth taking the time, since a few corrected fields can decide whether you turn up in a recruiter's search at all.