Marsha Hebert 
The ATS doesn't have to be the bane of your job-search existence.
We've all been there: you find the perfect job opportunity, customize your resume and cover letter, submit your online application, and then pray it will pass the infamous six-second resume review test. Unfortunately, more often than not, your job application is lost in the applicant tracking system – and you're left wondering why the employer or hiring manager wasn't that into you.
What many job seekers don't realize is that 75% of job applications don't get seen by human eyes. Before your resume reaches the hands of a live person, it must often pass muster with what's known as an applicant tracking system.
What is an applicant tracking system?
An applicant tracking system – or ATS, for short – is a type of resume scanning software used by recruiters and employers during the hiring process to collect, sort, scan, and rank the job applications they receive for open positions.
The applicant tracking system was initially created for large companies that are accustomed to dealing with several thousand inbound job applications on a weekly basis. Today, approximately 99% of Fortune 500 companies rely on ATS software to help streamline their recruitment process. However, what began as a recruitment solution for large employers has turned into a commonplace tool for companies of all shapes and sizes.
Why do companies use ATS?
There are some very good reasons why today's companies are so heavily reliant on ATS to narrow their job candidate search. The modern hiring process is more complex than ever before – and not just because there are so many more workers applying for a position. The reality is most companies lack the resources and time needed to search through every resume submission they receive. By using automated systems, they can free up those resources to focus on their core company mission.
But there are also legal compliance issues that need to be considered. Employment law – and especially laws prohibiting various kinds of discrimination in hiring – need to be followed with care. Many employers understand that one of the best ways to reduce potential bias in the initial stages of any hiring process is to allow unbiased machines to handle some of the work.
The bottom line is that ATS resume scanners provide companies with an automated way to narrow any list of candidates to only those who meet the position's posted qualifications. It does that without potential discrimination by ignoring characteristics like race, gender, and age. As a result, companies enjoy savings in both time and cost while optimizing their compliance with existing employment laws.
How do applicant tracking systems work?
The ATS parses a resume's content into categories and then scans it for specific and relevant keywords to determine if the job application should be passed along to the recruiter. Its job is to essentially weed out unqualified applicants so the recruiter can devote his or her time to evaluating the candidates who are more likely to be a match for the position.
Unfortunately, that means if a resume template is not written and formatted with the applicant tracking system in mind, a qualified candidate can be easily passed over – regardless of actual qualifications.
How to write an ATS resume
To determine what makes an ATS-friendly resume, TopResume analyzed 1,000 resumes from professionals across the US with at least eight years of experience to identify the most common resume mistakes that will cause an applicant tracking system to toss an application. The infographic below highlights some of the costliest mistakes that make a resume incompatible with an ATS scan.
If you want to make sure your resume is compliant with an ATS, follow the tips below to write and use an ATS-optimized resume.
Select the right file type for your resume: PDF vs Word
Contrary to popular belief, a PDF is not the most ATS-friendly file type. While PDF files are the best at preserving the design and format of your resume template, it's not compatible with all ATS software. If you're asked to upload your resume to an applicant tracking system and “PDF” is listed among the file formats you can use, feel free to send a PDF version of your resume. However, if the system does not specify which file types are compatible, play it safe and stick to a Word document in .doc or .docx.
While plain-text files are incredibly ATS-friendly, they limit your formatting options and can look unprofessional. Since your resume has to get past the ATS and impress a live human, it's best to stick to using a Word document for aesthetics's sake.
Related reading: How to Avoid the Top 10 Resume Mistakes That Make Recruiters Cringe
Don't put important details in the header or footer
Not all applicant tracking systems are able to properly read and parse information stored in the header and footer sections of a Word document. In fact, our study confirmed the ATS was unable to identify a portion of the job seeker's contact information 25% of the time. Avoid this same fate by placing important contact details (such as your name, phone number, and email address) outside the header or footer of your resume.
Optimize your resume with keywords
One of the best ways to ensure your resume is compatible with an ATS is to optimize your resume with the right keywords (also known as keyword optimization). Unlike a “buzzword,” which is typically considered to be a fluffy term such as “proactive” or “self-starter,” keywords represent the soft skills and hard skills you possess and the expertise you've acquired over the years that qualify you for your target job.
If you're unsure which resume keywords should be used, follow these steps:
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Collect three to five job descriptions that represent the type of position you're pursuing
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Copy and paste the job description into a free word and phrase frequency tool like Online-Utility.org's Text Analyzer to identify the terms that are regularly used in each
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Incorporate those terms into your resume
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Don't forget to match up your skills, experience, and education to the qualifications of the roles
When it comes to creating an ATS-optimized resume, you need to think about the frequency, as well as the placement of these relevant keywords throughout your resume. Some applicant tracking systems will determine the strength of your skills based on the number of times a term shows up in your resume (aim to add the term two to three times throughout your resume), whereas others assign an estimated amount of experience for a particular skill based on its placement within the resume. To make your resume truly compatible with any ATS, you'll want to optimize it with both systems in mind.
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Create a “Core Competencies” or “Areas of Expertise” section below your resume professional summary that lists your strongest hard skills and soft skills.
If there's a common abbreviation for one of your proficiencies, such as “SEO” (for search engine optimization), include both versions in your resume.
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Then, pepper these same terms into your “Work Experience” or “Education” sections, where appropriate, to demonstrate when you leveraged that skill.
Related reading: Why Soft and Hard Skills Are So Important for Your Resume
Some applicant tracking systems will associate the length of experience for a skill based on how long you held the job where that skill was leveraged. For instance,
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If you worked at your past job for five years and you mentioned that you handled SEO for the company, the ATS will assume you have five years' worth of SEO experience from that job.
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If a skill is listed on its own – such as within the professional summary or a core competencies section – then the ATS scan will assign a few months' experience for that skill.
This is why it's incredibly important to reiterate your skills throughout your entire resume rather than just in a skill section at the top.
Include a resume headline
Make sure your resume also includes a headline. This one-line heading should be located right after your contact information and before your summary statement. Companies that use an ATS to screen resumes will typically include the job title in their ATS assessment criteria. To create an ATS-friendly headline, simply:
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Identify the job title you're applying for. It should be in the job posting or job description. For example, let's say that you're applying for a position as a Marketing Director. Those two words are keywords that need to be included in your headline.
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Identify other key requirements that you may be able to highlight in your headline. It could be something as simple as a requirement that candidates have at least five years of experience in managing marketing teams. Take note of that job qualification since you may want to incorporate it into your headline, too.
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Create a headline that includes the job title and some descriptive language that helps to immediately identify you as a qualified candidate. If you use our example keywords, your headline might look something like this:
Dynamic Marketing Director with over 5 years of experience in client success
Avoid images, charts, and other graphics
While resumes with embedded images may look nice to the human eye, they become a garbled mess after they pass through the applicant tracking system.
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The ATS often converts any type of image or graph into funky characters (e.g., $&%#*)
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The ATS could read this as an error on your resume file, indicating the file is corrupt
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Your resume could be wholly rejected by the ATS
ATS rejection is one of the number one reasons job seekers get ghosted by companies.
Stick to simple bullet points
When used appropriately, bullet points are a great method for highlighting accomplishments and qualifications on a resume. However, if you choose an elaborate symbol for your bullets, your important selling points could get scrambled. Avoid using intricate characters when creating a bulleted list on your ATS-compliant resume. Stick to the simplest options, such as a solid circle, open circle, or square, to ensure your bullet points enhance your resume rather than make it incompatible with an ATS.
Use a clean resume design with a clear hierarchy
When it comes to your ATS-friendly resume design, less is more. Not only do complex resume designs or unusual formats confuse most applicant tracking systems, but they also annoy recruiters who are accustomed to quickly scanning a resume for specific information that they expect to find in specific areas within the document.
This means you should avoid those 2-column resume formats.
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Yes, they're pretty.
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No, they won't get past the ATS.
Click on the following link for more tips on how to write a resume that will beat the ATS.
How to create an ATS-friendly resume format
If you want your resume to perform well in an ATS scan, stick to a standard resume format such as a reverse chronological or hybrid resume. These resume formats use a professional summary section at the top of the document to outline your key skills and qualifications and combine it with a chronological “Work History” section that explains how you've leveraged these qualities to produce results for your employers.
Most applicant tracking systems do a better job at reading and interpreting a reverse chronological or hybrid format because they rely on chronological data to parse your resume.
ATS-friendly resume template
Resumes are not like typical prose documents. If your resume is just one long story with different kinds of information spread across one or two pages like an essay, it won't perform well. And, even if it did, no human hiring manager would bother to read it.
Separate your career story into distinct sections to ensure that key details can be found by both the ATS and a hiring manager. This helps provide a structure that makes it easier for machines and humans to quickly scan for the information they want to see.
Below is a simple structure that you can use to ensure that your resume satisfies the needs of both the ATS and any hiring manager who sees it:
First and Last Name
Location | Phone Number | Email | LinkedIn URL | Portfolio URL (optional)
Resume Headline
A three to five-sentence elevator pitch designed to capture any hiring manager's attention. You can include keywords in this paragraph that highlight your most vital skills, experiences, and measurable achievements that showcase your potential value to the employer.
Core Competencies
This is where you list the skills that show you're qualified for the position. Depending on the job you're seeking, your skill section may be weighted toward either soft or hard skills – but you should try to include some mix of both.
Professional Experience
Otherwise known as work experience, this labeled section should include your relevant work history dating back 10-15 years. Start by listing your most recent position and work backward. For each position you've held, include the company name, job title, dates of employment, and up to five bullet point examples that demonstrate your achievements in each role.
Company Name | mm/yyyy-mm/yyyy
Title of your role
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Achievement #1
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Achievement #2
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Achievement #3
Education
This section also needs to be labeled and should include the name of the college you attended, the years of attendance, your course of study and degree, and any relevant coursework that you need to show to demonstrate your qualifications. You can also include listings for certifications, continuing education, and other relevant training.
How to know if your resume is ATS-friendly
There are two easy ways to determine if your resume is compatible with an applicant tracking system during the job search.
Convert your resume to a plain-text file
Copy the entire content from your ATS-friendly resume, paste it into a plain-text document, and review the results. If the plain-text version is missing details from your original resume, has characters saved incorrectly, or looks disorganized (i.e., the heading for your “Education” section appears in the middle of your work experience), then assume your resume will require editing before it's ATS compliant.
Request a free ATS scan for your resume
Your best option is to get a resume writing service to scan your resume. Most, including TopResume, offer this free of charge!
In fact, when you request a free resume review from TopResume, you'll receive feedback on your resume's content, as well as its ATS compatibility. You'll learn the following:
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What your resume is doing well
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Where it's falling short, from both an information and design perspective
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What information an ATS will pull from your resume
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What information the ATS will misread
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Which top skills and keywords your resume currently rank for
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What options are available to you to correct any resume shortcomings to secure more interviews
Related watching: Click on the following link to watch our latest #OfficeHours video on how to write an ATS resume to beat the bots.
The extra effort reaps big rewards
You may be thinking this is a lot of work just to get a job. However, if you consider the rate of success you've been having by throwing your resume at hundreds of job listings to be met with nothing in return, the effort is probably worth it. Ask yourself this, “Do I want to apply to hundreds of positions and hear nothing, or do I want to optimize my resume and apply to a few targeted jobs and actually get an interview?”
Don't let the ATS stop you from landing your dream job. Get an ATS-proof resume today.
This article was originally written by Amanda Augustine and has been updated by Ken Chase and Marsha Hebert.