what does ats resume mean

How to Write an ATS Resume [16+ Templates Included]

Rejection is part of the job search . 

Not everyone gets an interview or job offer. 

Do you know what else is part of the job search, though?

Getting your resume discarded before the recruiter even gets a chance to see it.

To reach the recruiter, in most cases your resume should first pass an Applicant Tracking Systems (ATS).

And here’s the thing - over 70% of job applications fail to pass ! 

Worry not, though. We’ve got your back!

Getting past applicant tracking systems is not hard. In this guide, we’re going to teach you how to do it:

What is an Applicant Tracking System (ATS)?

• How to Create an ATS Resume?
• How to Run an ATS Check on Your Resume?
• 16+ ATS Resume Templates for 2024.

An applicant tracking system (ATS) is a software employers use to manage the entire application process. 

This system collects, scans and ranks all of the applications.  

At first, ATS was created for bigger companies.

And you can see that in the numbers: 75% of large companies use an ATS because they receive thousands of applications every day.

But today, companies of all sizes (including over 98% of Fortune Companies ) use an ATS.

Why do so many firms use ATS? 

95% of professionals say that ATS has improved their company for two main reasons:

• Using ATS is very productive for companies: The system narrows down the flood of applications, saving them time and resources . Instead of going through stacks of paper, the online system keeps things organized.
• The system is also non-discriminatory , which means it does not look at factors such as age, gender, or race. At the end of the day, machines can’t be biased!

First, the system creates a job posting for the company. 

It then publishes this posting to company websites, job boards, hiring platforms, or email.

Once an application for the job comes in, the system scans it.

The ATS divides the resume into the different resume sections : Work Experience , Education , Skills, Languages, Certifications, etc.

It then searches for specific keywords and qualifications to see whether you match the job description or not. 

Let’s illustrate this with an example:

You are applying for a tax manager position. 

Your resume summary writes: 

“Highly-driven tax manager with 5+ years of financial experience in managing tax returns and affairs. Proven experience of success, employer satisfaction, and strong communication skills.” 

• “Tax manager”
• “5+ years of experience” 
• “Tax returns and affairs”
• “Employer satisfaction”
• “Strong communication skills” 

Then, matches it to their list of requirements: 

• CHECK: tax manager
• CHECK: 5+ years of experience
• CHECK: employer satisfaction
• CHECK: communication skills
• NOT CHECK: Analytical skills
• NOT CHECK: Microsoft Office 

If your resume doesn’t match the basic list of requirements, it’s automatically discarded.

If it does, then it’s ranked by relevance (i.e. the best resume goes on top of the recruiter’s pipeline).

How to Create an ATS Resume (Step-By-Step)

Now that you know how ATS works, we’re going to teach you how to beat it.

Here’s how to create an ATS-friendly resume, step by step:

Are you new to the workforce? You might want to check out our guide on how to make a resume , before learning how to optimize it for ATS!

Step 1: Pick the right resume format. 

The easiest format for an ATS to read is reverse-chronological. This format emphasizes your work experience by putting it on top of the page. 

Then, it sorts your experience from most to least relevant. 

This format is also the most popular among recruiters. In 99.9% of the cases, reverse-chronological is the best layout to go for. 

Step 2: Choose the appropriate file type. 

A PDF file is universal and can be read by (most) ATS, so that should be your go-to.

PDF files are also great for maintaining the design and format of your resume.

Some applicant tracking systems (the old models), however, are unable to read PDF. Before applying for the position, check what job ad says. 

If it explicitly states that you should apply with a Word document, then that might mean that their ATS CAN’T read PDFs, and you should just submit a .doc file.

Step 3: Use an ATS Resume Template

Many applicants get rejected for using resume templates that ATS can’t read. 

Fancy templates you might have spent money on usually get scrambled in the system. 

It’s crucial to pick a tried-and-tested ATS friendly template. 

Novorésumé resume templates are perfect for writing an ATS-friendly resume. 

Our templates are developed hand-in-hand with recruiters and employers to help you create an amazing resume. 

Step 4: Use a simple layout*

*Did you decide to go with a Novorésumé template? You can skip this step, as the templates come with the right formatting. Otherwise, read on!

Choose a common, simple font . Use bigger font sizes for headers and smaller ones for content. 

To highlight your achievements , stick to bulleted lists . 

Remember to choose a simple bulleted point. 

A solid circle or square is your best shot, as any complicated character might be incompatible with an ATS . 

Here’s what a correct entry looks like:

• Full professional proficiency in English and Spanish 
• Limited working proficiency in French 

For more tips and tricks on resume layout , check out our guide.

Step 5: Label your sections right. 

This part seems intuitive but we had to mention it anyway. 

Make sure to list your work experience under “Work Experience”, “Skills” under skills, etc. 

That’s the only way for the ATS to recognize what it is reading. 

Step 6: Tailor your resume with resume keywords. 

Keywords are words or short phrases related to the specific requirements for a job. 

The system scans for these words to find the best candidate. 

Now, we’re going to show you how to tailor your resume with keywords, and pass the screening: 

To find the right keywords, go through the job ad you’re applying for.

There are two types of keywords you should look out for: (1) job-related skills and (2) action verbs.   

Job-related skills are your primary characteristics and qualifications for the job.

e.g.: data analysis, research, problem-solving, etc.

Action verbs show what you have accomplished and succeeded in your job position.

e.g.: created, maximized, solved, etc. 

After you’ve scanned the job posting, make a list of these keywords, and mention them in your resume. 

Keep in mind, though, that you shouldn’t just randomly throw the keywords around. 

Your resume WILL be read by a human after it passes the ATS!

• Don’t use acronyms. Some ATS systems can’t recognize short forms. We recommend to both spell a word out and add the acronym. 

e.g.: Bachelor of Public Administration (BPA) 

Now, let’s look at a practical example. 

We are searching for a focused expert on social media to draw and connect with targeted members of online communities and networks.

Responsibilities: 

• Develop and execute social media strategy through competitive analysis, network commitment, benchmarking, communication and audience recognition . 
• Generate, edit, publish and distribute regular content (original text, images, video or HTML) which creates meaningful connections and encourages community members to take action.
• Develop constantly by collecting and analyzing appropriate social data/metrics , ideas, and best practices and then acting on it 
• Work with other departments (customer relations, marketing, etc.) to maintain credibility , identify key players and coordinate activities.

Requirements: 

• Good consulting, reporting, editing (photo/video/text), presentation and communication skills
• 3+ years of social networking expertise and social research software knowledge  
• Adequate knowledge of web design, web development, CRO and SEO .
• Knowledge of online marketing and a good understanding of major social media platforms.
• Positive attitude, information and customer focus with good multitasking and organizational capacity
• Previous experience in Business Communications , Advertising , and Public Relations preferred but not required.
• Undergraduate studies in the fields of communications, marketing, business, new media or public relations .

We have highlighted the most important keywords of this job ad. 

Notice how you can group words for each section of the resume. 

For example, keywords like develop, analyzing, or strategy can be used to in the Work Experience section. 

Under the Skills section, you would list the skills the job AD is looking for, like CRO, SEO, Data analysis, multitasking.

While other keywords like software knowledge, studies in Communications, Marketing, fall under the Education section.

Want to learn which keywords are a must-have in your field? Check out our complete guide to resume keywords .

A final word of caution: Avoid images and graphs. 

ATS Resume Example 

Now, let’s put together everything we’ve learned so far in a practical example. 

Here’s what a winning ATS resume example looks like: 

How to Run an ATS Check on Your Resume 

Done writing your ATS resume?

Now, how do you make sure that you got it right?

There is a very easy way to make sure that your resume is compatible with an ATS. 

First, copy your resume information and paste it into a plain-text document. 

Then, paste it into jobscan :

Then, paste the job description you’re applying for, and hit “Scan!”

The software will tell you EXACTLY what your resume is missing.

16+ ATS Resume Templates for 2024

Want to skip all the hassle of formatting your resume for ATS? Just use a Novorésumé template!

Head over to our resume templates page, pick the one that works for you, and get started!

Key Takeaways

In this article, we learned that:

• Most companies use Applicant Tracking Systems (ATS) to manage the application process. This is a system that collects, scans and ranks your resume. 
• ATS makes work easier for recruiters, but harder for employees. 75%+ job-seekers fail to pass the system. 
• To create an ATS-friendly resume, there is a certain format you should follow. Keep everything simple: font, design, and layout. Use bulleted lists. 
• Keywords are key. ATS scans the document for keywords, so you should tailor your resume with resume keywords. Do that by finding relevant keywords on the job posting. Group these words into sections. 

Suggested readings:

• How to Pick the Best Resume Format?
• 150+ Must-Have Skills for Any Resume [With Tips + Tricks]
• How Long Should a Resume Be [For Any Profession]

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How to Make Sure You Have an ATS Resume (The Complete Guide)

We’ll cover everything from what an ATS is and how to bypass them.

Not getting as many interview calls as you hoped for? It’s probably because you don’t have an ATS resume that follows the best professional writing practices. 

In this guide, you’ll learn how to ensure you have an ATS-friendly resume and what to avoid to get a higher response rate. 

Without further ado, let’s dive right in.

What Does ATS Mean for Resumes?

ATS stands for applicant tracking system. This is a resume scanner that’s used in the hiring process to identify qualified and unqualified candidates in seconds. Applicant tracking systems do this by checking your job application to see if you’ve included: 

• Relevant keywords
• Relevant work experience
• Relevant qualifications

If you don’t meet the criteria that the ATS scans your resume for, you’ll be disqualified from the hiring process. So when we talk about creating an ATS-friendly resume, this means creating a resume that beats the applicant tracking system (ATS) which companies use to narrow down the list of candidates.

Hiring managers use applicant tracking systems to determine which candidates are worth interviewing. This helps with speeding up the recruitment process especially when a company receives hundreds of resumes. 

‍ Feel free to also check out our guide on ways to beat the applicant tracking system here .

How to Make Sure Your Resume Is ATS-Friendly

Follow these steps to ensure you have an ATS-friendly resume :

• Use resume keywords
• Have a clean resume format
• Use an ATS resume scanner
• Create the right file type
• Follow the job description instructions

1. Use Resume Keywords

Resume keywords are words or phrases that the ATS is looking for on your application. A resume with keywords shows that you match the company’s job description, which helps recruiters determine whether or not you’re qualified for the role. 

There are 2 ways to find resume keywords:

• Review the job description carefully and see what key skills and phrases are being brought up 
• Use a resume keyword scanner to find the keywords you need to mention

The difference between the two is that the latter only takes a few seconds. For example, our resume keyword scanner works like this:

• Enter the job title you’re applying for
• Copy and paste the company’s job description
• Press “save job description”

You can also see how our keyword scanner works in the short clip below. 

• AI Keyword Targeting Feature Video Here

Once you know what keywords you need to include, there’s a few ways you could place them on your resume naturally which we’ll go through below. 

Additional Resume Sections

Let’s say the job description includes keywords related to soft skills and leadership ability. 

You could include an additional resume section like side projects or extracurricular activities to showcase your leadership experience and strong communication skills by using words such as: 

Describing Work Experience

When describing work experience, consider rephrasing a few resume bullet points using ATS keywords. 

Let’s say you’re applying for a retail customer service job position. The job description says that the ideal candidate is someone who’s experienced with:

• Active listening
• Conflict resolution
• Handling complaints

In which case, a bullet point in the work experience section could be something like this:

Resolved customer complaints and conflicts in a professional manner to achieve a 98% satisfaction rate. Utilized active listening and problem-solving skills to address customer issues and find effective solutions while maintaining a positive attitude to represent the company's brand values.

Write Down Your Qualifications 

The title of your formal qualifications or certifications may include keywords from the job description. You could also add extra details via bullet points on what you minored in for the education section and the technical skills you learned for the certification section. 

Other similar sections include:

• Relevant coursework
• Publications 

Resume Skills Section

Use the skills section to list the same skills mentioned in the job description. There’s a good chance that these are keywords that the company’s ATS is searching for. If you’re applying for a programming role, for example, it’s likely that keywords will include programming languages such as C++ and Python. 

2. Have a Clean Resume Format

An ATS resume format is sleek and professional. This means that the ATS should be able to easily scan through your application. We’ll share a few tips below to help you ensure that you have an ATS-friendly resume format. 

Use a Professional Resume Font

Our recommendation is Merriweather. It’s an elegant yet modern resume font that looks good for a job application. However, there are other serif and sans-serif options too such as Arial, Cambria, and Helvetica. 

Minimal Lines

Minimal resume designs are okay because it improves the readability of your application for a human reader. A well-organized resume with clear section headings and minimal designs won’t affect how the ATS systems parse your resume.

However, don’t rely on visual elements like bar charts or graphs to represent information as this won’t always be picked up on by the ATS.

Stick to Black, White, and Gray

We’re against using vibrant colors on a resume since a resume is supposed to be a professional document. 100% of the time, an ATS can read a resume that’s in black, white, and gray. 

3. Use an ATS Resume Scanner 

An ATS resume scanner (or checker) allows you to see if your resume is ATS-compliant. It shows you what your resume is missing and how it could be improved. Here’s a few examples of what it’ll identify: 

• Content errors
• Missing buzzwords
• Bullet point errors

This is an effective way to know whether your resume follows the best practices. Having a resume that follows the best practices means that you’ve maximized your chances of securing a job interview. 

And it’s one of the reasons why job seekers love us because our content analysis feature gives you live feedback as you’re creating your resume so you can follow the best practices along the way. 

If you’d like to get access to all our resume tools for free, you can sign up here . 

Feel free to also watch the short clip below to see how our ATS resume scanner works. 

• ATS Resume Checker video here

4. Create the Right File Type

Here are the most common file types to download your resume:

If there are no specific instructions in the job description, use either the PDF or DOCX file format because these can be accessed normally across multiple devices. 

5. Follow the Job Description Instructions

Before submitting your resume, double-check that you’ve followed the instructions in the job description. 

Even if you’ve included a range of resume keywords, your application would still get rejected automatically since you didn’t follow the instructions. A classic example of this could be an instruction that tells you to submit your application via email with a specific subject line or to enter a certain answer for a provided field in an online application. 

What to Avoid to Get Past the Applicant Tracking System

The ATS is mainly on the lookout for resume keywords which often point out relevant skills , experience, and qualifications. But to scan those keywords, the resume must be in an appropriate format. 

With that in mind, here’s what to avoid to ensure you’re sending an ATS-compliant resume. 

Keyword Stuffing

Keyword stuffing is when you force as many keywords into your resume as possible. This reduces your chances of getting the role and leaves a negative impression. It’s obvious that your resume isn’t genuine because it’s built with the main purpose of matching the job description as opposed to showing that you’re a qualified candidate. 

Graphics and Charts 

Minimal graphic design elements are okay but not when you’re relying on them to present key information. It’s also not a good idea to use fancy formatting like decorative visual elements. 

The ATS won’t pick up on lines, bar charts, or graphs; this is used for improving the readability of your application for a human reader, not the ATS. 

True, colors can make your application stand out by making it look more visually appealing but it can cause issues with the ATS. 

The ATS often doesn’t read color properly, resulting in the resume being misinterpreted or not parsed correctly. And this can lead to certain parts of your resume being overlooked even if it does contain valuable information. 

Moreover, some ATSs are configured to filter out resumes with unusual formatting. This includes resumes with excessive color. So even if the ATS can read the color, it may still get flagged as a potential formatting issue and therefore rejected. 

Typos and Grammar Mistakes 

Small spelling and grammar mistakes can be all it takes for your application to get rejected. In most cases, you’ll be disqualified from the ATS. And even if you still somehow get past it, a minor mistake on your resume won’t leave a good impression on the hiring manager. 

Duplicate Applications

Hiring managers can see the number of applications you make to the company.

When a candidate sends the same resume to different roles in the same organization, the ATS may flag that candidate as a spammer. If it doesn’t lead to instant rejection, it still decreases your chances of being considered. If you’re interested in another role, tailor your resume to that position instead of using the same application. 

More Potential Reasons Your Resume Is Getting Rejected By the ATS

There are more mistakes on a resume that could lead to automatic disqualification. Here’s a few more reasons why you could be getting rejected: 

• Poorly written resume: not emphasizing your skills and achievements could make you look like a less competent applicant. 
• Unorganized resume structure: messy resume format that doesn’t flow well and is difficult to read through. 
• Lack of qualifications: some job descriptions may strictly require a formal qualification. 
• Lack of relevant skills and experience: not including specific skills and experience that hiring managers seek may lead to rejection.
• Applying to the wrong job: applying for a role you’re not qualified for.
• Applying too frequently: sending multiple applications to the same role within a short period of time.
• Incomplete application: failing to complete all job description instructions. 

How to Create an ATS-Friendly Resume Step-by-Step

Using everything we’ve discussed, we’ll now go through how to write an ATS-friendly resume that gets you past the company’s applicant tracking system. 

Side note: feel free to also check out our library of free ATS resume examples or you can get inspiration from our breakdowns of some of our top ATS resumes here .

1. Review the Job Description to Find Keywords

First review the job description and take note of the job title as well as key skills and experience that the ideal candidate would have. This can usually be found in the following sections of a job description:

• Job description overview
• Day-to-day job responsibilities
• Job requirements/what the company is looking for in candidates

To further tailor your resume , review the company’s website about page and social media profiles. Include relevant values and soft skills where applicable to help position yourself as a good fit for the company culture. 

Or Use Rezi to Target the Job Description For You

Instead of reviewing the job description yourself, let Rezi do the hard work for you. 

Feel free to follow the process below by signing up here for a free account or skip ahead to the next step. 

• Select “create new resume” inside Rezi’s dashboard as shown below. 

• Complete the form provided. 

• Press the “target your resume” button. 

• Enter the job title you’re applying for, the company name, then copy and paste the company’s job description into the provided field.

• Press save. 
• Once you reach the “finish up” tab, you’ll have the list of keywords you need to include to optimize your resume for the ATS.

2. Use Keywords As You’re Describing Responsibilities

Use keywords naturally throughout the work experience section as you’re describing what you how you carried out a specific responsibility from a previous job. Not only does this match your application to the job description but it also demonstrates your knowledge by going into the specifics of the role.

Aside from the work experience section, use keywords in other sections too when describing relevant experience. 

Highlight Professional Achievements

Even if you’ve used a range of keywords, it’s not guaranteed that you’re going to get an interview offer. What employers ultimately want to see is how you’ve made an impact – and the best way to show this is by highlighting your accomplishments. 

Talking about the job responsibilities alone isn’t enough to show you’re the most competent candidate out there since this is something anyone could do. 

Your accomplishments say a lot more about your level of skills than simply saying you’re skilled at X, Y, and Z. Therefore, showcasing quantifiable achievements gives recruiters more confidence in your ability. 

As you’re writing about professional achievements, use keywords where applicable. 

3. Consider Additional Resume Sections Where You Can Highlight Relevant Skills and Experience

Include additional resume sections that showcase relevant skills and experience. 

Here’s a few examples of other sections that you could add to your resume to add more details related to the job description: 

• Certifications and licenses
• Involvement

4. Double-Check for Formatting and Content Errors

Double-check your resume for any missing keywords and spelling mistakes. Review the format of your resume ensuring that the appearance is still the same once downloaded to your laptop or computer. 

Once you’ve followed the job description instructions and you’re happy with everything, submit your application. 

5. Use an AI Resume Writer for Help

If you’re struggling to write bullet points, use Rezi’s AI resume writer for help. It’s trained to generate sentences based on the best resume writing practices so that you can impress the hiring manager. 

You can tweak or edit each sentence generated from our AI resume writer to ensure that it includes keywords from the job description. 

But the best part about it is that it speeds up the process of writing a tailored application.

Here’s how it works when creating a resume with Rezi:

• Enter your job title/role
• Press “generate bullet”
• Either press “AI writer generate” to rewrite the bullet point or if you’re happy with the result, click “apply suggestion” to add the sentence to your resume. 

You can also watch the short clip below to see how this works. 

Free ATS Resume Templates  

We’ll showcase a few of our own ATS resume templates below. Each of these have a different design but are all optimized to get past the resume scanners. 

Standard Resume Template

Modern Resume Template

Bold Resume Template

Key Takeaways

Whenever you’re looking for a new career opportunity, it’s likely that the company is using an ATS to narrow down the list of applicants and determine who’s worth interviewing. And that’s why an ATS resume is essential. 

The downside is that creating a tailored resume takes time. It’s also frustrating when it feels like your efforts in creating a tailored resume have come to naught. To counteract this, some of the tools we’ve discussed will help you speed up and ease the process: 

• AI resume writer
• ATS resume checker
• Keyword scanner

For your ongoing job search now or in the future, always remember to tailor your resume to the company’s job description so that you increase your chances of securing an interview. 

Astley Cervania

Astley Cervania is a career writer and editor who has helped hundreds of thousands of job seekers build resumes and cover letters that land interviews. He is a Rezi-acknowledged expert in the field of career advice and has been delivering job success insights for 4+ years, helping readers translate their work background into a compelling job application.

Beat the Robots: How to Get Your Resume Past the System and Into Human Hands

Does job searching sometimes feel like you’re flinging resumes and cover letters into a black hole? You may be wondering if your applications are being read at all.

Perhaps you’ve heard that computerized resume scanners reject applications before they even make it into human hands. And yes—at many companies that receive a high volume of applications, that’s true.

SEARCH OPEN JOBS ON THE MUSE! See who’s hiring here , and you can even filter your search by benefits, company size, remote opportunities, and more. Then, sign up for our newsletter and we’ll deliver advice on landing the job right to you.

The internet has completely transformed the job searching landscape. Long gone are the days when you’d “pound the pavement” or “go in and ask to speak to a manager” for all but the smallest local businesses. Instead, you apply online—which is a double-edged sword for everyone involved. Because you don’t have to physically fill out and deliver an application or send out resumes and cover letters via snail mail anymore, you can apply to a lot more jobs. But so can everybody . This means that an open position can easily get far more applications than companies have the resources to read.

Just ask Muse Career Coach Yolanda M. Owens, Founder of CareerSensei Consulting , who has more than 20 years of recruiting experience in a range of industries, including healthcare, tech, and financial services. When she was a corporate recruiter, she would post a job opening and get back, she says, “over 300 applications for an entry-level position within a week.” She was generally recruiting for between 15 and 20 roles at a time, meaning that she might have 6,000 applicants to track at once!

So hiring managers and recruiters like Owens frequently use an applicant tracking system (ATS)—software that helps them organize job applications and ensure none fall through the cracks. If you’ve applied to a job any time since 2008, your application has probably passed through an ATS. Over 98% of Fortune 500 companies use an ATS of some kind, according to research conducted by Jobscan. Any time you apply for a job through an online form or portal, your application is almost certainly going into an ATS.

But an ATS does more than just track applications—it can also act as a filter, parsing every resume submitted and forwarding only the most relevant, qualified job seekers to a hiring manager or recruiter. That’s the resume-scanning technology you’ve probably heard about.

Luckily, getting past the ATS is a lot easier than you might think. Follow these dos and don’ts to create an ATS-friendly resume that’ll sail right through—and impress the hiring manager, too.

1. Do Apply Only to Roles You’re Qualified For

ATSs get a bad rap as the “robots” standing between you and your new job, and when you hear that Owens read only 25% of the applications she received for most postings, it might reinforce that impression.

But the reason she looked at such a small percentage of applications? Most candidates were not qualified for the job she was filling. And some were completely irrelevant. “If I’m looking at an entry-level [accounting] position and seeing someone who is a dentist or a VP,” Owens says, it’s totally fair for the ATS to discard those.

So first and foremost, make sure you’re truly qualified for the roles you’re applying to. This doesn’t mean you have to hit every single job qualification or apply to a job only if you have the traditional background for it. Owens says she was always “trying to cast a wide net and not exclude too many factors to pass up a candidate who might not be traditional”— career changers looking for an entry point into a new field, for example, or folks who had impressive transferable skills. But if you don’t have the core skills needed to perform a job, you’re better off not wasting your time or a recruiter’s.

2. Don’t Apply to Tons of Jobs at the Same Company

An applicant tracking system also allows recruiters to see all the roles you’ve applied to at their company. Owens often noticed the same person applying to every single opening the company or one of its departments had. When you do this, a recruiter can’t tell what you’re actually interested in or if you’re self-aware about your abilities.

If a company has two very similar roles open, absolutely apply to both. Or if you have a wide range of skills and interests and would be equally happy in two very different roles, then you can apply to both, though you should definitely tailor or target each resume you submit to the specific job.

But you generally shouldn’t be applying to both an entry-level position and a director-level position, or a sales position and a video-editing position. And you definitely shouldn’t be applying to every opening a company has. That just shows you haven’t taken the time to consider what the right role for you is—and a recruiter isn’t likely to take the time to do it for you.

3. Do Include the Right Keywords

At its core, what any applicant tracking system is programmed to do when it “reads” a resume is the same as what a person would do: It’s scanning for key pieces of information to find out whether or not you’re a match for a job opening. “ATS algorithms aren’t that different from the human algorithms, we’re all kind of skimming for the same things,” says Jon Shields, Marketing Manager at Jobscan. So when it comes to writing a resume that can make it past an ATS, you want to make sure that key information is there and that it’s easy to find.

One of the ways the ATS narrows an applicant pool is by searching for specific keywords. It’s like a Google search on a much smaller scale.

The recruiter or hiring manager can decide which keywords to search for—usually whatever skills, qualifications, experience, or qualities are most important for performing the job. For entry-level roles, that might mean certain majors, whereas for a tech position, it might be certain coding languages.

So if you want to make it past the ATS, you’ll need to include those important keywords on your resume. Hint: Look for the hard skills that come up more than once in a posting and are mentioned near the top of the requirements and job duties. Hard skills include types of software, methodologies, spoken languages, and other abilities that are easier to quantify. (The most important keyword could even be the job title itself!)

Depending on your industry, certain degrees and certifications might also be important keywords. Particularly in fields like nursing and teaching where state licenses are necessary, employers are going to want to know at a glance that you’re legally allowed to do the job you’re applying for.

If you’re having trouble identifying the important keywords in a job description as you craft an ATS-friendly resume, there are tools online (like Jobscan , Resume Worded’s Targeted Resume or SkillSyncer ) that can help you.

Note: In some cases, an ATS scanning for keywords will only recognize and count exact matches. So if you have the correct experience, but you wrote it using language that’s different than what the system is looking for, you might not come up as one of the most qualified applicants. For example, if you write that you’re an “LSW” but the ATS is checking for “Licensed Social Worker,” it might drop your resume. (To be safe, write out the full name, then put the abbreviation in parentheses.) Or if you wrote that you’re “an Excel expert,” but the ATS is searching for someone who has “experience with spreadsheets,” your resume might never get to the hiring manager. When in doubt, match your phrasing to what’s in the job description, as that’s likely to be what the ATS is looking for.

4. Do Put Your Keywords in Context

Applicant tracking systems can recognize that a key skill or experience is present. But interpreting the strength and value of that experience is still for people to do. And humans want to see how you used your skills.

It’s obvious to a recruiter when you’ve just worked in a keyword because it was in the posting, without tying it to a specific personal achievement—and it doesn’t win you any points. “Instead of focusing on regurgitating a job description, focus on your accomplishments,” Owens says.

Plus, remember that you won’t be the only one adding those important keywords to your resume. “If [you’re] all using the same job descriptions and the same buzzwords, what’s going to make you stand out from the crowd?” Owens asks. Answer: your accomplishments, which are unique to you .

When describing your current and past positions, “ensure your bullet points are actually achievements, and use numbers and metrics to highlight them,” says Rohan Mahtani, Founder of Resume Worded . Instead of just telling recruiters and hiring managers that you have a skill, this will show them how you’ve used it and what the results were.

5. Don’t Try to Trick the ATS

ATSs have brought up a whole new host of problems with applicants “trying to cheat the system,” Owens says. You might have come across advice about how to tweak your resume to fool an applicant tracking system—by pasting keywords in white, pasting the entire job description in white, repeating the keywords as many times as possible, or adding a section labeled “keywords” where you stick various words from the job description.

Don’t do any of this!

Any tricks that have to do with pasting keywords in white will immediately be discovered because the ATS will display all text in the same color on the other end. So even if this gets your application flagged to a human recruiter, they’ll see that you added the full text of the job description or just wrote “sales sales sales sales” somewhere and move onto the next candidate as quickly as they can. Not only are you failing to prove you’re qualified for the job, but you’re also showing that you’ll cheat to get ahead!

If you were considering adding a “keyword” section, remember that it lacks any context. If you can’t also speak to your experience with the skill, it probably doesn’t belong on your resume, and if this is true of one of the main keywords, this isn’t the job for you. What you can do, however, is include a keyword-rich resume summary — not an objective statement —that concisely puts your skills in context at the top of your document.

You also want to be careful you’re not just stuffing your resume full of keywords. “You can use a keyword as much as you like so long as it’s used in [the] correct context that makes it relevant to the job description,” says Nick Francioso, an Army veteran who mentors other veterans during career transitions and the founder of resume optimization tool SkillSyncer . But if you just cram in random keywords all over the place, you might make it past a resume scanner only to irritate a recruiter or hiring manager with a resume full of nonsense.

6. Do Choose the Right File Type

In the great resume file-type debate, there are only two real contenders: docx vs .pdf . While PDFs are best at keeping your format intact overall, the .docx format is the most accurately parsed by ATSs. So if you want to get past the ATS, use a .docx file. But also follow directions (if the listing asks for a certain file type, give it to them!) and take the posting’s word for it (if a posting says a PDF is OK, then it’s OK).

And if you’re considering using an online resume builder, first check what file type it spits out—Mahtani cautions that some online resume builders will generate your resume as an image (.jpg or .png, for example).

Pro tip: If you don’t have Microsoft Word or another program that can convert your resume to .docx or .pdf, you can use Google Docs to create your resume , then download it in either format for free.

7. Do Make Your Resume Easy to Scan (by Robots and Humans)

In addition to making sure that your resume has the right content for an applicant tracking system, you also need to make sure the ATS can make sense of that information and deliver it to the person on the other end in a readable form.

Fortunately, ATS-friendly resume formatting is very similar to recruiter-friendly resume formatting. Like a human, the ATS will read from left to right and top to bottom, so keep that in mind as you format. For example, your name and contact information should all be at the top, and your work history should start with your most recent or current position. There should be “no surprises about where info is supposed to be,” Shields says.

Among the three common resume formats you can choose from— chronological , combination , and functional —ATSs are programmed to prefer the first two. Recruiters also prefer chronological and combination formats (starting to notice a theme?). “For me, it's more about storytelling to demonstrate a person's professional progression,” Owens says. That story is harder to see with a functional resume, which can confuse applicant tracking systems, too. Without a clear work history to draw from, the software doesn’t know how to sort different sections of text.

“Ultimately recruiters just want to find the info they’re looking for as quickly as possible,” Shields says. So making a resume ATS friendly will actually help your resume be more readable to recruiters as well.

8. Don’t Include Too Much Fancy Formatting

It may pain you to hear this, but you likely need to get rid of that expensive resume template or heavily designed custom resume. “If you speak to experienced hiring managers [and] recruiters, they’ll tell you that creative [or] fancy resumes are not only harder for [an] ATS to read, but also harder for them to read!” says Mahtani.

In order to scan your resume for relevant keywords most ATSs will convert the document to a text-only file. So at best, any fancy formatting will be lost. At worst, the ATS won’t be able to pull out the important information and so a person may never lay eyes on your nice designs—or read about the experience and skills that actually qualify you for the job.

When designing a resume to go through an ATS, avoid:

• Images: In the U.S., your resume should never include your photo.
• Graphics, graphs, or other visuals
• Columns: Since ATSs are programmed to read left to right, some will read columns straight across rather than reading column one top to bottom and then starting column two at the top.
• Headers and footers: Information in the header and footer sometimes gets dropped by the ATS completely. Make sure all text is within the document body.
• Uncommon section headings: Stick to conventional labels like “Education,” “Work Experience,” and “Technical Skills,” so the ATS knows how to sort your information. This is not the place to get creative with something like “Where I’ve Made an Impact.”
• Hyperlinks on important words: Some systems will display only the URL and drop the words you linked from, so don’t link from anything important (like your job title or an accomplishment). Instead, paste in the URL itself or link out from a word like “website” or “portfolio.”
• Less common fonts: Stick to a universal font like Arial, Helvetica, Times New Roman, Garamond, Georgia, or Cambria. Avoid fonts you need to download, which the ATS may have trouble parsing.

Here are some elements you can use without tripping up an ATS:

• Underline: But stick to using underlines in headings and for URLs, Shields says. In general, people have been trained to see any underline within sentences as links.
• Colors: Just know that the ATS will return all text in the same color, so make sure your color choices aren’t vital to understanding the text of your resume.
• Bullets: Bullets are an important component of any resume, but stick to the standard circle- or square-shaped ones. Anything else could get messy.

Still not convinced that you should ditch your fancy resume? To show how formatting can trip up an ATS, we created a resume with many of the “forbidden” design elements—including columns, separate text boxes for the job seeker’s name and contact information, a table, icons, and text in the header—and used it to apply to a job at The Muse. The resume contains all the keywords found in the job posting , and since Victoria Harris is a fictional person, she hits every single requirement, making her an ideal candidate for the job.

Here’s what the resume looks like after it’s been run through an ATS:

You’ll immediately notice that the columns have been smashed together. Victoria’s current position is still first, which is good, but what comes next is an indecipherable jumble: “Education Sales Cloud Apollo.io.” Then, the ATS has combined the start date of her current job with her graduation date and interpreted that she’s been in her current position for just one month instead of over a year.

When you finally get to her bullet points, they’ve also been destroyed. Her fourth bullet, for example, now ends with: “Salesforce Analytics Cloud and Salesforce Sales Cloud Salesforce Salesforce.” Victoria wasn’t keyword stuffing, but it sure looks like she was.

Yes, this feels like a lot. But the main thing to take away when it comes to creating an ATS-friendly resume is that “it will help even if you’re not going through an ATS,” Shields says. At the end of the day, what an ATS is looking for in a resume is not that different from what a person is scanning for—so if you make a resume that beats the ATS, chances are it’ll impress a whole lot of humans, too.

Get Past the ATS With These Resume Templates [+ Tips]

Published: June 06, 2024

I can honestly say that, so far in my career, I’ve never witnessed such a high competition for marketing roles on LinkedIn, both full-time and freelance, as now.

And I’ve seen countless comments and got tens of email replies from hiring managers, saying that they’re overwhelmed as they’ve received over a hundred applications.

No wonder that to make sense of it all and spot relevant candidates, companies are looking for ways to streamline the recruitment process. For them, applicant tracking systems are a blessing. However, for some inexperienced candidates, they can feel like a nightmare.

Luckily, getting past these automatic resume filtering systems is certainly attainable if you know how they screen CVs. Let’s take a look.

Table of Contents

What is an applicant tracking system (ATS)?

Ats friendly resume templates, testing it out, tips for creating an ats-friendly resume.

Human resource departments receive hundreds of resumes. To make their lives a little easier, they use computer software called ATS.

These solutions help recruiters process large volumes of CVs and pick the most suitable candidates. Applicant tracking systems come in handy in the initial screening phase and eliminate resumes that aren’t a good fit for the position.

One of the most important things that candidates should know about the ATS is that it lets employers filter resumes based on keywords. That’s why it’s vital to tailor your CV to specific roles. Only after passing the initial screening will the resume be reviewed by a recruiter.

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Let’s now look at some ATS-friendly templates. Each one describes a different role.

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What is resume parsing and how an applicant tracking system (ATS) reads a resume

An Applicant Tracking System (ATS) reads resumes by parsing, or electronically analyzing, the text. It extracts key data like names, job titles, and education, making the recruitment process more efficient. To ensure your resume is ATS-friendly, use standard formatting, avoid fancy embellishments, and follow typical section titles.

“Anonymous employee at indeterminate company with an unspecified degree in something totally unidentifiable seeks an unrecognized job in the complete unknown.”

This is what your resume looks like to even the most swanky Applicant Tracking System (ATS) . Unless you are applying to be a spy, this air of mystery is unlikely to work in your favour. In this post, I’ll explain how to write a solid resume that will pass muster with even the most stringent of parsers.

In my final year at university, I recall attending a seminar on how to write a good CV. This was back in the day when you thought you were smart to buy thick, expensive paper to print it on. The papyrus I chose would have shamed a Pharaoh and jammed most printers. I remember spending hours trying out different fonts and formats which, being an engineer, was not really my forte. Yet all the advice I ever got from books and seminars could be boiled down to one short phrase: make your CV stand out.

In those days it meant that your resume would have to make itself visible amid stacks of hundreds of other printed CVs weighing down some poor unfortunate desk and the person who sat behind it. Thankfully, hiring has changed. CVs are now stored digitally and increasingly fed through automated resume parsing recruitment software like Workable.

What is resume parsing?

A ‘parse resume’ definition we can use is ‘the process by which technology extracts data from resumes.’ This means that the job of the parser is to extract the key components of your CV, such as your name and email, the degrees you hold, the skills you have and your work experience. Which is pretty much what we are building with Workable. We’re very good at this but honest enough to admit that it’s hard. The facility for language of even a modern-day resume parser hasn’t yet reached human levels. In other words, you’re no longer penning a resume for someone who might prize quirkiness, Pharaonic paper or originality; you’re writing it for a parser, which wants you to follow standards.

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It’s the text that counts

To parse resumes, you need to analyze text. Your CV, with its soft pastel font colours, fancy fonts and WordArt headings could be beautiful enough to have been illuminated by a monk but the chances are it will just look like noise to a parser. Parsing resumes involves text extraction which means exactly what it says on the tin: extract the text and ignore the rest. So what could possibly go wrong there you might think? Take a look at how our budding applicant, whom I shall refer to as John Doe, can have his name lost in translation:

J O H N D O E JohnDoe JJoohhnn DDooee J o h n D o e Joh nDoe

Did you notice that I left an extra blank line at the top there? It’s not a typo folks, that’s how John Doe’s name appears after text extraction when John Doe creates a custom banner in Photoshop with his name and contact details (also among the dearly digitally departed) and pastes the image into his CV. Large headings, unusual character spacing and font choice can result in spaces being created or lost, or characters being repeated as the next few examples show. Tables and columns will put words, and sadly sometimes letters, on different lines. So, you need to follow some basic rules to make sure your text can be extracted properly:

• Submit your CV in a text format preferably .doc or .docx. There are plenty of open source word processors that understand this format these days
• If you use the PDF format, make sure you export it from your word processor – don’t scan your CV into an image.
• Try to avoid using headers and footers as they often get interspersed with the main body of text
• Use one standard font throughout the CV
• Don’t use tables and columns as the ordering of sentences may not be what you expect
• Don’t use WordArt
• Don’t fiddle with character spacing
• Write your document on your own computer so that your metadata is correctly set. Text can be found in there too.
• Put your name in the filename of your CV

This list may sound overly strict and at the end of the day, you do want to present a document that is well formatted, tidy and looks professional. I would argue that you don’t need to use any of these features in order to achieve your goal. I’ve painted a somewhat bleak picture here and the truth is that in some cases errors occur in places you don’t really care about, and in others the errors themselves can be overcome through intelligent resume parser design. The key point is, why take a risk on something so important? And remember, the key thing is that it’s what you have actually done that matters the most.

Growth Ninjas, JavaScript Rockstars, Product Jedis and Sales Barracudas

Speaking of job titles, it’s becoming fashionable these days to gratify one’s self with a fancy title. JavaScript developers become ninjas and rockstars, online marketers become growth hackers, and before you know it civil engineers will end up becoming architectural transmogrifiers. I would say stick to titles that make your job clear, not only to resume parsing software, but equally so to your prospective hiring manager. If you really are a rockstar, your achievements will speak for themselves.

Don’t take my word for it, take a look at what happens behind the scenes and judge for yourself: With the text extracted, the parser’s next task is to look for words and phrases that it would expect to find in a resume. Artificial intelligence has not yet advanced to the point where a computer can interpret text at anywhere near the level that a human can, they do have an amazing way of remembering a vast number of things: names, job titles, companies, countries and cities are just some examples that a parser retains a deep knowledge of. Unless of course your job title is a freshly-minted neologism that sounds more like a Chuck Norris movie title and less like a job title.

Following standards is not just about job titles and text layout. Section titles are important too, as are the following standards I would recommend following:

• Stick to a chronological resume format, not a functional one
• Use typical names for section titles like “Education”, “Work Experience”, “Personal Details” etc.
• Use a date format appropriate to the country you are applying in and make sure you include dates in full (day, month and year) to make them easily identifiable
• Only use common and well known abbreviations such as CTO, MBA etc…
• Use typical names for job titles and avoid fancy embellishments
• Use a spellchecker. Typos and misspellings make you look bad to resume parsers and humans alike.

But I’m creative!

I can already hear the cries of graphic designers, whose resume often doubles up as a canvas for their creativity, a platform for making a statement of self-expression and uniqueness. If you have a legitimate reason to need a fancier looking CV, my advice to you is to maintain two versions, one of which is ATS-friendly. When you next apply for a job, find out which version will be more appropriate.

Next time we’ll be taking this advice and putting it to practice as we’ll present some CV templates for your candidates that will pass through a resume parser with flying colours (but I assure you they’ll be in monochrome).

Related :  How to maximize user adoption of your ATS

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30 powerful resume keywords to beat ats in 2024.

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Using the right resume keywords ensures you are able to shine a light on your skills and experience

More than 90% of employers use an applicant tracking system (ATS) to initially filter out or rank middle-skilled and highly-skilled candidates for job postings, according to a 2021 global study conducted by the Harvard Business Review.

This means that there is at least a 90% chance that your resume will not make it past the screening software.

Applicant tracking systems rely on keywords to assess candidate suitability—and these keywords are the ones that are located within your resume. The problem is, many candidates do not know how to make a resume effective because they fail to include the most appropriate keywords for their industry and role they are applying to. Consequently, they never (or hardly ever) make it past the screening stage to secure an interview.

While there are several factors that determine whether your resume makes it past the ATS or not (although a few are beyond your control), knowing what skills to put on your resume and which resume keywords to include, are a few of the most critical steps you can take to ensure your resume beats ATS.

Why Use Resume Keywords?

"A recruiter will never see that candidate’s application, even though it might fill all of the employer’s requirements," continued the HBR study. Therefore, being the perfect fit for a role is not good enough. You might tick every box and fulfil all the requirements listed on the job description, yet fall short of being shortlisted for the role, all because your resume did not effectively evidence the criteria and skills the employer is looking for.

Here is a simplified example of how an ATS works from a recruiter's point of view:

• You send your resume through a job portal.
• When the recruiter is sifting out 1,000 applications, they'll enter a skill such as "project management," "Power BI," or an education requirement such as "MBA," from the job description.
• This filters available resumes to 300 candidates.
• If your resume is optimized to include the keyword they are looking for, it will show up; if not, it will never be seen and you've just lost the potential to land a career-boosting opportunity to an AI-powered gatekeeper—ATS.

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Matching keywords is an essential step to take before sending an application, or you could risk ... [+] being sifted out at the screening stage

Where To Find Keywords To Put On Your Resume

There are number of sources you can use to find keywords for your resume. The first and most obvious of them is the job advert itself. Taking a careful look at the job description, and the key requirements/person specification/ideal candidate section, carefully identify what are the core requirements that the employer is asking for.

You might find it useful to undertake a keyword highlighting exercise by copying and pasting the entire job description and person specification into a Word document, and highlighting the technical and soft skills that stand out to you the most, which are relevant to what you already have to offer.

For example, take a look at this sample job description from Workable for a cost analyst role:

"We are looking for a cost analyst to help us audit our expenses and find ways to make our operations more cost-efficient. You’ll be the go-to person for cost analysis and you’ll get to prepare reports to help management make better decisions. To do this job well, we’d like you to be well-versed in data and financial analysis, and have strong attention to detail. Ultimately, your job will be an integral part of our efforts to ensure profitability and business success."

It then proceeds to list the following responsibilities for the cost analyst role:

• Gather and analyze financial data
• Determine standard costs and investigate variances with actual costs
• Prepare detailed reports, both periodically and ad-hoc
• Help management make important decisions based on costs and benefits (e.g. investments, market growth, pricing changes)
• Create and manage budgets, and monitor spending
• Conduct audits on financial processes and transactions
• Monitor changes in processes or methods to calculate effects on overall costs
• Estimate product costs for existing and new products
• Forecast and analyze costs of processes, labor and inventory
• Suggest cost-reducing or profitable solutions
• Conduct market research to support future business planning

And then the advert proceeds to list requirements and skills for the role (pay close attention to this):

• Proven experience as a cost analyst, cost specialist or similar role
• Experience in data, operational and financial analysis
• Knowledge of accounting processes and software
• Strong analytical skills
• A business acumen
• Great attention to detail
• Good communication aptitude
• Degree in Finance, Accounting or similar field
• Certified Public Accountant (CPA) preferred

With the above job advert, how many keywords can you easily identify?

Considering the above data, some of the likely resume keywords and skills used for the job posting above, which you would want to incorporate into your resume for a cost analyst role, include:

• Certified Public Accountant (CPA)
• Good communication
• Attention to detail
• Cost analyst
• Accounting processes and software (and name a few)
• Financial analysis/Analyzing financial data

You can incorporate these keywords into your professional summary, skills highlights, and work experience and education sections.

ChatGPT can help you analyze a job description quickly and can even provide guidance on how to ... [+] tailor your resume for that specific role

How To Use ChatGPT To Find Resume Keywords

One time saving method you could employ to find keywords from the job advert and interspersed them throughout your resume, is to solicit the help of ChatGPT. ChatGPT is an AI-powered chatbot developed by OpenAI, that has millions of users around the world—with one of the fastest, unprecedented technology adoption rates in history.

It uses LLM (large language models) to engage with you as any other human being would, providing you with timely information and shortening the length of time it takes to accomplish administrative and content writing tasks. While it is not wise to use ChatGPT to draft an entire resume for you on its own, it certainly can be helpful at key junctures in the resume writing process, for example, when analyzing and inputting keywords.

To use ChatGPT to find the best keywords to include in your resume, follow the below steps:

• Provide ChatGPT with a copy or excerpt of a job description for the role you want to apply for, and then prompt: "I am tailoring my resume to apply for this role. Please select and suggest keywords and phrases from this job advert that I can put into my resume. Include any technical skills, software tools, certifications, industry terminology, and soft skills listed in the advert."
• Now that ChatGPT has provided you with a list you can then begin incorporating these words and phrases throughout your resume, ensuring you proofread with each edit so it reads naturally and doesn't give the appearance of meaningless keyword stuffing.

Powerful Keywords To Include In Your Resume

Now that you have this background understanding, here is a sample list of some of the most common and essential keywords you should consider adding to your resume, for three specific industries—information technology, healthcare, and sales. These are categorized for ease of navigation and will provide you with an idea of what to look out for, as relates to your industry:

Resume Keywords For The Information Technology (IT) Industry

• Programming languages (e.g., Java, Python, C++)
• Cloud computing
• Network administration
• Agile methodologies
• ITIL (Information Technology Infrastructure Library)
• Artificial intelligence (AI)
• Machine learning
• Data analytics
• IT project management

Resume Keywords For The Healthcare Industry

• Electronic Health Records (EHR)
• Clinical research
• Medical billing and coding
• Telemedicine
• Healthcare compliance
• Health informatics
• Medical imaging
• Healthcare quality improvement
• Health insurance
• Healthcare technology

Resume Keywords For The Sales Industry

• Business development
• Account management
• Client relationship management (CRM)
• Lead generation
• Prospecting
• Sales cycle
• Pipeline management
• Value proposition
• Sales forecasting
• Competitive analysis

Keywords include a range of technical skills, soft skills, and education requirements—and even your ... [+] years of experience

Using the right keywords can help you effectively sell yourself and shine as a star candidate to employers, ensuring your skills and experience do not go to waste or escape their notice. Through highlighting your expertise in this way (without keyword stuffing) you increase your chances of securing an interview.

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• Talent management

applicant tracking system (ATS)

• Eric St-Jean
• Patrick Thibodeau, Editor at Large

What is an applicant tracking system?

An applicant tracking system (ATS) is software that manages the recruiting and hiring process, including job postings and job applications. It organizes information about job seekers and makes it searchable. As its name implies, an ATS tracks candidates through the hiring process. It helps with interview scheduling, issues notifications and alerts, and sends automated emails to candidates and employees, such as recruiters and hiring managers.

But these systems are far more than organizers. An ATS is also used to cull applicants and recommend the top candidates. It may conduct a preliminary analysis of the applicants to find the best fits for a job. It may also look for keywords or use AI -type algorithms that run a deeper analysis of the job applicant. The goal is to speed HR's review of job applications and resumes.

How the applicant tracking system process works

An ATS helps an organization manage each step of the hiring process, from writing the job ad to making a job offer. This includes integrating with major job boards to streamline job postings, organize applications and allow candidates to create profiles. The ATS keeps track of all the activity that takes place around the candidate.

The following steps are typical of a recruitment process:

• The job requisition is created and, if necessary, approved within the system.
• The job is posted in one or more locations, including internally for employees, on the organization's website and on external job boards.
• Candidates apply for the position on the organization's website or directly on the job board if such functionality is available. They may have to answer questions related to the position, such as their work experience and education. Some systems can be set up to reject candidates automatically based on answers to certain questions.
• The ATS may parse resumes and rank new applications as they are submitted.
• The recruiter reviews applicants in the system and selects the candidates to pursue further. Candidates who are not selected may receive an automated rejection email.
• Interviews may take place with the recruiter, hiring manager and others as required. Notes can be entered in the ATS following each interview for future reference.
• When the preferred candidate is identified, the recruiter will typically use the ATS to send the offer to the candidate.
• If the candidate accepts the offer, they are "hired" into the HR system. Next, the onboarding functions of the ATS or HR system are made available to the newly hired employee where they can read and digitally sign policies, complete online forms and learn more about the organization.

Importance of ATS in recruitment and hiring

Using an ATS is important in many ways, even for small companies. First, candidates have come to expect companies to provide a positive candidate experience and user-friendly application process, which most applicant tracking systems provide. Second, for the employees involved in the recruitment process, such as recruiters, hiring managers and approvers, an ATS automates and streamlines the hiring process. Finally, an ATS provides a repository of data for future reference, for example, when a past candidate applies for a new job, or can be used as a tool to search for potential candidates in applications for previous job postings.

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The term "applicant tracking system" is in wide use, and an ATS is considered a subset of a  recruitment management system . The latter acts as an umbrella term for any technology that deals with recruitment, including candidate relationship management systems. Candidates in the ATS, but not selected for an immediate job, might be considered part of the talent pipeline and available for future opportunities. The candidate relationship management system maintains a connection to those prospects.

Benefits of applicant tracking systems

An ATS is designed to organize and speed up the hiring process by providing the following capabilities and benefits:

• It lets you reuse job descriptions for multiple positions, which can save time and reduce the effort required to post a job.
• It can post and manage job ads on the organization's internal and external career sites and across multiple job sites, such as Indeed and Monster, and on social media sites such as LinkedIn and Twitter.
• It maintains a database of new applicants and people who may be prospects for future openings.
• It aggregates information about candidates, including any communications and jobs they've applied for in the past, to create a single view and profile of each candidate.
• It may also help sort and rank candidates by, for example, conducting an initial scan of candidates to select those who best meet job qualifications.
• It may also be set up to automate responses, send out interview reminders and alert people in the database to new job openings. From this perspective, the ATS acts as a form of customer relationship management .

Key ATS features

Taking full advantage of the features available in an ATS can help reduce manual processes, engage potential candidates and ultimately fill open requisitions faster and with better candidates. But many ATSes have other features and benefits that might not be as obvious.

For example, an ATS can be used to encourage people to apply. Some systems use chatbots to interact with candidates and help them complete their applications. They may also attempt to keep candidates engaged, update job seekers on their status and alert them if additional information is needed.

An ATS also enables collaboration by allowing anyone involved in the hiring process to stay abreast of the progress in filling a job and contribute to the candidate selection discussion.

An ATS may use varying degrees of intelligence to sort candidates. The technologies range from keyword matching to algorithms that take a deeper look at each candidate's data. In response to a resume, the ATS may send the applicant a series of questions to help recruiters learn more about the candidate.

ATS products that use these keyword-based screening methods are starting to see competition from systems that use machine learning approaches and natural language processing (NLP). Some vendors are building in capabilities that analyze a firm's past hiring decisions to discover the characteristics of top-performing employees. This data on current employees is then used to inform the ATS algorithm, which searches for patterns in work history and education that are indicative of success.

Another goal of these ATS technologies is to reduce bias, unconscious or otherwise, in recruiting and hiring. For example, machine learning and NLP are applied to job ads to avoid wording that subtly discourages a man or woman from applying. Bias is a major issue in hiring, according to researchers.

Job sites are adding ATS-like tracking features and moving away from the idea that they are just job boards. Some rank applicants by how well they meet the qualifications in the job ad. Job sites may also offer integration with an existing ATS.

Choosing an ATS vendor

The ATS market is competitive and crowded, and there are at least 100 ATS vendors. IDC estimated that worldwide revenue from talent acquisition technologies and services -- including ATS and recruiting software -- would grow at a compound annual growth rate of 5.2% from 2019 to 2023.

The advantage of the large number of vendors is that you can choose the one that best fits your organization in terms of functionality, cost and other criteria that are important to you, such as cloud-based vs. on-premises deployment.

When searching for an ATS, there are two types of vendors to consider .

• Vendors that focus on the ATS market, such as iCIMS, Jobvite, Oracle Taleo, Greenhouse and Lever. They may also offer an onboarding module in addition to the ATS.
• Vendors that offer an ATS module as part of an overall human resource management system. Their products include Oracle Cloud HCM, SAP SuccessFactors , Ceridian Dayforce, UKG Pro and many more. In some cases, the ATS is only available if you implement the vendor's core HR module.

Popular applicant tracking systems

Prominent products from the specialized ATS vendors include the following:

• iCIMS. A comprehensive system that has many of the bells and whistles you'd expect from one of the top vendors.
• Jobvite. A well-rounded system with onboarding functionality to simplify the new hire process.
• Taleo. Acquired by Oracle in 2012, Taleo is a popular system used by companies of all sizes.
• Lever. An easy-to-use ATS with candidate relationship management features built in.
• V idCruiter. A platform with video features to facilitate remote interviewing, candidate video submissions and virtual events.

How applicants can 'beat' applicant tracking systems

Applicant tracking software systems are designed primarily to help the recruiting team streamline its processes. Because of this, a candidate's resume may never be seen by a human, and if it is, it may only be for a few seconds.

In the past, applicants could employ tricks such as using colored paper to make their resumes stand out. Today there are new tricks to try to beat the system and increase the likelihood of a successful application.

• Tailor your resume to the job description. It takes more time than using one resume for every job you apply to, but if the company is using an ATS that ranks resumes based on keywords, you have a better chance of ranking high if the terminology in your resume matches what the company requires.
• Avoid stretching the truth and including keywords where you have no experience. Your resume might get to the top of the pile, but the recruiter will quickly spot the embellishment.
• Include both the acronym and long form when using a phrase for the first time in a resume. Often, recruiters are not specialists in your field and may not be well versed in its terminology.
• Avoid using images to share information about yourself. If the organization is using resume parsing, the information will not be read and will leave your ATS profile with missing data.
• Ensure your resume is saved as readable text. The easiest way to do this is to submit a Microsoft Word-compatible document or PDF file.
• Use standard section headers that a resume parser will recognize. For example, use "Education" as a header to list the programs you've completed.
• Use a simple font, such as Arial or Times New Roman, rather than one that looks artistic but the resume parser may not be able to read properly.
• Watch the junk mailbox in your email software to ensure you don't miss an email, since the correspondence will often be automated and may look like junk mail.
• Ensure your resume looks professional by correcting spelling and grammar, using headings and ensuring that sections line up correctly.
• Include a good summary at the top of the resume, highlighting what you bring to the organization and not what you want from it. This will likely be the first thing a recruiter looks at if they open your resume.
• If you are asked to answer questions when submitting your resume, keep in mind that some of them may be used as knock-out questions. This means if you don't provide the answers they want, you will automatically be rejected. Remember that they can see your answers, and if you stretch the truth too much to pass the questions, you may have to explain in an interview why you gave those answers.
• The ATS will track all the jobs you've applied to in the past. Therefore, it's better to focus on jobs you are qualified to perform. For example, if you are applying for both individual contributor and director-level jobs, recruiters may find it difficult to gauge your level of experience.
• Apply online even if a friend has offered to submit your resume on your behalf. Most recruiters want all the resumes to be in the system so they're easier to track. Also, if you don't submit the resume yourself, the recruiter may enter it on your behalf and skip over information you'd like included.
• Some organizations have positions that they are always recruiting for, such as roles that tend to have high turnover. These positions, referred to as evergreen, may always appear on the organizations' websites, even when candidates have been hired.
• Finally, remember your username and password so you can log in to update your resume or profile or apply for another position.

The future of applicant tracking systems

Applicant tracking systems have come a long way in the past 10 years. Once used primarily to simplify the most routine tasks, today they can host video interviews, parse candidate resumes and more.

The future of applicant tracking systems will most likely bring a refinement of the functions they already provide. Examples include a continued focus on usability, out-of-the-box integrations with additional HR systems and improvements to the AI capabilities. It is also expected that vendors will keep looking for opportunities to simplify the end-to-end process for recruiters. With some job postings attracting hundreds of applicants, anything that can be done to make the recruiter's job of reviewing applications, communicating with candidates and working with hiring managers simpler should pay big dividends.

Continue Reading About applicant tracking system (ATS)

• 6 ways AI can improve the talent acquisition process
• Five recruiting strategies HR needs in a tight labor market
• 7 talent acquisition strategies for better hiring in 2022
• Recruiting AI systems under fire for excluding workers
• The problem with bias in hiring

Related Terms

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recruitment

recruitment management system (RMS)

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ATS Resume Templates

Download an ATS-friendly resume template for free. These templates can be edited in Microsoft Word and can be accurately scanned by an applicant tracking system.

If you’ve made it to this page, then you probably already know more about applicant tracking systems (ATS) than the average job seeker. That gives you an advantage! Why?

Many companies use ATS to manage resumes and applications. In fact, Jobscan research shows that over 97% of Fortune 500 companies use an ATS.

If an ATS can’t read or understand the information on your resume, then your application might not be seen when a recruiter searches for candidates with specific skills or experience – even if you have those skills or the experience!

Your resume needs to be ATS-friendly in order to give you the best chance of getting a job interview. That means that you need an ATS resume template.

We’ve designed 15 ATS resume templates that can be downloaded as Microsoft Word files and easily edited. Download one for free or use our free resume builder to get a customized ATS-friendly resume in minutes.

Free ATS Resume Templates

Executive and Management ATS-Friendly Resume Templates

As a leader, you want your experience and accomplishments to shine. These resume templates give you opportunities to show the measurable results you’ve achieved, as well as your hard and soft skills .

Using correct formatting is critical here. The ATS needs to be able to parse all of that vital information and categorize it correctly. You also need your resume to be searchable by an ATS so that when a recruiter filters candidates by skills, your application stays on the list.

Entry-Level ATS-Friendly Resume Templates

You might not think you have a lot to show on your resume, but you do! These templates provide sections where you can highlight your education, internships, volunteer experience , personal accomplishments, and more.

An ATS-friendly resume will help you get found by recruiters and hiring managers. This is important because an entry-level position could have hundreds of applicants! Use these templates to make sure the ATS picks up your skills and experience.

Make your resume faster with our free resume builder

Write your resume the free and easy way with the only resume builder designed specifically with ATS-compliant resume templates.

Jobscan users have been hired by:

ATS Resume Templates - What You Need to Know

How to make the perfect ats resume.

Remember, an ATS is just a computer filing system. It needs to be able to scan and understand the text on your resume in order to correctly parse the information and sort it properly.

An ATS will never auto-reject a resume, but an ATS optimized resume does make it easier for a recruiter to find you among the sea of applicants.

Even more importantly, an ATS-friendly resume naturally follows expert-recommended resume writing standards as well. That means that when the recruiter personally views your resume, it will include the relevant information they’re looking for and will be formatted in a way that makes it easier to read

Follow these tips for making the perfect ATS resume :

1. Tailor your resume to the job you are applying for

Focus on quality over quantity. Each job you apply for is unique, even if they all have the same title. Every company has different needs for that role. The job description will make it clear which hard skills, soft skills, experience, and education the company is looking for. So tailor your resume to show them that you are the perfect candidate.

Tailoring each and every resume can be time consuming, but it’s worth the effort!

You can speed up this process by using a tool like Jobscan’s resume scanner . Powered by AI-technology , this tool analyzes your resume against the job description and provides you with a resume score that tells you how closely your resume matches the job description. It also tells you exactly what you need to do to increase your score.

2. Match your resume keywords to skills found in the job description

Recruiters might use an ATS’ search function to find applicants with specific skills. How do you know what skills they will search for? By examining the job listing. Use a resume scanner to automatically pick out the hard and soft skills the recruiter might search for, and then include those on your resume.

Even if the recruiter doesn’t search applications for those skills, they’ll definitely be looking for mentions of them on each resume they review.

3. Use long-form and acronym versions of keywords

Some ATS will only return resumes with the exact keywords the recruiters would search for. For example, if you included “Search Engine Optimization” in your resume but the recruiter searched for “SEO,” your profile may not appear in the results. Try to include both the acronym and the unabbreviated form of the term.

Use a tool like Jobscan’s resume fixer to make sure your resume doesn’t contain mistakes that will eliminate you from consideration.

4. Use Chronological or Hybrid resume format to write your resume .

Recruiters do not like the functional resume format . Unless you’re making a career change, a functional resume is going to work against you. (And even then, we recommend you steer clear of the format for a career change resume .)

The best format for the ATS is traditional reverse chronological. You can also use chronological and hybrid resume formats as these are familiar to most recruiters.

5. Use an easy-to-read, traditional font

For readability, use a traditional serif or sans serif font. Untraditional or “fancy” fonts can cause parsing errors, which means the full text of your resume won’t be searchable.

6. Use standard resume section headings

Section headers like “Where I’ve Been” in place of “Work Experience” will confuse applicant tracking systems, causing them to organize information incorrectly.

7. Save your file as a .docx if possible

A docx file is most compatible with ATS.

What is the best resume format for ATS?

There are three standard resume formats to choose from in your job search. They shape your first impression and determine the way recruiters and hiring managers view your fit as an applicant.

Your resume formatting can also determine how well your resume is parsed within an applicant tracking system (ATS) and how likely you are to be noticed as a result.

Regardless of the format you use, the most important thing is to use standard section headings like Experience, Skills, and Education. That will make it easier for the ATS to categorize the text.

How to tailor your ATS-friendly resume to a job

Tailoring your resume proves to recruiters that you’re an experienced professional. Most importantly, it shows them that you’re the perfect fit for this role.

Follow these three steps for tailoring your resume to a job description:

1. Examine the specific job description of the position

Go line by line through the job description and ask yourself these questions:

• “Does my resume experience section clearly state that I can do what’s required of this role?”
• “Am I using the same language found in the job description or job posting?”

You might find several different or missing skills and keywords in your generic resume.

2. Match skills and keywords from the job description

Mirroring the language, keywords, and buzzwords found within the job description is the easiest way to demonstrate you’re a better match than the competition.

The best way to show you’re the best fit for the position is to take words from the job posting and strategically put them in your job descriptions and other resume sections. A resume scanner will automatically pull out these keywords in seconds and speed up this process.

3. Write your job title clearly

Recruiters might search for people who have done the job they’re hiring, so list your job titles clearly and match the titles to the one in the job posting when possible. If you haven’t held the job before, list it under your name at the top or as part of your summary section.

What is Applicant Tracking Software (ATS)?

An applicant tracking system (ATS) is software used to assist with human resources, recruitment, and hiring. While each system offers a different package of features, applicant tracking systems are primarily used to help hiring companies organize and navigate large numbers of applicants.

For example, an ATS stores job candidate information like resumes, cover letters, references, and other recruitment and hiring data that HR teams can easily access and organize. It will also track job candidates and their application status throughout the hiring pipeline.

Ultimately, an ATS automates time-consuming administrative tasks such as manually screening applicants, reading resumes, scheduling interviews, and sending notifications and emails to job candidates and employees.

Can you add graphics to your resume?

When it comes to creating an ATS-friendly resume , the rule is: The simpler, the better. ATS are improving at scanning different formatting features, but not all of them are good at this.

Adding graphics and images could cause ATS parsing errors , which means the text on your resume won’t be fully searchable or accurately categorized by an ATS. We recommend that job seekers err on the side of caution. Avoid graphics, images, and photos.

Are Google Docs or Microsoft resume templates ATS-friendly?

They can be. We talked about some formatting features to avoid on your resume – fancy graphics and non-traditional fonts. Those features can trip up an ATS, even if they’re on a Word document or Google Docs file.

However, as long as you follow the guidelines on this page, or use one of these ATS resume templates, you’ll be fine.

How to get your cover letter past the ATS?

To increase your cover letter’s chances of passing an ATS, focus on using a clean format without complex formatting, incorporate relevant keywords and phrases from the job description, and ensure that your content is easy for the ATS to parse.

Consider using a tool like Jobscan’s cover letter generator to help you create an ATS-friendly cover letter. If you already have a cover letter, run it through our cover letter checker tool to get personalized feedback on how to improve your cover letter and make it more compelling to employers.

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• Functional Resume Myths: What...

Functional Resume Myths: What You Need to Know

12 min read · Updated on May 16, 2024

Do employers like functional resumes?

When it's time to apply for a new position, you need a compelling resume to get past the applicant tracking system and impress a hiring manager. Fortunately, there are only three to choose from. This makes life a lot easier, considering the hundreds of thousands of templates you can find with an Internet search for acceptable resume formats. 

What are the three types of resumes?

Chronological

Hybrid, sometimes called Combination

Functional resumes have a lot of stigma surrounding them. Many people think they are okay to use, while others find them taboo. 

What's the truth? 

Do the so-called functional resume myths hold water?

What do you need to know about resume formats?

Roll up your sleeves; it's time to learn something. 

From the past to the present

In the past, a functional resume was one of the best options to highlight specific skills. For decades, it was considered “the” tool to attract employers because of its high focus on relevant skills. 

As you're probably aware, traditional resumes list all the places you've worked with bullet points that describe what you accomplished in each role. This is called a chronological resume. 

The functional resume is a bit different. When crafting a functional resume, instead of listing chronological work experience, a summarized work history is included at the bottom. The bulk of the resume focuses on the variety of skills you have, such as managing people, developing robust marketing plans, etc.

The idea behind that type of resume was to force the hiring manager to focus on the transferable skills you have rather than a chronological list of employment history, which was an especially good idea if you didn't have a whole lot of relevant experience.

As time progressed, people began to use the functional resume format to try to hide the appearance of job-hopping or minimize employment gaps. After a while, employers got savvy to this and started jumping straight to the employment list to see if that's what is going on in the functional resumes they get. 

Welcome to the future: the applicant tracking system

On top of employers' opinions of the functional resume changing, today's resume screening technology, or ATS , has caused the functional resume to no longer be relevant. 

The newest types of resume parsing systems can also determine the skills you possess but also when and how often you've performed them. Plus, they can infer based on the meaning of words and concepts instead of relying on a narrow definition.

Put simply, we're talking about keywords and context. 

These systems screen resumes using relevant keywords, job titles, and years of experience. Applicant tracking systems are programmed to scan resumes looking for a straightforward timeline. When you use a functional resume format, that timeline doesn't exist in the traditional sense of the word. This can make it harder for the ATS to properly parse information from your career history. 

Here's what the ATS is looking for that will be missing from your functional resume:

Clear job titles and dates. Since the functional resume is built with a focus on skills, aptitudes, and transferable abilities, the ATS may have difficulty extracting details about your career timeline. 

Lacking context for your experience. The clearly defined timeline of a chronological resume makes it clear which skills you got from which job. Since the functional resume doesn't include bullet point achievements with your work history, there's no context for the ATS to assess your skills. 

Less effective keyword matching. You'll hear it time and again – you have to tailor your resume to different jobs to ensure you're using the right keywords. The ATS is looking for the right keywords. The lack of association with job titles or experiences makes it harder for the ATS to determine if you're a match for the job. 

All of this could lead to your resume being wholly rejected by the ATS and that's one of the main reasons that job seekers are ghosted by companies. 

The ATS rejects an application

The human beings at the company don't know the candidate exists

The candidate is ghosted

Functional resumes ARE NOT dead

It may seem that you just received a ton of information about the reasons to avoid using a functional resume. For the most part, avoiding them is the path to take. However, they do still have a place in the world – albeit a very small place.

Changing careers

If you're changing careers, a functional resume may serve you well. This isn't to say that you're changing careers from being a marketing rep in the oil and gas industry to being a marketing rep in the luxury cosmetic industry. 

The only time to use a functional resume for changing careers is if it's a major change, like from a teacher to a marketing rep. At this point in your career, you'd really have to draw attention to transferable skills and show how you utilized things like project management and data analysis as a teacher to make your students successful and follow district policies. 

Re-entering the workforce after an extended absence

Life happens sometimes. Things cause you to have to step away from work for a while. Perhaps you had children and decided to stay home to raise them for a few years. Maybe one of your close family members became gravely ill and needed someone to take care of them. In these instances a functional resume may be your best bet at properly relaying your skills and knowledge to a new employer. 

Employers are less interested in the fact that you took a break and more interested in how what you know how to do will help their team. If you can make them see you're capable of fulfilling the duties of the role, you'll be able to move them past the fact that you were out of pocket for a while. 

Important note: You should avoid using the functional resume format to minimize employment gaps that are less than one year in length. 

Functional resume template

For the very few instances when a functional resume is a good choice for you, you probably would like to know how to put one together. 

The structure is important. You have to use clearly defined section titles and a layout that's easy to follow. Be sure to include the following:

Your name and contact information

A title or headline

A profile paragraph

'Core Competencies'

A well-defined and bulleted list of career aptitudes and skills

Your work history

Your education

City State Zip | (111) 222-3333 | [email protected] | LinkedIn URL

Title that Mirrors Job Description

MAJOR HARD SKILL | MAJOR HARD SKILL | MAJOR HARD SKILL | MAJOR HARD SKILL

Three to five sentences that outline the major events in your career. Start with something that mirrors the title on the job description to which you're applying. Next, discuss a few HARD skills. End this paragraph with some SOFT skills.

CAREER HIGHLIGHTS & ACHIEVEMENTS

PROJECT MANAGEMENT

How does your experience with PROJECT MANAGEMENT (or whatever skill you want to highlight) relate to the job to which you're applying?

Example(s) of projects or situations where you used this skill.

1 to 2 accomplishments or measurable results showing your expertise with this skill.

BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT

How does your experience with BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT (or whatever skill you want to highlight) relate to the job to which you're applying?

ORGANIZATIONAL LEADERSHIP

How does your experience with ORGANIZATIONAL LEADERSHIP (or whatever skill you want to highlight) relate to the job to which you're applying?

WORK HISTORY

NAME OF COMPANY | Position Held | mm/yyyy to Present

NAME OF COMPANY | Position Held | mm/yyyy to mm/yyyy

DEGREE | Name of School

While a functional resume can be a good option if you have large employment gaps or are changing careers, a more successful modern resume is a combination format with both chronological and functional elements.

Using a different format will help you do two things:

Avoid any stigma associated with the use of a functional resume 

Minimize the risk of the ATS not being able to properly read your resume

A great alternative to functional resumes

A combination resume includes a functional skills summary that presents all the exciting transferable skills you have but also has a chronological list of work history that talks about the top things you accomplished at each position. 

Overcoming the stigma

By using the functional and chronological format together, you increase the transparency of your career history. It's important to remember that hiring managers are people, too, and it's unlikely that even their career timeline is spotless. Everyone has something to explain. 

When you pair your combination resume with a cover letter, you address any concerns head-on, which can help elevate you to the top of the stack of potential candidates. It proves that you are the type of person who values open communication and professionalism . 

Resume writing involves strategy

Since you're writing your resume for two audiences – the ATS and the human hiring manager, a bit of strategy is critical. Not only do you have to use the right keywords to get past the ATS, but you have to also highlight your qualifications in a way that the hiring manager can immediately understand the type of value you'll bring to their team. 

We've already mentioned the ATS will be scanning your resume for experience and keywords, but engaging the human on the other side of the ATS is just as important. It can be difficult to create a document that impresses both a human and a computer, but it's quite doable. 

Select the right keywords to optimize for the ATS

Use the correct formatting to appeal to the human hiring manager

Tell a story that resonates with someone within a few seconds

Tailor and update your resume to different jobs

Combination resume template

Making the transition from a functional resume to a combination can be a tough nut to crack, but climbing this hill can be the difference between getting an interview and never hearing anything back. 

Here's what your combination resume should look like:

First Last | (111) 222-3333 | [email protected] | www.linkedin.com/in/clientname

Title That Mirrors Job Description

A three to five-sentence profile paragraph that acts like your elevator pitch to the new company. Mention how much experience you have and add in some hard and soft skills. Make a note about how what you've learned from previous roles sets you up to be successful in the new position.

CORE PROFICIENCIES

This is the place for a bulleted list of skills. Include 9-12 skills that you have that mirror the job description. Just because you can do it doesn't mean it needs to be here. 

You're targeting THIS resume to THAT job.

APTITUDES or CAREER HIGHLIGHTS or SIMILAR

The idea with this section is to include up to 5 bullet points that indicate why you're a great candidate for the job to which you're applying.

This section is called out if you're in sales and need to quantify achievements OR if you're changing careers and need to demonstrate how your transferable skills match the new company.

These bullets should be VERY achievement-based (i.e., I did this great thing that resulted in a huge WIN for my company).

PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE

COMPANY NAME | mm/yyyy to Present

POSITION TITLE

2-3 Sentences that briefly explain your role. DO NOT copy and paste your job description. Talk about what you did on a daily basis and at least 1 major thing you accomplished.

3-5 bullets MAX that show achievements you had.

Anytime you can use numbers, it is best to do so.

ATS scans search for measurable accomplishments – most want to see at least 5 pers 10 years' experience.

COMPANY NAME | mm/yyyy to mm/yyyy

A great resume has between 10- and 15-years' experience represented.

Your resume isn't meant to be a record of your professional life's events.

Talk about achievements that will intrigue a hiring manager to call you for an interview.

The era of the 1-page resume has died.

RULES: Recent college grad or less than 10 years' experience – 1 page; 10+ years' experience – 2 pages.

Avoid going to 3 pages.

EDUCATION & CREDENTIALS

DEGREE | School

CERTIFICATION | Where you obtained it

It is no longer customary to put graduation dates unless you are still in school or graduated within the last year. Be sure to spell out degrees (i.e., Bachelor of Science) and school names. Put any relevant acronyms in parentheses after you've spelled out the words. 

Functional doesn't usually work anymore

In the past few years, a more modern resume that is successful is one that keeps up with technology and job search trends – like the rampant use of the ATS. In the contemporary job search world, a functional resume simply won't work. The stigma that surrounds them is just too much for you to have to worry about. 

A professionally written resume that combines the functional style with the traditional reverse-chronological format will provide a clearer and more concise overview of your work history in a way that will impress hiring managers. 

Bottom line: Avoid the less-than-ideal functional resume and use other tools at your disposal – e.g., a cover letter – to make your case for being chosen for a new job. 

TopResume can help turn your functional resume into a hybrid resume that will win interviews. It all starts with a free critique of what you're currently using when you apply for jobs.

Recommended reading:

17 Resume Tips to Get Seen and Hired Faster

Changing Careers? 7 Details to Include on Your Resume

Stay-at-Home Mom Returning to Work? 10 Ways to Land the Job You Want and Need

Related Articles:

Cashier Skills: Add to Improve Your Resume!

7 Signs Your Resume is Making You Look Old

Why a Simple Resume Layout is a Successful Resume

See how your resume stacks up.

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• Resume Writing
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How to Write a Resume: The Only Resume Guide You’ll Need in 2024

• Kaja Jurcisinova , 
• Updated January 16, 2024 16 min read

Your resume is arguably the most important document you'll create during a job search. So taking the time to learn how to write a resume properly can make a job hunt much quicker and easier.  

What would otherwise take you hours of hard work and research can be done in a few minutes. All you have to do is follow our simple step-by-step guide on how to write the perfect resume. 

In the end, a good resume gives you a chance to make a great first impression and ultimately decide if you'll be invited for an interview. 

What makes a great resume?

• Clear division of resume sections
• Prioritizing relevant information
• Tailored for a specific position
• Typo-free and well-written
• Usage of bullet points

There's more to it, though.

Table of Contents

Click on a section to skip

What is a resume?

Before you start writing your resume, how to write a resume, step 1: choose the right resume format, step 2: add contact information and personal details, step 3: begin with your professional summary, step 4: list relevant work experience, step 5: summarize your education , step 6: highlight your soft and hard skills , step 7: add optional resume sections.

• Step 8: Wrap it up with a cover letter 

Final tips before you click “Send”

Let's cover the basics first. Before we learn how to write a good resume, we should know what a resume even is. 

The word resume comes from French, meaning “summary” . This is the perfect word because that’s exactly what a resume is: a short, straight-to-the-point summary that details your professional achievements, skills, qualifications, education, work experience, and past employers. It's also known as a curriculum vitae (CV) .

The aim of a resume is to get invited to a job interview . It should aim to convince an employer that you're a good fit for the job. 

Because of that, your resume should be adjusted and tailored to each job vacancy.

TL;DR Here's a step-by-step video guide on how to write a professional resume in 2024

If you’re already familiar with what should be on your resume and just want a quick and informative recap, or if your time is limited, just check out our 5-minute step-by-step video guide .

Before we move on to how to write a resume, we recommend setting a few minutes aside for research. These few minutes can save you hours of frustration and ultimately make your job search that much easier.

Here’s what we recommend to research before you write your resume: 

• Research the company, specifically the “About Us” page. This is a great place to search for keywords you can use in your resume or cover letter. What are their mission statement and their values?
• Research the position you’ll be applying for. Great resumes are tailored to a specific job opening. You can do this by asking these three questions as you go through the job post: “ What are the essential keywords? What adjectives, nouns, and phrases occur repeatedly? What language does the company use?”
• Discover your strong points , as this will make it easier to pinpoint the qualities you want to highlight in your resume. Ask people around you: “What are my skills and abilities, and what are my weaknesses?” Also, look at your past accomplishments. What were the skills and abilities that helped you succeed in the past?

Another way of preparing for writing your resume is by looking at these well-researched, specifically tailored, and properly formatted resume examples in our database. You can even filter them by your job title.

Not enough time?

Let your resume write itself. All you’ll have left to do is edit the draft.

We'll walk you through nine essential steps to help you create a standout resume.

Different resume formats cater to different types of job seekers, depending on the experience level and career goals. The  three most commonly used  resume formats are chronological, functional, and combination (hybrid).

Your resume should include your contact/personal information right at the top, in a so-called resume header. A resume header is  more than just your name and contact details . Depending on your career path, there's a lot more that can (and should) be included in this section. To find out what to include, what to skip, and how to format it keep on reading.

A professional summary (also called resume profile or resume summary) is a short paragraph that summarizes your relevant skills, experiences, and achievements. Think of it as a teaser for the rest of your resume.

This is the most important section of your resume. You need to include key information like : names of companies, locations, job titles, positions held, dates of employment, responsibilities you've had. Then: - list the jobs in reverse-chronological order - write in bullet points - include your quantifiable achievements - avoid buzzwords - use action verbs and keywords from the job description

The education summary section, though important, varies in significance based on your career stage . As an experienced professional, prioritize work history and skills, placing education after. Keep it concise, including university, degree, and graduation year.

Skills fall into two categories: hard and soft. 1. Hard skills are teachable and measurable, acquired through training, and include computer proficiency, language abilities, project management, etc. 2. Soft skills , linked to personality traits, can enhance both work and personal life, encompassing communication, leadership, and time management, among others.

These can include: achievements and awards, certifications and licences, language skills, publications, references, hobbies, social media, volunteering, or custom sections.

A good cover letter should answer the following questions: 1. Who are you?  2. Why are you interested in working for their company? 3. Why are you the best fit for the job opening? 4. How can you enrich their company?

In the following chapters, we look at each step in more detail and give you helpful tips and examples.

Once you know what the company and job require and you’ve identified your strengths and weaknesses, you should be ready to pick the right resume format.  

Make this choice depending on the stage of your career: 

• Are you a seasoned professional ? Then you should pick a resume format that emphasizes your experience.
• Are you a fresh graduate? Then your resume should highlight any transferable skills you’ve acquired during your studies.
• Are you changing careers? Then a combination of the two will produce the best results.

Pick the best option for your career from the three dominant resume formats that are in use today:

• Chronological resume format. Probably the best choice for experienced professionals. Lists the candidate’s jobs and accomplishments in chronological order. Main resume section : Work Experience.
• Functional resume format. Great for fresh graduates, IT professionals, or other skill-based professions. Emphasizes skills instead of experience. Main resume section: Skills.
• Combined resume format . A combination of the previous two.

Let's take a look at what these resume formats look like in practice:

Chronological resume format

Functional resume format, combined resume format.

The resume format you choose will determine how you organize the information on your resume. It will also attract attention to some things and away from others. 

Take time to understand your strengths and weaknesses and choose accordingly.

You want the recruiter to read the strongest and most relevant parts of your resume at the start. For more, check out a guide on how to choose the right resume format .

Your contact/personal information should always be at the top of your resume in a so-called resume header .

Compared to the other resume sections, filling in the contact information section may seem super easy. That's until you start asking more questions.

Should you put your address on the resume? How to include social media , and should you? And what about the date of birth? 

Well, let’s see: 

• Name. Absolutely necessary. Put your first name first and surname last. Middle name is optional.
• Title. Optional. If you’re applying for a position in a traditional or specialized field, it's good to add your Ph.D., MBA, or other titles to it.
• Email address. Absolutely necessary, even when you’re sending your application by email. Your email address should look professional (e.g. [email protected] , NOT [email protected] ). Always use your personal email address, not the email address with the domain of your current employer. 
• Home address. Somewhat problematic. Your neighborhood can say a lot about you in some cases, disclosing living in a certain area can lead to discrimination. On the other hand, if you’re located in the same city as the company, it may help you to get the job, as it saves the company that they'd have to spend on a relocation package (of course, only if the job isn't remote).
• Phone number. Necessary. Many employers will call you by phone to arrange an interview, instead of doing it by email.
• LinkedIn. Recommended. And if you don’t have a LinkedIn profile yet, consider creating one. Make sure your profile is complete and up-to-date.
• Social media. Optional. Include it only if it’s related to your job. GitHub, Behance, and even your Facebook or Instagram profile will do (if you regularly post content that has to do with your profession). Here are a few tips on how to include your social media . 
• Blog/website. Optional. Similar to social media. If you have a blog , website, or digital portfolio related to your chosen profession, don’t be afraid to show it off.
• Photo. Problematic. It depends on the country. In most English-speaking countries, they don’t add a photo. See this guide to know if you should put a picture on your resume .

Your professional summary should be a list of about 4-5 bullet points or a short paragraph that summarizes your relevant skills, experiences, and achievements.

You can think of it as a teaser for the rest of your resume. Make sure it’s interesting enough to hook the hiring manager right in.

But how do you write a good professional summary?

• Write your professional summary last. It’s surprisingly easy to do if you’ve already finished other sections of your resume.
• The first bullet point should describe your professional title. Don’t forget to add the number of years of experience. Write it in bold if the number is especially impressive.
• Pick the most impressive parts of your resume and rewrite them into snappy bullet points. Tease your potential employer into reading further.
• Pack your professional summary with relevant keywords. Think of ATS. This will help you get through automated pre-screenings.
• Quantify every achievement if possible. This will make you look even more professional. 
• Tie every bullet point to the requirements introduced in the job offer.

If you do everything right, you should end up with something like this:

The work experience section is what most people picture when they think “resume” .

The trick is to focus on your past achievements , not your responsibilities. 

Hiring managers are likely to know what your responsibilities were supposed to be. In most cases, your job title says it all.

If you want to stand out, you should tell them how you excelled in your previous job instead. 

And there’s hardly a more effective way to do that than by mentioning your achievements.

But how do you list your work experience on a resume?

• Put your work experience section in the right spot. If you can boast a lot of professional experience, put your work experience section right under your resume summary. If you don’t have enough experience yet, put it just below your education section. Finally, if you prefer to highlight your skills instead of experience, put your skills section first.
• Give it a proper heading. Keep it simple and stick to “Work Experience” or “Employment History” as other headings might not be understood by applicant tracking systems (ATS) .
• List your jobs in reverse-chronological order. Start with your most recent experience and work your way back from there. Based on your level of experience, decide how far back should your resume go .
• Don’t include the job description. Instead of listing what you were supposed to do, try to tell your potential employers what positive results you had.
• Write in past tense. This will help you focus on your past achievements instead of responsibilities. It also sounds better.
• Show your problem-solving skills. In the end, hiring managers want to know how effective you’re going to be in solving real problems. There’s no better way to show your problem-solving ability than to briefly describe how you solved difficult problems in the past. Follow the PAR scheme: What was the (P)roblem? What (A)ction did you take? What was the (R)esult?
• Quantify results. Hiring managers love measurable results. Because of that, a single number often speaks more than a thousand words. Don’t say that you “increased the company’s revenue significantly.” Instead, don’t be afraid to brag about “increasing the company’s revenue by 20%.”
• Use bullet points. Bullet points help you structure each subsection. Try to limit yourself to about 5 bullets per job.
• Avoid buzzwords. People used some phrases in their resumes so much, these words have become meaningless. Everybody seems to be an out-of-the-box creative thinker with a knack for innovation nowadays. But in reality, only very few people really are those things. See what other 10 buzzwords you should stop using on your resume
• Use action verbs . Unlike buzzwords, action verbs carry the weight you need to persuade an employer to hire you. Just to mention a few, these are words like “developed” , “increased” , “facilitated” and others. For more action verbs, check out our resume cheat sheet .
• Keywords. Reread the job description and carefully pick the most important keywords. These are the words that best describe the position you’re applying for, and that will attract the attention of the ATS system. 

In the end, your work experience section should look a bit like this:

The education summary section is where you list your degrees and relevant academic accomplishments.

Based on your degree and where you're in your career, it can be either the least or the most important part of your resume.

Are you an experienced professional?

Once you become more experienced, the education section takes a back seat to your work history and hard skills.

In other words, your education section should come after your work experience section, not the other way around. It also shouldn't be too long. For instance, your grades are no longer relevant.  

It’s enough if you include the name of your university, the name of your degree, and the year you graduated.

Here’s an example:

Are you a fresh graduate?

Then your degree is still one of the strongest cards you have to play.

In practical terms, it means that you should place your education section at the top of your resume — right between your professional summary and work experience section.

It should also be a bit longer. 

These are the things you should add to your education section if you’re a student or a fresh graduate:

• Academic awards. AP scholar, Duke of Edinburgh award, National Merit Award, President’s Award, school subject-based awards, dean’s list, etc.
• Scholarships. Athletic scholarships, scholarships for women, creative scholarships, etc.
• Academic conferences and symposia. Don’t forget to mention the scope and name of the paper you presented at a conference.
• Relevant student societies. Debating or programming clubs. If you were on a student committee of any kind, mention that too.
• GPA. Only include your GPA if it was higher than 3.0 on a 4.0 scale. If your overall GPA was lower, mention your overall GPA. Alternatively, mention your summa cum laude or magna cum laude .
• Academic publications. Producing an academic work worth publishing is impressive no matter the context.

In the end, your education section can look like this:

Before you start writing, you should know there are two types of skills : hard skills and soft skills.

1. Hard skills can be learned, taught, and most importantly — measured. Acquiring them requires deliberate effort, training, and time.

Hard skills can be, for instance: computer skills, language skills, manual skills, mathematics, project management, etc.

2. Soft skills are tied to your personality traits. These skills can come as part of your upbringing, or you can acquire some later in life through self-improvement. These skills can bring value to any job, as well as your private life.

Examples of soft skills include: communication, leadership, time management , creativity, decision-making, etc.

But how to make your skills stand out?

• Focus on what’s most relevant. Do you have any of the skills mentioned in the advertisement for your desired job? Good. Make sure to include them in your resume’s skills section.
• Organize your skills into subcategories. Divide your skills section into several subsections like computer skills, soft skills, languages, and others.
• Don’t underestimate soft skills. 67 percent of HR managers said they’d hire a candidate with strong soft skills even if their technical abilities were lacking. On the contrary, only 9 percent would hire someone with strong technical credentials but weak soft skills.
• There are skills you shouldn’t include. Never include any skills you don’t have, skills that have nothing to do with the job, skills everybody should have, or skills that have become obsolete.

Apart from the standard resume sections we just mentioned above, are also optional sections. 

A good rule of thumb is to add an optional section only if it's relevant to the job you're applying for. If done properly, these sections can help you:

• Fill the gap when lacking experience
• Highlight additional skills and expertise 
• Let an employer know more about who you are

Pro tip: Optional resume sections can be especially important to companies that prioritize hiring candidates who fit their workplace culture. 

Here are some of the most common optional sections: 

Technical skills

This section can be a nice addition when applying for (surprise!) technical jobs. 

Some examples of technical skills are: programming languages, software proficiency, project management, and data analysis.

Technical skills are usually measurable, so if you decide to include them in your resume, use a graph or a scale to illustrate how strong they are. Adding visual elements to your resume not only looks nice but also shows your ability to be precise and analytical.

Achievements and awards

Scholarships, competitions, work-related awards, or even promotions to leadership positions in your job — all of these can be considered important professional achievements. 

Either distribute them across other parts of your resume or put them in a dedicated section. The latter allows you to truly highlighted them. 

And if you choose to include them in a separate resume section, don't forget to mention the dates and the name of the company/institution at which you've accomplished the achievement. 

Professional references

In today's competitive job market, strong professional references can be a game-changer. Consider including a ' Professional References ' section in your resume to provide potential employers with easy access to these valuable resources.

How to format references on resume? Here's what you should list for each reference:

• Their full name
• Their current job title and organization
• Their contact details (email and phone number will do)
• Your relationship with them (e.g., Former Supervisor)

Ensure you have their permission and inform them when actively job searching.

Once you decide who you want your references to be, it's time to ask them if they agree. Here's how to ask someone to be a reference via email .

Certifications and licenses

Listing the certificates and courses that you've successfully completed on your resume is never a mistake.

However, keep in mind that they should be related to the role that you're applying for. 

If you'd like to add a certificate to your CV but you're unsure about where to find the best course for you, check out this carefully curated list of the best online courses that will help you to get a job. 

Publications

In this section, you can mention all the relevant conferences, presentations, and written publications. 

This section is most useful if you're working in academia, marketing, or journalism. 

However, include it in your resume also if you're applying for a position that requires you to be an expert on the topic that you've written about.

Volunteering

This section lists your volunteer work . It should be treated similarly to a work experience section. The reason is that whether your work was paid or not, it still translates to real-life experience. 

This is true especially if you find yourself at the beginning of your career. In that case, feel free to place the volunteering section towards the start of your resume. 

On the other hand, if you're a seasoned professional, locate this section more toward the end of your document. 

This is the part of your resume that's the most personal. Here, let a little loose and let your personality shine through. List you hobbies and interests, even the quirky or unique ones.

Hobbies serve as a great way for a hiring manager to see you more as a person and less as just a name written on a paper. They can also break the ice during the interview stage.

Christy's word of advice

Really, it sounds so simple, but one of the best ways to stand out with your resume is to apply for jobs you’re a close fit for. So many people apply ‘just in case they’ll consider me if even I only meet some of the requirements’, then feel deflated when they’re rejected. The company has spent time figuring out exactly what they need and are paying their staff or a recruiter to find that. Look closely at the minimum/essential requirements, apply for jobs you’re a great fit for, and you’ll have much better luck!

Christy Morgan, Resident HR Expert

Step 8: Wrap it up with a cover letter  

Phew! Almost done with how to write a resume. Just a little bit of editing and proofreading, picking the right resume template , and you should be able to click send, right? 

Well, not quite. At least we wouldn’t recommend you sending it —  yet. 

The truth is that resumes are often put aside when not accompanied by a cover letter. It would be a shame if this happened to you, especially after all the time you’ve spent creating it. 

A good cover letter is a way to stand apart from the competition. It’s where you can show your hiring manager you mean business. 

And, if you're fresh out of college or changing career this step-by-step guide on  how to write a cover letter with no experience  will show you what to focus on instead. 

Here are 4 questions to guide you while writing your cover letter: 

• Who are you (professionally)? 
• Why are you interested in working for their company?
• Why are you the best fit for the job opening?
• How can you enrich their company?

When all it’s said and done, your cover letter should look something like this:

Cover letter example

This cover letter sample was provided by a real person who got hired with Kickresume’s help.

Want more inspo? Browse another 1,250+ cover letter examples by your profession.

And if you really want a memorable cover letter, we’ve got you covered. In fact, we’re certain it will be the only cover letter guide you’ll ever need . 

• The older the job, the fewer the details. In other words, don’t have 13 bullet points on a job from 5 years ago.
• Use off-peak hours for maximum attention , especially if you’re reaching out to an employer directly. Hiring managers are busy people and you want them to receive your resume when they have enough time to carefully read through it.
• Check your resume for typos. If English isn't your first language, employers might be inclined to overlook any grammatical mistakes that you make in your resume. Typos, on the other hand, are unforgivable. Your computer’s spell-check feature can help you fix that.
• Customize your resume for each job application. Every employer is different. And any hiring manager can tell if you’ve just sent them the same generic resume as to everyone else. So make sure you tailor your resume to each individual employer to increase your chances of getting hired.
• Get the introductory email right. It doesn’t matter that you have the best resume ever if nobody gets to read it. Attach it to an email that catches the employer’s attention from the get-go. Pay particular attention to the subject line that will make them read the full email, including the attachments.

FAQ: How to write a resume

One to two pages is the ideal. If you're at the junior stage of your career, one page is more than enough. Similarly, make sure that your resume isn't longer than three pages (and this may be stretching it already), even if you're a CEO.

Generally speaking, content is superior to form when it comes to resumes. However, a nice design is the first thing that catches the recruiter's attention — and that's precisely what you want. Moreover, if you're looking for a job in marketing, art, or design, the design of your resume naturally becomes your selling point, too.

Typos, being too general and not specific enough, not including relevant information, not using action verbs, and writing about duties instead of accomplishments.

The best format for sending a resume is PDF, as it keeps the visuals of the resume unchanged once the document is opened by the recruiter.

1.  Include standard resume sections.  Contact information, resume summary, work experience, education, skills. 2.  Include optional resume sections.  Awards, references, certifications, publications, projects, etc. 3.  Choose a resume format.  The three standard are: chronological, functional, combination.  4.  Use bullet points.  Use bullet points to make your resume easier to scan and highlight important information quickly.  6.  Think about the  margins .  Strike a good balance between not leaving too much white space and making your resume seem cluttered.  7.  Keep it to  one-two pages .  Unless you have extensive work experience, you should generally aim to keep your resume to one page.  8.  Consistency is key.  In all aspects of your resume, including the spacing, font, margins, etc. 9.  Use a professional resume   template  or layout which helps to structure the information effectively and makes it easy to read. 

Good job, you made it! If you still need more information on how to write a resume. You can go further in-depth in our section-by-section resume guide .

This article was recently updated. The original article was written by Noel Rojo in 2019.

Kaja Jurcisinova is a junior copywriter at Kickresume. Kaja completed her undergraduate degree in Art History at the University of St Andrews in 2018 and graduated with a Master’s in Arts and Culture from the University of Groningen in 2021. She was an intern at multiple cultural institutions across Europe, including the Dutch Museum Association in Amsterdam, the Matter of Art Biennale in Prague, and the European Cultural Centre in Venice. At the moment, she resides in Visby on the Swedish island of Gotland.

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