Hiring managers often get dozens, sometimes even hundreds, of resumes for a single open role. Sorting through that stack takes some serious time, and companies increasingly turn to ATS to help them automate recruiting measures. This guide explains ATS, its use for your job search, and how to make an ATS-friendly resume.
What Is an ATS-Friendly Resume?
Before understanding an ATS resume format, you must know how ATS works. ATS software lets human resources (HR) personnel and hiring managers organize and track all applications in one central database.
It scans resumes and cover letters to prioritize applicants who look like the best fit on paper through keyword and qualification matching. Many of these programs have automated workflows, automatically sending interview request emails or rejection notices as the hiring manager selects candidates for the next stage.
An ATS-friendly resume is one designed with the ATS in mind. An ATS-compliant resume uses simple formatting that the software can easily scan and optimizes the text with keywords to increase the chances of the ATS identifying it as a good fit.
Why You Need an ATS-Compliant Resume To Land a Job
While it used to be enough to create a strong resume and do some networking, in today’s job market, candidates need to understand the technology at play. A full 98% of Fortune 500 companies use ATS to screen resumes. Optimizing your resume and aligning it with the filtering criteria the ATS is likely using can increase your chances of getting noticed in a competitive job market.
Step-by-Step Guide: How To Write an ATS-Friendly Resume
Follow these steps to learn how to optimize a resume for ATS with a template you can use for different positions.
1. Choose the right ATS resume format
ATS software favors resumes with a detailed experience section accounting for your recent work history. Using this format can increase the chances of the ATS understanding your resume and correctly parsing your skills and qualifications. Avoid the functional resume format unless you know human eyes are reviewing your document.
2. Optimize resume for ATS with keywords
ATS is set up to scan resumes and applications for certain keywords and qualifications. The more of these you have present in your resume, the better the chances the ATS identifies it as a good fit and passes it on to the hiring manager. To optimize your resume for ATS, a template that you can customize to every position by switching out skills can help.
3. Use simple fonts and formatting
When creating an ATS-compliant resume, use a consistent design and avoid complex visual elements such as graphics or tables. Choose a common font like Arial or Cambria. Fancy fonts and images can be difficult for the ATS to read.
4. Structure sections with standard headings
When you’re checking a resume for ATS compliance, ensure you label section titles clearly. Familiar names like “Education,” “Key Skills,” and “Professional Experience” help the ATS recognize the content.
5. Save and submit your resume in the right format
An ATS-compliant resume needs to be in a compatible format. Microsoft Word’s .docx format and PDF are the preferred options.
ATS Compliant Resume Examples
Jane Smith
(123) 456-7890 | [email protected] | Athens, OH 12345 | www.linkedin.com/example
- Recent internship experience supporting editorial operations of a popular magazine
- Completing Bachelor’s Degree in English and Creative Writing from Ohio University
- Co-curricular activities include helping write and publish the university’s main campus newspaper
- Committed to continually gaining and applying new skills
- Bilingual: Fluent in English and Spanish
- Efficiency improvement
- Fact-checking and proofreading
- Independent research
- Microsoft Office Suite (Word, Outlook, PowerPoint)
- Office administration
- Process streamlining
- Team collaboration
- Writing and editing
Editorial Intern
Regional Floral Magazine, Lancaster, OH | May 2022 to August 2022
- Helped manage the magazine’s main email account, responding to feedback and providing subscription information as needed
- Answered and forwarded calls to the appropriate department
- Maintained and updated subscription rolls
- Organized meetings and verified sources for reporters
Bachelor of Arts (BA)
English, Creative Writing, Ohio University, Athens, OH | expected May 2023
Winner, Campus Award for Long-Form Fiction (2022)
Runner-up, Campus Award for Excellence in Poetry (2021)
Select coursework:
- Children’s fiction
- Fiction workshopping
- Poetry and drama
- Prose and nonfiction
- Short story writing
Co-Curricular Activity
Staff Writer, OU News | 2021 to present [Biweekly college newspaper]
- Provide copy for various sections, including arts, athletics, and editorial
- Work with photo editors to determine placement with accompanying text
Fluency in Spanish
Will Harrison
(752) 814-7263 | [email protected] | Rochester, NY 14610 | www.linkedin.com/example
Host with eight years of experience in popular bars and restaurants. Skilled at managing customer databases, arranging for large parties, and answering calls and emails. Combine strong organizational skills with a friendly service style. Calm, professional, and focused on finding solutions in high-pressure work environments. Bilingual: Fluent in English and Spanish.
Key Skills- Cash till reconciliation
- Customer relations and satisfaction
- Customer relationship management (CRM) databases
- Task prioritization
- Time management
- Wait time estimates
Host
The Galley Restaurant, Rochester, NY | March 2016 to January 2023
[Popular, award-winning seafood restaurant with 40 tables]
- Maintained a warm and professional manner in interacting with guests by phone and in person
- Sat over 30 diners per night in three separate seatings while upholding restaurant’s high service standards
- Reconciled cash in tills at end of each shift
Highlight:
- Member of team that drove a 15% increase in customer satisfaction on monthly surveys, earning special recognition from corporate in 2019
Restaurant Host
The Hilton Hotel, Providence, RI | September 2014 to February 2016
- Charged with setting table arrangements and booking reservations
- Handled restaurant point-of-sale (POS) software
- Greeted and escorted all guests to their designated tables
Bachelor of Arts (BA)
Hospitality Business, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI
Select Coursework:
- Hospitality Food Service Operations
- Service Management Principles
Certified Guest Service Professional, American Hotel & Lodging Educational Institute
Language- Fluency in Spanish
Allison Rosenberg, MBA
San Diego, CA 12345 | (123) 456-7890 | [email protected]
Senior operations executive with over 10 years of advancement and experience. Skilled at guiding large-scale organizations to new levels of efficiency and performance in competitive markets. Adapt readily to new workforce challenges and industry conditions. Bilingual: Fluent in English and Spanish.
Career HighlightsChief Operating Officer (COO)
YCW Corp., San Diego, CA | October 2017 to present
- Guided a cost reduction initiative that raised the company’s bottom line by $700,000 in six months
- Built productive partnerships with senior leaders of five major departments
- Drove five successful change initiatives to create a more inventive and collaborative work culture
Director of Operations
MFW Advertising, San Diego, CA | August 2012 to September 2017
- Collaborated with HR on a hiring initiative to place 15 new operations managers
- Established a cross-department communication structure that increased efficiency by 25%
- Advanced steadily through a series of progressive operations roles at TKQ Manufacturing
University of California
San Diego, CA
- Master of Business Administration (MBA)
- Bachelor of Science (BS)
- Fluency in Spanish
- Business needs assessment
- Change leadership
- Continuous improvement
- Cost reduction and elimination
- Cross-functional leadership
- Organizational alignment
- Policy and procedure development
- Process redesign and improvement
- Productivity and efficiency gains
- Profit and loss (P&L) management
- Six Sigma methodology
- Strategic business planning
- Talent acquisition
- Targeted resource allocation
How To Check Your Resume for ATS Compatibility
It’s impossible to know what qualifications and skills the hiring manager has the ATS looking for. But tools like Jobscan that check your resume for ATS compatibility can help you understand how your document will perform. This resume AI helps you pass ATS filters by looking for keywords, highlighting areas you can improve, and flagging potential formatting issues. All you have to do is submit your resume to check its score.
FAQs About ATS Resume Format
What is an ATS resume format?-
An ATS resume format is a document designed specifically for compatibility with ATS. The goal is to create a resume that the ATS can easily read and appropriately score.
How do I make my resume ATS-friendly?+
Make your resume ATS-friendly by using a simple format and avoiding any complex graphics or designs. Include as many job-specific keywords as possible, paying special attention to the must-have qualifications list. Save and submit the resume in .docx or PDF format unless the job description specifies another format.
How do I check my resume for ATS compliance?+
Platforms like Jobscan offer ATS checkers that read your resume and indicate how well it will perform in an ATS. You submit the resume to check its score, and the software’s resume AI helps you pass ATS filters by showing areas of improvement or potential parsing issues.
What is the best format for an ATS-friendly resume?+
For ATS purposes, use the combination (or hybrid) format. True to its name, this format combines two important features of other resume formats: the functional format’s profile section and the chronological format’s experience section. (The resume examples on this page all use combination format.)
On a combination resume, the profile section lets you repeat or emphasize keywords and phrases at the top of the document, boosting your ATS score. At the same time, the experience section lets you give proper descriptions of your work under each recent job (unlike on a functional resume, where the descriptions appear separately).
The keywords in these descriptions are crucial for ATS since the software usually weighs your skills based on the work dates above them. For instance, say your past seven years’ experience has included vendor negotiations. Most ATS software will only credit you for that experience if you have the term “vendor negotiations” (or a similar phrase) under each job description in your work history going back to 2017.
Can ATS read PDFs?+
Most ATS can read PDFs. The .docx format is also quite common and generally accepted by ATS.
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