Career guide
Beat the ATS every time: the complete guide
Understand how ATS software actually works. Format your resume for maximum parse-ability. Test your resume with real ATS scoring tools
Needs improvement: 2 critical fixes are open.
Start with the 2 critical fixes.
Critical2· cost you the most, fix first
Missing standard section heading: Experience.
Add plain headings such as Experience, Education and Skills, each on its own line.
No email or phone number found near the top of the resume.
Put your email and phone in the first lines of the page body, not in a header or an image.
Recommended2
Only 30% of your bullets contain a measurable result.
Add outcomes you can defend: time saved, revenue moved, users served.
3 of 12 key terms from the job description don't appear in your resume.
Add the terms you can honestly claim, in the lines that show the work.
Nice to have1
Bullets use 2 different markers.
Pick one bullet character and use it for every bullet.
On this page
How ATS software actually works
Applicant Tracking Systems are software that companies use to manage the hiring pipeline. In 2026, they are common across large employers and increasingly common across mid-market teams.
What the ATS may do:
- Parses your resume into structured data fields
- Scores your resume against the job description
- Ranks candidates by match percentage
- Helps recruiters filter and search applications
Popular ATS platforms: Greenhouse, Lever, Workday, Taleo, iCIMS, BambooHR
ATS-Safe formatting rules
Follow these rules to improve parsing across common ATS tools:
- Use standard section headings — "Work Experience", "Education", "Skills"
- Avoid tables and columns — Use simple line breaks and bullet points
- No headers or footers — Some ATS systems ignore or misread them
- Skip graphics and icons — They either get ignored or cause parsing errors
- Use .docx or .pdf — Check the job posting for format preferences
- Standard bullet characters — Use • or - only
Keyword optimization strategy
Modern ATS uses both exact-match and semantic matching. Here's the winning strategy:
Step 1: Copy the job description into a word frequency analyzer
Step 2: Identify the top 15-20 keywords and phrases
Step 3: Naturally incorporate them into your resume
Step 4: Include keywords in multiple sections (summary, experience, skills)
Do's:
- ✅ Use the exact job title from the posting
- ✅ Include industry-standard abbreviations AND full terms
- ✅ Mirror the language of the job description
Don'ts:
- ❌ Keyword stuff (repeating words unnaturally)
- ❌ Hide keywords in white text
- ❌ Use only acronyms without spelling them out
Test your resume before submitting
Avoid submitting blindly. Use these checks to validate your resume:
- Resumely ATS Scanner — Score with detailed feedback
- Jobscan — Side-by-side comparison with job descriptions
- Copy-paste test — Copy your resume content into a plain text editor. If it's garbled, ATS tools may struggle too
The 10 most common ATS mistakes
Avoid these resume killers:
- Using creative section headings ("My Superpowers" instead of "Skills")
- Putting contact info in headers/footers
- Using text boxes or tables for layout
- Submitting as an image-based PDF
- Including special characters or emojis
- Using two-column layouts
- Forgetting to include hard skills
- Not tailoring for each application
- Using uncommon file formats (.pages, .odt)
- Relying on a single generic resume for all applications
Paste your resume into the checker and read what it finds, what it misses and the lines to fix. Free, no account.
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