An ATS-friendly resume is not a boring resume. It is a resume that software can read correctly, so the strong content you wrote actually reaches the recruiter. Most problems come from a handful of formatting choices, and all of them are easy to fix.
The 60-second test
- Open your resume file and select all the text (Ctrl+A, or Cmd+A on a Mac).
- Copy it and paste it into a plain text editor such as Notepad or TextEdit, or into the Go Resume Go scanner.
- Read it from top to bottom.
If sections are out of order, job titles are separated from their dates, your contact details are missing or strange symbols appear, an ATS parser is likely to struggle in the same places.
The ATS-friendly resume checklist
Layout
- Single-column layout that reads from top to bottom
- No tables, text boxes or multi-column sections
- No images, icons, charts, logos or skill-rating bars
- Standard margins and consistent spacing
Headings
- Standard section names: Summary, Experience, Skills, Education, Certifications
- Headings as normal text lines (bold is fine), not images or text boxes
Contact details
- Name, phone, email and city at the top of the page body, not in the header
- LinkedIn and portfolio written as readable URLs
Work history
- Job title, employer, location and dates for every role
- One consistent date format, such as "Mar 2021 - Present" or "2021 - 2024"
- Bullets that start with action verbs and include results
Content
- The job's required keywords, wherever they truly apply
- Acronyms spelled out once, such as "Customer Relationship Management (CRM)"
- A common font such as Arial, Calibri or Times New Roman, at 10 to 12pt for body text
File
- .docx, or a text-based PDF when the employer accepts it
- No password protection
- A clear file name, such as Firstname-Lastname-Resume.docx
Use standard section headings
| Use | Avoid |
|---|---|
| Summary or Professional Summary | About Me, My Story |
| Experience or Work Experience | Where I've Made an Impact, Career Journey |
| Skills or Technical Skills | My Toolbox, Superpowers |
| Education | Learning Adventures |
| Certifications or Licenses | Credentials Corner |
Parsers use headings to decide which text is your work history and which is your education. Creative names can send content into the wrong field, or nowhere at all.
The formatting that most often breaks parsing
- Tables and columns can be read out of order. How to replace them.
- Headers and footers are skipped by some parsers. Where to put contact details.
- Hyperlinked words lose their address. How to add links safely.
- Image-based PDFs contain no readable text. PDF or Word?
- Decorative bullets and symbols can turn into garbage characters. Safe bullet styles.
What about designed resumes?
A visually designed resume can work well when you hand it to someone directly, at a career fair or as part of a portfolio. For online applications, use a clean, ATS-friendly version. Many candidates keep both and use each where it fits.
Check your resume with Go Resume Go
After a scan, the ATS Checks tab verifies what can be checked from your text: email, phone, section headings, parseable dates, length and unusual symbols. It also lists the layout checks to confirm in your original file, because pasted text cannot reveal tables or headers. Run the ATS checks on your resume.