Key takeaways
- Applicant tracking systems work from the text in your file, so one column, plain bullets and no tables, text boxes or graphics keep that text in order.
- Use standard section headings such as Summary, Experience, Education and Skills, because systems rely on familiar names to split a resume into fields.
- Send the format the job posting asks for; a text-based PDF and a DOCX are both widely read, but a scanned PDF has no text to read.
- Test a PDF by extracting its text: empty output means it is an image, and jumbled sections suggest a parser may misread it too.
An ATS-friendly resume uses a single column, standard section headings such as Experience, Education and Skills, a common font, and no tables, text boxes or graphics for important information. Save it as a text-based file in the format the job posting asks for. These choices keep your text readable and in the right order when an applicant tracking system pulls it apart.
Applicant tracking systems differ from one employer to the next, and nobody outside a vendor can tell you exactly how a given one scores you. What is consistent is that they work from the text in your file. Anything that hides, scrambles or replaces that text is a risk, and plain layouts carry the least risk.
What an ATS does with your resume
When you apply through an online portal, the system usually extracts the text from your file and tries to sort it into fields: name, contact details, job titles, employers, dates, education and skills. Recruiters then search and filter those fields, often by keyword.
Two things go wrong in that process:
- Text in the wrong order. Two columns, tables and text boxes can be read left to right across the page, mixing a job title from one column with a skill from the other.
- Text that is not text. A skills chart drawn as bars, a logo with your name inside it, or a scanned page gives the system an image to work with, not words.
The goal is simple: make sure the text a machine extracts matches the text a person sees, in the same order.
Layout: one column, top to bottom
| Do | Avoid |
|---|---|
| One column that reads top to bottom | Two or three columns side by side |
| Plain bullet points | Tables used to line up dates or skills |
| Contact details in the body of the page | Contact details only in the header or footer area |
| Dates written as text, such as "2022 to Present" | Icons in place of words (a phone symbol with no "Phone") |
| Skills listed as words | Skill bars, star ratings or charts |
Leave out the photo unless the country or employer you are applying to expects one. An image adds nothing a parser can read.
Fonts and formatting
Pick a common font that every computer has, at a readable size, usually 10 to 12 points for body text. Bold for job titles and section headings is fine. So are simple round bullets.
What causes trouble is decoration: unusual symbol bullets, text set as images, light gray text, or headings made with special characters. If in doubt, ask yourself whether the resume would still make sense pasted into a plain email. If it would, the formatting is safe.
Section headings that parse cleanly
Systems look for familiar section names to decide where one part ends and the next begins. Creative headings make that harder.
| Use | Instead of |
|---|---|
| Summary | About me, My story |
| Experience or Work Experience | Where I've been, Career journey |
| Education | Learning, Academic background highlights |
| Skills | Toolbox, What I bring |
| Certifications | Badges |
Under Experience, keep each entry in the same order: job title, employer, location, dates, then bullets. Consistency helps the system match each date to the right job.
PDF or DOCX?
There is no single right answer, so start with the job posting. If it names a format, use that one.
- Text-based PDF. A PDF exported from a resume builder or word processor contains real, selectable text and keeps your layout fixed. Most modern systems read this well.
- DOCX. Word files are widely accepted and some older systems handle them more reliably. The trade-off is that fonts and spacing can shift on someone else's computer.
- Scanned or image PDF. Avoid this. A photo or scan of a printed resume has no text layer, so there is nothing for the system to read.
A quick way to test a PDF is to extract its text. Drop it into our PDF to Text tool, which reads only the text layer. If the output is empty, the PDF is an image. If sections come out jumbled, a parser may struggle too.
Building and checking your resume
Our Resume Builder uses a single-column layout with standard headings (Summary, Experience, Education and Skills) in all three templates: Classic, Modern and Minimal. You fill in a form and see a live preview, then save it with "Print / Save as PDF," which produces a PDF with selectable text. A few honest notes:
- It exports PDF only. If an application asks for a .docx, convert the saved PDF with PDF to Word and check the layout before sending. Our guide to converting a PDF to Word without losing text covers what to look for.
- It does not score your resume against a job posting, so tailor keywords yourself.
- Nothing is saved between visits. Save your PDF before you close the page.
- You can add a photo or logo. For ATS purposes, it is usually better left off.
Then paste the text into the Resume Checker. It runs ten rule-based checks in your browser: an email address, a phone number, Summary, Experience, Education and Skills sections, bullet points, no first-person pronouns, no vague phrases such as "responsible for," and a length of 150 to 1,000 words. It is a structure check, not an ATS simulation, but it catches the gaps that matter most.
Finally, read the job posting again and make sure the skills and job titles it uses appear in your resume, worded the same way, wherever they truthfully apply. Recruiters search with the posting's words, not with your synonyms.
Frequently asked questions
A single column that reads top to bottom, standard section headings such as Experience, Education and Skills, a common font, and real text rather than images or charts. Contact details should sit in the body of the page, and dates should be written as text. Save it as a text-based file in the format the posting requests.
Follow the job posting first. If it does not say, a text-based PDF exported from a builder or word processor is read well by most modern systems and keeps your layout fixed. DOCX is also widely accepted. Avoid scanned or photographed resumes, because they contain no text layer for the system to read.
Any common font installed on most computers works, at around 10 to 12 points for body text. Bold headings and simple round bullets are fine. Avoid text set as images, unusual symbol bullets and very light gray text, which can be dropped or misread when the system extracts the words from your file.
All three templates use a single column with standard headings: Summary, Experience, Education and Skills. Print / Save as PDF produces a PDF with selectable text. The builder does not score your resume against a job posting and exports PDF only, so tailor your keywords yourself and convert to Word if a portal requires a .docx file.
It runs ten rule-based checks on pasted text: an email address, a phone number, Summary, Experience, Education and Skills sections, bullet points, no first-person pronouns, no vague phrases like responsible for, and a length of 150 to 1,000 words. The score is the share of checks passed. It does not simulate a real ATS.