ATS-Friendly Resume: How to Beat Applicant Tracking Systems in 2025

How ATS Systems Work

An Applicant Tracking System is software used by recruiters and HR departments to manage job applications at scale. When you submit a resume through an online application portal, the ATS typically does three things:

1. Parsing: The ATS extracts text from your resume document and attempts to categorise it into structured fields: name, contact information, work experience (with dates, company names, and job titles), education, and skills.
2. Keyword scoring: The ATS matches the text in your resume against the keywords and phrases in the job description. Resumes that match more required keywords receive higher scores.
3. Ranking and filtering: Resumes are ranked by their score, and only those above a threshold score are forwarded to human reviewers. In competitive positions, only the top 10–20% of applicants may pass this automated filter.

According to the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM), ATS usage is widespread among medium and large employers, and the software has become increasingly sophisticated in recent years — but it still relies fundamentally on clean text extraction to function correctly.

What Breaks ATS Parsing

Modern ATS systems are better than they used to be at handling complex documents, but the following elements still cause frequent parsing failures:

Tables

Tables are a common way to create two-column resume layouts (skills on the left, experience on the right, for example). While this looks clean visually, ATS systems read table cells in a unpredictable order — often left-to-right across all cells before moving down — which can merge completely unrelated text from different sections of your resume.

Multi-Column Layouts

Like tables, multi-column layouts (achieved with CSS columns, text boxes, or newspaper-style formatting) cause ATS text extraction to read columns in the wrong order. Your experience section may be read as intermixed with your skills section, destroying the coherence of both.

Graphics and Images

Profile photos, logo graphics, skill rating bars, and other visual elements are simply ignored by ATS — the text content behind them, if any, may be lost. Skill bars (visual indicators showing "Python: 8/10") are particularly problematic because the ATS may not register "Python" as a skill at all if it is embedded in a graphical element.

Headers and Footers

Some ATS systems fail to extract text from document headers and footers. Do not put contact information in the document header — many candidates do this for a clean look, only to have their name and email address completely missed by the ATS. Place all contact information in the main document body.

Non-Standard Fonts and Special Characters

Unusual fonts may not render correctly when the ATS converts the document to plain text. Decorative special characters (fancy bullets, decorative separators, icons) may be extracted as garbled characters or dropped entirely. Stick to standard bullets (•) and common professional fonts.

Text Boxes

Text boxes in Word documents are often not included in the main document text flow, meaning ATS may skip them entirely. Any content in a text box — including your name, a summary section, or skills — may be completely invisible to the ATS.

Keyword Optimisation

ATS keyword matching is the primary scoring mechanism that determines whether your resume passes the automated screen. Here is how to optimise effectively — without gaming the system dishonestly.

Analyse the Job Description

Read the job description carefully and identify the specific skills, tools, qualifications, and experience the employer is requiring or preferring. These are your target keywords. Pay attention to:

• Technical skills: specific software, programming languages, frameworks, platforms
• Soft skills explicitly mentioned: "project management", "stakeholder communication"
• Credentials: specific degrees, certifications, or licenses
• Industry-specific terminology: the exact phrasing used in your field

Mirror the Language

ATS systems often do simple text matching. "SEO" and "search engine optimisation" may be treated as different strings by a basic ATS. If the job description says "content management system (CMS)", use that exact phrase rather than just "CMS" or "WordPress". When in doubt, use both the acronym and the full form.

Prioritise Hard Skills Over Soft Skills

ATS systems are primarily looking for verifiable, specific skills: "Salesforce CRM", "Python", "Google Analytics", "AWS", "Six Sigma Black Belt". Generic soft skills like "good communicator" or "team player" carry little weight in keyword scoring. Focus your optimisation effort on hard skills and technical competencies.

Do Not Keyword Stuff

Attempting to include every keyword from a job description, regardless of your actual experience, is both dishonest and increasingly detectable. Modern ATS systems, and the human reviewers who follow, can identify resumes that have been artificially stuffed with keywords. Only include skills and experience that genuinely reflect your background.

PDF vs Word: Which Is Better for ATS?

Both PDF and Word (.docx) formats are generally accepted and parseable by modern ATS systems. The key factor is not the file format but the structure of the document.

A simple, single-column PDF parses reliably. A complex multi-column Word document with tables and text boxes will fail ATS parsing regardless of the file format.

PDF is generally the safer default because it preserves your intended formatting and cannot be accidentally modified. However, if a job posting specifically requests a Word document, comply — some older ATS systems and some employers' internal workflows handle Word more reliably.

When in doubt about which format an employer prefers, it is acceptable to prepare both versions and ask the recruiter which they prefer.

Section Headings ATS Expects

ATS systems use section headings to categorise your resume content. If you use unconventional headings, the ATS may fail to identify the section and misclassify its content.

Use standard heading names:

• "Work Experience" or "Professional Experience" (not "My Career Journey")
• "Education" (not "Academic Background")
• "Skills" (not "Areas of Expertise" for the main skills list)
• "Summary" or "Professional Summary" (not "Who I Am")

Creative section headings are fine for design portfolios and creative roles reviewed by humans, but they reduce ATS compatibility. In any application process where ATS is involved, standard headings are safer.

Testing Your Resume

Before submitting to any role, run a quick ATS compatibility test:

1. Open your resume PDF and select all text (Ctrl+A or Cmd+A).
2. Copy and paste into a plain text editor like Notepad (Windows) or TextEdit in plain text mode (Mac).
3. Read through the result. Does it flow logically? Are all sections present? Is the contact information at the top? Are dates and company names next to the right job titles?
4. If anything is jumbled or missing, fix the source document layout.

Additionally, compare your resume against the job description and count how many of the key terms appear in your document. If several important terms are absent and they genuinely reflect your experience, consider adding them.

For further reading on hiring and workforce practices, the Society for Human Resource Management publishes research and guidance on ATS usage and best practices in talent acquisition.