Applicant Tracking System Resume & CV: The Complete Guide

An applicant tracking system resume is a standard resume with a structure that software can parse. It keeps the same achievements and experience as any strong resume. It drops the layout elements that parsers handle poorly, such as columns, text boxes, graphics and details hidden in headers or footers.

The goal is accurate extraction: job titles, employers, dates and skills are easier to search when they land in the expected fields. A clean parse can make those details easier for a recruiter to locate, but it cannot guarantee a match or an interview.

Most systems work in three broad stages. The exact features vary by product and by how the employer has set it up.

1. 1

   Parsing

   The system extracts the text from your file and sorts it into fields such as contact details, work experience, education and skills.

2. 2

   Storing and searching

   The parsed profile is saved in the employer's database. Recruiters can then search for terms, job titles or qualifications and filter the results.

3. 3

   Screening and ranking

   Some systems rank candidates against the job description. Others apply knockout questions that screen out applicants who do not meet a stated requirement. Many do neither.

The practical takeaway: clean parsing reduces the chance that a job title, date or skill is misplaced or missing from the candidate record. It does not guarantee that a recruiter will find or advance an application.

Parsers look for recognisable patterns. These are the elements they depend on most:

1. 1

   Contact details in the body

   Your name, phone number, email and city should sit in the main text, not in a header, footer or text box. The parser needs them to attach the rest of your record to you.

2. 2

   Standard section headings

   Headings such as Summary, Experience, Education, Skills and Certifications let the software find each block. A creative heading forces the parser to guess.

3. 3

   Job titles, employers and dates

   Each role needs a title, an employer and a start and end date in a consistent format. Consistent dates help the system order your roles and work out how long you have held them.

4. 4

   Skills and tools named as the advert names them

   When an employer uses keyword search or matching, exact names for tools, certifications and role-specific skills can make relevant experience easier to find. Each system and employer configuration differs, so include a term only when it accurately describes your experience.

5. 5

   Education and qualifications written out

   Degree names, institutions and certifications are often stored as separate fields. Write them as text, not as an image or a graphic.

6. 6

   Text that can be selected

   The whole file needs selectable text. A scanned image, or words embedded in a picture, gives the parser nothing to read.

7. 7

   Application questions

   Some employers ask screening questions separately, such as work eligibility or a required licence. Your resume cannot answer those, so read each question before you submit.

You do not operate the software yourself. You meet it as the application form on an employer's careers page. These steps cover the usual flow, though each employer sets its own up differently.

1. 1
   Read the advert and the application page first. Note the file formats accepted and any required questions.
2. 2
   Upload your resume or CV in the requested format. Some systems then fill in form fields from it.
3. 3
   Check every auto-filled field: name, contact details, job titles, employers and dates. Fix anything that parsed wrongly, because that is the record a recruiter will see.
4. 4
   Answer screening questions honestly and completely, including eligibility and notice period if asked.
5. 5
   Review the final page, submit, and keep a copy of the exact file you sent so you can tailor it for the next application.

If a field keeps parsing wrongly, the cause is usually the layout of your file. Simplify it rather than retyping the same details each time.

In the UK the document is usually called a CV, and it goes through the same kind of recruitment software. Everything in this guide applies to an applicant tracking system CV. The differences are mostly about convention, not technology.

• Use British spelling and the title the employer uses, for example ‘organised’ and ‘CV’.
• Leave out a photo, date of birth, marital status and nationality. The National Careers Service gives the same advice.
• Keep a town or city in the contact line rather than a full street address.
• A single-column layout with standard headings is still the safest starting point. For A4 layouts and UK examples, see our free UK CV templates and UK CV examples.

Browse the free UK CV templates, read worked UK CV examples or open the free CV builder.

A standard resume is designed to be looked at. An ATS resume is designed to be read as text. The content can be identical. The structure is what changes.

Colour, typography and spacing can stay. A parser reads text, not design, so a clean template keeps the polish while removing the parts that cause extraction errors.

1. 1
   Start with a single column. Keep everything in one reading column from your name at the top to the last line. Avoid columns, text boxes and tables.
2. 2
   Put your contact details in the body. Write them as the first lines of the document, in plain text.
3. 3
   Use standard headings: Summary or Profile, Experience, Education, Skills, and optionally Certifications or Projects.
4. 4
   Give every role the same pattern: job title, employer and location on one line, dates on the same line or the next, then three to five bullet points.
5. 5
   Write bullets that start with an action verb and state a result. Describe what changed because of your work.
6. 6
   Use plain round bullets, a common typeface such as Arial, Calibri or Times New Roman, and no text over shaded or photographic backgrounds.
7. 7
   Export the file in the format the employer asks for, then test it using the steps later in this guide.

[Your Name]
Operations Analyst | [City, Country]
[Email] | [Phone]

SUMMARY
Operations analyst using SQL and Excel to improve shipment reporting.

SKILLS
SQL | Excel | Shipment reporting | Process documentation

EXPERIENCE
Senior Operations Analyst | Northwind Logistics | Leeds, UK
03/2021 – Present
- Cut weekly shipment exceptions by rebuilding the daily reporting process
  in SQL and Excel, so supervisors could see problems the same morning.
- Documented the reporting logic so that two teams could maintain it
  without outside help.

EDUCATION
[Degree] | [Institution] | [Year]

Keywords are terms an employer uses to describe a job: a job title, a software product, a method, a regulation or a qualification. When an employer uses keyword search or matching, the same language can make a relevant skill easier to spot. Search and matching behaviour varies; accurate examples matter more than adding words alone.

• Highlight the required skills, tools and responsibilities in one job advert you are genuinely interested in.
• Use the exact job title as written, in your headline or summary, if it honestly describes the role you have held.
• Replace vague paraphrases with the advert's terms where they match your experience. Name the specific tool rather than calling it a platform.
• Place each keyword inside a real responsibility or achievement, not in a list of unconnected words.
• Keep the skills list to the ones you could discuss confidently in an interview.

Problems are rarely caused by one dramatic error. More often several small issues combine: information is missed, content appears in the wrong order, or a recruiter has to hunt for what they need.

Use this list before you save the final version. Each item takes a minute to check.

• One reading column from top to bottom, with no tables, text boxes or sidebars.
• Name, phone, email and city appear in the body, not in a header or footer.
• Section headings use standard names: Summary, Experience, Education, Skills.
• Every role shows a job title, an employer and dates in one consistent format.
• Bullet points start with an action verb and include a result or outcome.
• Key skills and tools are written exactly as the job advert names them, where accurate.
• No icons, skill bars, star ratings or images carry information that is not also in text.
• The file is in the format the employer requests, and the exported text reads in order.

1. 1
   Export the final file in the format the employer requests, usually a Word file or a PDF.
2. 2
   Open it in a plain text editor such as Notepad, or paste it into an empty document, and read it from top to bottom.
3. 3
   Check that your contact details appear at the top, and that each section sits under the right heading.
4. 4
   Confirm that each job title, employer and date sits with the correct role, and that every bullet point belongs to the job above it.
5. 5
   Compare the wording with the job advert and fix any essential skill that you have used but described differently.

If the plain text is out of order or missing parts, the layout is the likely cause. Simplify the structure rather than trying to patch the design. Our free ATS scanner and ATS score checker can give you a second view of your file alongside this manual test.

[Full Name]
[City, Country] | [Phone] | [Email] | [LinkedIn, if relevant]

[Target role title, only if accurate]

SUMMARY
[Relevant experience, skills and one verified outcome]

SKILLS
[Skill] | [Tool] | [Qualification, if held]

EXPERIENCE
[Job Title] | [Employer] | [Location]
[Month Year] – [Month Year or Present]
- [Action verb + task or tool + verified result]
- [Relevant achievement or responsibility + evidence]

EDUCATION
[Degree or qualification] | [Institution] | [Year]

[OPTIONAL: CERTIFICATIONS OR PROJECTS]
[Add only if relevant and accurate]

If you prefer a ready-made layout, Resume Earth includes 100 ATS-friendly templates. They are free, with no card, no trial period and no login, and you can export the finished resume as a PDF or Word file. Applying in the UK? Start with the free UK CV templates.

Pick a template, add your content in the builder, then run the test above before you send anything. A template removes the layout guesswork. It cannot replace accurate content, and it cannot predict how a particular employer has configured its system.

Browse the 100+ ATS-friendly templatesOpen the free resume builder

This guide is based on published guidance from ATS vendors and career publishers, and on the general behaviour of resume parsers. It makes no claims about specific employers and does not quote invented statistics. Where sources disagree, for example on whether a Word file or a PDF is safer, the guide says so and points you to the employer's instructions.

• ServiceNow, “What is an Applicant Tracking System?” — explains parsing, storage, search and optional automatic screening.
• Jobscan, “What Is an Applicant Tracking System (ATS)?” — describes ATS as a search tool and notes that ranking and knockout rules depend on the system.
• Indeed Career Guide, “How To Create an Applicant Tracking System (ATS) Resume” — covers headings, layout and contact placement.
• CIO, “Applicant tracking system: The secret to beating a resume-filtering ATS” — describes employer-set parameters and variation in screening.
• National Careers Service, CV sections — UK guidance on what to include in, and leave out of, a CV.

For the diagnostic questions, read how to pass ATS screening. For the step-by-step build order, read how to make an ATS resume. If the document is built and the question is which words it should carry, the guide to finding keywords in a job advert covers that, and the optimisation workflow puts the whole sequence in order. To compare your resume with a specific role, the Job Match tool is a useful next step. For wording, see action verbs for your resume and resume skills examples. Applying in the UK? See the UK CV templates and how to write a CV.