Your resume is one of the most important documents in your career.
An ATS resume is optimized for applicant tracking systems, software tools that many employers use to streamline the hiring process by sorting, screening, and ranking job applications. Using the correct format can be the key to getting hired at your dream company. But, creating the perfect one that stands out while accurately highlighting your experience tends to be a common struggle for applicants.
Companies receive hundreds of resumes for any given role. TopResume found that 75% of those resumes are never read by an actual human.
When applying for roles, it is important to make an ATS-friendly resume that can accurately be read and understood. In this guide, you will learn how to create a properly-formatted resume that can pass applicant tracking systems.
Alternatively, try our AI Resume Builder to create your resume with ease.
If you want to learn more about crafting an ATS-optimized resume, explore our dedicated guides on:
- Creating an Impressive Resume Objective
- Writing a Concise Resume Summary
- Emphasizing Your Strong Work Ethic
- Making Your Education Section Stand Out
- The Best Skills to Add to Your Resume and How to Describe Them
What Format is Best for ATS Resume?
Do you have lots of work experience or do you have little to none at all? How long have you been in the workforce for?
It’s different for every job seeker because it depends on where you’re currently at in your career.
The three main types of resume formats include:
- Reverse-chronological resume
- Skill-based resume
- Combination resume
For the ATS software, the best resume format is the reverse chronological resume because it lists your most relevant and recent work experience first. It’s easier to pick up some of the keywords, qualifications, and skills that the system is looking for.
However, that doesn’t mean the other types of resumes are incompatible for the ATS.
Reverse-Chronological Resume
The reverse chronological resume format means listing out the most recent and relevant things first. It starts with the most recent timeline and you work your way backwards, e.g. the latest job position comes first in your work experience section, not the oldest.
Structuring your resume this way makes your career timeline more established.
Skill-Based Resume
Unlike the standard resume that focuses on highlighting your work experience, the skill-based resume puts more emphasis towards your skills.
It does come with a few setbacks as the gaps behind your employment history become more noticeable. Even so, it’s a great solution for those of you with 0 or less than 1 year of work experience.
You can make up for your lack of experience by writing a tailored cover letter. Show that you’re more committed and passionate!
Combination Resume
This resume format is also known as the hybrid resume.
It combines the elements of the standard resume with the skill-based resume format. What that means is, it evenly distributes the focus between your work experience and the skills you’ve developed.
For those of you with less than 3 years of work experience in a professional environment, this would be perfect to use.
How to Create an ATS-Friendly Resume: 10 Tips
The ATS resume format means having an application formatted in a way that will bypass the applicant tracking system.
It’s important to understand how resumes are filtered. With the number of talented job applicants increasing, the majority of companies today are moving toward applicant tracking systems (ATS) to organize and sort applications.
These systems can be configured to filter candidates based on different criteria such as:
- Work experience
- Education
- Keywords
- Skills
- And more...
This early stage of the hiring process is also where most job seekers tend to fail.
1. Use a Simple Layout
When it comes to creating an ATS-optimized resume, it’s good to know how it will be read by the software.
Like most human readers, the ATS will read from left to right and top to bottom.
For this reason, it is important to use a simple layout where everything is straightforward and concise. Your contact information should go first in the header, followed along by the next resume sections depending on what type of resume you’re using.
2. Use an Appropriate Design
If you’re using a resume design, just make sure they are appropriate. Be sensible and don’t use an over-designed resume template.
It needs to be readable, otherwise it won’t be picked up by the ATS.
Use a professional design, including a professional resume font (e.g. sans serif or serif). Choose one that’s universal such as Helvetica, Arial, Garamond, or Georgia. These are available on virtually all computers and designed to be easily readable.
3. Use a PDF File Format
Save your resume as a PDF file before submitting your application.
If you’re using any other file types, your resume might not send the same way you want it to as the formatting can change. For example, the spacing and margins.
Give it an appropriate name as well, e.g. Jacob-Jacquet-Resume.PDF.
4. Use Bullet Points
All resumes should be using bullet points for each resume section when describing something. It’s easily picked up by the resume scanners and makes it twice more readable for the hiring manager than if you were to write one large paragraph.
5. Make Sure Your Margins Are The Correct Width
Margins should generally be one inch all around.
The lowest that’s acceptable is -0.5. This will enable you to add more content while still having a readable application. But when it becomes too narrow, it would be difficult to skim through your resume for both a human and AI reader.
6. Customize Your Resume With ATS Keywords
Each time you submit your resume for a job that uses ATS, your resume is saved in a large database along with other applicants. Hiring managers can use this database to search for applicants whose resumes include specific key phrases related to their job opening. These are often a specific skill or job title.
When creating your resume, it is important to research and include the resume keywords.
You can start by carefully reviewing the job description for keywords and checking them against what you’ve included.
If you’re looking for a faster solution for finding and incorporating keywords, try our free AI Resume Builder. Put in your details and the job description, and you'll have a polished resume in seconds.
7. Avoid Stylish Formatting
In order for ATS to analyze your resume for relevant keywords, the system will convert the document into a text-only file. After this conversion, all formatting will be lost. As a result, the ATS may not be able to extract the important information.
8. Establish a Timeline
ATS software and hiring managers alike want to see a clear and consistent work history timeline.
A reverse chronological resume (i.e most recent experience first) timeline holds a great deal of significance as it is often considered the standard for all industries. It’s a great choice for anyone whose work experience section shows consistent career continuity. Just don’t forget to include dates of employment as ATS systems can measure the years of experience you have.
9. Keep Your ATS Resume One Page Long
Unless you have a lot of work experience to show for, it’s a standard rule of thumb to have a one-page resume. As you grow in your career, you’ll find that some skills and experience that were once relevant, aren’t as significant anymore. Consider bringing the most relevant information to the forefront while removing any unnecessary details.
10. Proofread for Grammar and Spelling Mistakes
The ATS will easily identify grammar and common mistakes on resumes. Once these are noticed, there’s a strong chance the hiring manager will reject your resume even if they haven’t read it until the end.
What to Avoid on an ATS-Compliant Resume
Tables, columns, and text boxes are great methods of organizing complex information on a resume.
However, the ATS will not recognize these elements.
If the content of your resume is located in similar formatting, the ATS is very likely to miss it. You should avoid using elements such as tables, photos, columns, and text boxes.
Graphic Design Visuals
Think twice before using images, graphs, charts, colours, etc. Not all graphic design elements will be picked up.
Tables
Using a table will change the overall format and look of your resume. It won’t pass the ATS and on the receiving end, your application may appear different than how you intended.
Text Boxes
As mentioned, it’s too complex to be read. It also affects the look and format of your resume as a whole.
Columns
You may have seen resume templates like the double column resume. While the format itself is clean and readable for a human reader, it doesn’t always get past the ATS.
Header and Footer Section
You should avoid placing important information into the header or footer section of your resume.
Many applicant tracking systems are not able to extract the information in these sections. What tends to happen is that they automatically remove it from your application because they won’t be found.
How to Know If a Company Uses ATS?
According to CNBC, more than 95% of Fortune 500 companies use an Applicant Tracking System to screen candidates. It is more important than ever to have an ATS-friendly resume format. A majority of companies will use ATS as it saves time and helps them effectively assess hundreds and thousands of candidates faster.
An ATS-optimized resume is the first step to getting your resume past the computers in order to reach the hands of a hiring manager.
Get the Best ATS Resume Format with Rezi
Are you ready to create your own ATS-optimized resume?
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From there, you can simply add those missing items to your resume. Just by doing that, you’ll improve your chances!
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