What are the best resume formats and layouts for ATS compatibility?

A resume is a formal document. As a formal document, it should be easy to scan, read, and digest. It is used to highlight the best accomplishments and qualifications relevant to a particular position to which you apply. For this reason, no matter what someone's target job, I use a Harvard-style resume. It follows best practices for any resume (font type, size, etc.), and is both ATS and reader friendly. A Harvard-style resume features conciseness, easily understood headings, indentations for easy scanning, and white space to make sections and breaks clear.

Non-serif fonts are desireable, as these fonts are typically easier to read on a screen. Serif fonts are generally used for printed documents.

A simple resume always works, but indeed, you have to highlight all your skills and recent projects first. A format should be easy to scan, and read.

In my experience a Traditional Resume for an Experienced Professional should include the following sections in given order: - Professional Summary, - Professional Expertise: Skills / Competencies, - Professional Experience, - Prior Experience, - Professional Development: Education / Certifications / Training / Licenses, - Professional Associations or Organizations Info (not personal hobbies), and - Technology.

Using a functional resume can do more harm than good. It is a resume format strongly disliked by recruiters. A functional resume immediately raises red flags. It tells the reader something is amiss: -The candidate is trying to hide a big career gap. -The candidate is trying to hide a history of job hopping. -The candidate is trying to cover not having relevant experience. With the time constraints recruiters often have, a functional resume is also annoying. It requires the reader to hunt for what they want to see first anyway--the experience. It can also "confuse" an ATS, which can result in a resume getting eliminated. Use a hybrid resume. It tends to expand on, rather than try to hide, chronologically written experience.

Applicant tracking systems associate time worked in a job with the skills used to perform job duties. Hiring managers also like to see where a candidate has achieved the accomplishments listed. For these reasons, chronological format is the best choice for a resume.

Including the correct keywords in a resume begins with using the same job title in a target job ad. Including the hiring company's name in the summary of a resume is key, too. Don't use the Skills or Competencies section as a place to "fit in" keywords that you can't comfortably fit into the body of your resume. If the Skills section is the only place you can fit important keywords, it's possible you are applying for a position to which you aren't suited. Top keywords should be included in the body of the resume, such as in bullet points of accomplishments. They are given more weight when included in the body, than if just included in the skills section. Location of the certain keywords can be just as important as including them.

Using the right keywords play a pivotal role. Rather using larger sentences, one shall make it concise and make use of optimised words, like "worked on X tool, and saved Y hours hence improving efficiency". Anything which has a business value attached, will always pull people towards it.

It is critical to use the right keywords in your resume, especially with applications that go through an ATS and have AI tools added on to the process. A keyword is not always a "skill" but it is effective to add skills that fit the function of the role(s). For example: Project Management, Pivot Table, PnL, B2B Sales, Marketing Campaigns, Employee Relations, Enterprise Support, etc. Other keywords can be Job Titles, Technology (Programs, Software, Tools, etc.), Methodologies, Certifications or Licenses, and/or experience within an environment like M&A or Startup. One thing to keep in mind, keywords are not soft skills like organized, detail-oriented, or resilient.

Only use a .pdf file format if the ATS states that it is an acceptable. If no file formats are specified, Word (.docx) file format is the best choice for ATS compatibility.

In my experience as a Recruiter and Applicant, a .pdf is transcribed to a modern application system (ATS). I haven't heard of not adding important info into a Header or Footer. I use Headers for name and contact info on my resumes and have always seen it appear in the ATS "resume viewer" and it populates into the application fields. In addition, Word has become a business or school resource considering the cost of the suite. Google docs and Mac docs are what most people use to build a resume. In these cases, saving as a .pdf is best. Btw as a Recruiter, I never read a cover letter.

In terms of acronyms, you should not use an acronym without defining it the first time you use it. This provides the answer to whether to spell it out or use the acronym, because it achieves both.

"However, remember that the ATS is not the final decision-maker - you still need to impress the human recruiter with your content and quality." Too often, people hear the above statement and think it means that their resume needs both clear formatting for an ATS, but visual pizzazz for the human. This isn't the case. If a resume is written correctly, one format will "impress" both the ATS and recruiter. Both look for the same traits: proof a candidate is qualified or good enough for an interview; ease of reading; tailored to the job.

In terms of the acronyms in your resume It would be best to add the full words as well as the acronyms if they especially if they are used by the employer in the job posting language. Adding both the acronym and the full words will make your resume more universal allowing the job seeker not need to make so many adjustments to their key words in their resume.