How to write an ATS-friendly resume

Applicant Tracking Systems (ATSs) help hiring managers all over the world be more efficient. What should you know about creating a resume optimized for the ATS?

Many large and mid-scale employers in the US employ ATSs to manage the hiring process. These electronic systems help employers extract important information from job applications, which comes in handy when there are hundreds of candidates applying for an open position. If you want to increase your chances of getting hired, you must first ensure that your resume is ATS-friendly. If your resume can’t make it through the initial screening round, you will never be noticed by the hiring manager.

What is an ATS and how does it work?

As we said before, the Applicant Tracking System (ATS) is a software built to automate the recruitment process. It helps employers sort and scan job applications. When an employer wants to find a candidate that crosses specific boxes on their list, the ATS does all the hard work for them and sorts hundreds of resumes to find the desired individual.

The ATS does its job by scanning each resume for specific keywords. The ATS is also trained to pick up information like contact details, job titles, and qualifications. If the resumes reach a certain threshold in terms of qualifications and desired qualities, they are sent to the recruiter. If a resume falls below the bar, they are ignored.

How can you create an ATS-friendly resume?

The first step to ensure that your resume stays compliant with the Applicant Tracking System is to use ATS-friendly resume design tips when creating the document. Let’s look at how you can achieve that:

1. Use an ATS-friendly resume template

There are hundreds of ATS-friendly resumes on the internet that you can use for inspiration to create your own resume template from scratch. If you haven’t got the time to tinker with a Word editor, you can download a pre-existing ATS-friendly resume template from the internet and customize it to your liking. It is essential that your resume template be 100% ATS-friendly. If the ATS isn’t able to extract important information from your resume, your job application may end up being a failure.

2. Use traditional section headings

Some job seekers like to get creative with the section titles of their resumes. While this is an okay thing to do on a hand-delivered resume, it is not a smart idea for a digitally submitted resume. When you want to create an ATS-friendly resume, you must always use standard resume section headings. ATSs are trained to pick up traditional section headings and unique section titles tend to confuse them.

3. Avoid certain resume design elements

Not all resume design elements are ATS-friendly. Most ATSs are able to read simple text and parse simply formatted documents. Some ATSs tend to skip over content that you have placed within headers, footers, tables, graphs, images, charts, and graphics. When you create your resume template, be sure to avoid these types of design elements. Sticking to simple formatting is the best choice you have.

4. Select professional fonts

Your font choices matter a lot when deciding the ATS compatibility of your resume. Most fancy fonts are not considered to be ATS-friendly. Stick to professional fonts that are common and easy to read in small sizes. We recommend using Sans Serif fonts between sizes 10 and 12 for the normal text on your resume. For the headings and titles, you can choose sizes between 14 and 16. You should also avoid underlined text and italics on your resume. This formatting can make it difficult to discern text at small sizes.

5. Optimize with keywords

Now that you have got everything down with your ATS-friendly resume, it is time to fill in the information. When you describe your qualifications and achievements on the resume, you should use keywords from the job description. These keywords will most certainly be used by employers when scanning resumes during hiring decisions. If your resume does not mention the right keywords, you will not come up on the ATS.

If you want to keyword-optimize your resume for the ATS, you should first analyze the job description. The job description will mention the most important keywords for the position. You can also take a look at several job descriptions for similar roles to identify industry-specific keywords and incorporate them into your resume.

6. Submit in the right file format

Most employers will specify the file format in which to submit your resume to the company. It is essential that you comply with this request. Some ATSs are able to read only a few specific file formats. If your resume is in an unreadable file format, you will not get through initial screenings at all.

By?Resume Mansion