What makes a resume pass applicant-tracking systems?

Formatting that survives the scan

• One column, no tables, no text boxes, no graphics
• Standard headings: Experience, Education, Skills, Certifications
• Month and year for every job, written the same way each time
• Contact details in the body of the page, not in a header
• A Word file or a text based PDF, never a scanned image
• One standard font and no unusual symbols

Matching the listing without keyword stuffing

Read the listing and note the exact words it uses for the tasks and tools. If you have done those things, use those words in a real sentence describing what you did.

Do not paste a keyword list or hide words in white text. Systems flag it, and a human reads the resume next.

What gets you past the human, too

• A result in most bullet points: a number, a time saved, a problem fixed
• The same job titles you actually held, with a clarifying note if the title was unusual
• No gaps left unexplained
• Nothing you cannot talk about confidently in an interview

Common questions

What makes a resume pass applicant-tracking systems?

Tracking systems read plain text. Use standard headings, a normal one column layout, month and year dates, and real sentences that include the words the job listing uses. Avoid tables, text boxes, headers, footers, images, and columns, because that is where text gets scrambled or dropped.