ATS-Friendly Formatting

General, cautious principles

Many companies use an applicant tracking system (ATS) to receive and organise applications, and some parse resume text into fields or let recruiters search it. Systems differ a lot and change over time, so avoid myths about secret tricks or exact scoring rules. General principles that help with most software and with human readers: a single-column layout, standard section headings, a text-based PDF or the format the application requests, important text in the body rather than in headers, footers, images or text boxes, consistent dates, and common fonts. Never hide keywords in white or tiny text; it is deceptive and a human reviewer may see it.

Safer versus riskier formatting

General guidance, not rules for any specific system.

Safer                                   Riskier
--------------------------------------  -------------------------------------------
Single column                            Multi-column layouts with sidebars
Headings: Experience, Projects, Skills   Creative headings: "My Journey", "Toolbox"
Plain bullets                            Icons and emoji as bullets
Text in the document body                Contact info only in header/footer areas
Text-based PDF (or requested format)     Scanned image or design-tool export as image
Dates like "Mar 2023 - Present"          Timelines drawn as graphics
Skills as words                          Skill bars, stars, percentages
No hidden text                           White or tiny keyword text

A form a stranger fills in

Write as if someone unfamiliar with your design must copy your resume into a plain form. If they would struggle, so might software.

Quick check: Which practice is generally safest for readability by software and people?

• Using creative headings like "My Toolbox"
• Putting all skills in an image
• Hiding keywords in white text
• A single-column layout with standard section headings