Landed Team
Before your resume reaches a recruiter, it almost certainly passes through an applicant tracking system. ATS software parses, stores, and ranks resumes so hiring teams can manage hundreds or thousands of applications efficiently. If your resume is not formatted for these systems, it may never be seen by a human, no matter how qualified you are.
An ATS is software that companies use to collect, organise, and filter job applications. Popular platforms include Workday, Greenhouse, Lever, and iCIMS. The system scans your resume for relevant information, fields like your name, contact details, work history, education, and skills, and indexes them in a database. Recruiters then search or filter that database using keywords tied to the job description.
Research suggests that up to 75% of resumes are rejected by ATS filters before a recruiter ever reads them. Understanding how these systems work gives you a significant advantage.
Multi-column layouts, tables, and text boxes can confuse ATS parsers. Stick to a single-column format with clearly defined sections. Simple formatting is your best friend.
Label your sections with conventional names: "Work Experience," "Education," "Skills," "Certifications." Creative headings like "Where I Have Made an Impact" may look stylish, but an ATS will not know what to do with them.
Most modern ATS platforms handle PDF files well, but some older systems prefer DOCX. When in doubt, check the application instructions. Avoid image-based formats like JPEG or PNG entirely.
ATS filtering relies on keyword matching. Read the job description and incorporate the same terms naturally into your resume. If the posting mentions "data analysis," use that exact phrase rather than a synonym like "data interpretation."
Write "Search Engine Optimisation (SEO)" the first time, then use "SEO" afterward. Some systems search for the full phrase, others for the abbreviation. Covering both keeps you in the running.
Many ATS tools cannot read text placed in document headers or footers. Keep your name, phone number, and email in the main body of the resume.
Logos, icons, and infographics may look impressive, but an ATS cannot read image content. Any information baked into a graphic is invisible to the system.
Choose a widely supported font such as Arial, Calibri, or Helvetica at 10 to 12 points. Unusual fonts can cause rendering issues in some parsers.
A simple test is to copy and paste your resume into a plain text editor. If the content appears in a logical order with no garbled characters or misplaced sections, an ATS will likely parse it correctly. You can also use tools that simulate ATS parsing to see how your resume is being read.
Platforms like Landed generate resumes using templates specifically designed to pass ATS filters. The output is clean HTML rendered to PDF, which means parsers can read every field correctly without the formatting pitfalls of manually designed documents.
An ATS-friendly resume does not have to be ugly or robotic. The goal is clean structure and relevant keywords, both of which also make a resume easier for humans to read. Think of ATS optimisation as good formatting discipline rather than a separate task.
Getting past the ATS is the first hurdle in any online job application. By following these eight tips, you ensure your resume is parsed correctly and ranked competitively, giving you the best chance of reaching the interview stage.
Ready to put these tips into practice?
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