Applicant tracking systems (ATS) are software recruiters use to collect, parse, and search resumes before a human reviews them. Most ATS problems aren't about "tricking" the system — they're about formatting choices that make a resume unreadable to the parser, or wording that doesn't match how the job description describes the role.

Formatting that actually breaks parsing

  • Multi-column layouts and text boxes — many parsers read left-to-right, top-to-bottom, and can scramble columns into nonsense
  • Headers/footers containing your contact info — some ATS platforms skip these sections entirely
  • Tables used for layout rather than data
  • Images, icons, or graphics used to convey information (like a skill-level bar chart) instead of plain text
  • Unusual fonts or heavy use of symbols in place of standard bullet points
Rule of thumb: if you can select and copy all the text out of your resume PDF and it comes out in a sensible reading order, a parser probably can too.

Wording that actually matters

ATS keyword matching generally isn't about stuffing in every buzzword — it's about mirroring the specific terms the job description uses for your skills and title. If the posting says "project management," using only "PM" throughout your resume can cause a mismatch even though a human would read them as the same thing.

  • Use the exact phrasing from the job description for your core skills, at least once
  • Spell out acronyms at least once ("Search Engine Optimization (SEO)") so both the acronym and the full term are searchable
  • Match the job title language where it's honest to do so — if you were a "Senior Software Engineer" and the posting says "Senior SWE," it's reasonable to reflect that
  • Keep skills in a dedicated section, not just buried in narrative bullet points, so keyword scans can find them easily

A simple pre-submit checklist

  1. Export to PDF and confirm the text is selectable (not a scanned image)
  2. Read the job description and note its 8-10 most repeated skill/tool terms
  3. Confirm each of those terms appears somewhere in your resume, worded honestly
  4. Remove multi-column layouts, text boxes, and header/footer contact info
  5. Save the file with a plain, readable filename like FirstName-LastName-Resume.pdf