ATS-Friendly Resume Templates & Tips for Beating the Scanners

5 tips for formatting your ATS-friendly resume

1. Look at the job description to find keywords.

Often, the resume keywords you need for optimization are right in the job description. Note the job requirements, as well as the desired soft skills and hard skills. Getting the right keywords for your resume is often as easy as selecting the keywords presented to you.

2. Organize your resume sections effectively.

When you write a resume, it is standard practice to change the layout and use headings to differentiate each section. However, qualified candidates sometimes get lost simply because they fail to use easy-to-read design elements and headlines that match what the ATS is looking for. It’s best to avoid excessive charts and graphs (such as large headers) as well as strange section titles that aren’t “Work Experience,” “Work History,” or “Skills,” as the ATS may not be able to pick up different phrases or sections that have an unusual layout.

3. Think about ATS and recruiters when proofreading.

Make sure your resume uses a professional, easy-to-read font like Times New Roman, Georgia, or Arial, so ATS and real-life recruiters can read your content clearly. It’s also important to keep your resume format easy to read by having one-inch margins and double-spaced lines, to ensure your key points are seen correctly. Messing with standard margins to fit a single-page format will make your document more difficult to scan.

4. Choose an ATS-friendly resume template.

One big mistake people can make is choosing a resume template that is difficult for the ATS to read. ResumeHelp Resume Builder can help you choose an ATS-friendly resume template that looks great. Most importantly, it can help you choose an ATS-friendly font, such as Arial or Times New Roman, help you describe your professional experience and show what a sample resume in your field would look like.

5. Review your resume in different file formats.

Finally, as you check your resume for one last correction, it’s important that you think it through the ATS first, then through the recruiter. It’s important to make sure your resume is concise and doesn’t have any headings or content that will “throw off” the scan while remaining readable. Most companies prefer PDF or word .docx so make sure to download your resume in this format and check it. If it looks accurate and easy to read to you, it most likely can be read by the ATS.

For further tips, here are 10 Ways to Make Your Resume Pass the ATS.