How applicant tracking systems read your resume.

1. The software parses your file

The ATS pulls your name, contact details, job titles, employers, dates, education and skills out of the document. Simple layouts parse cleanly. Text inside images, multiple columns, tables, headers and footers, or unusual fonts can come out scrambled or empty.

Do: one column, standard section names (Experience, Education, Skills), a real-text PDF or Word file.

2. Recruiters search by keywords

Recruiters type the skills and titles from the ad into the ATS, and it ranks or filters applicants by matches. It matches words, not meaning: “managed social channels” may not match a search for “social media marketing”.

Do: use the ad’s own terms where your experience supports them, including both the acronym and the full name (“Search Engine Optimization (SEO)”).

3. Knockout questions filter first

Many applications ask yes/no questions (work authorisation, years of experience, a required license). A “no” can remove you automatically, whatever your resume says.

Do: answer honestly, and apply where you meet the must-haves.

4. A person reads the shortlist

Keywords get you seen; clear achievements get you the interview. A resume stuffed with words you can’t back up fails here.

Do: write bullets as action, tool and result: “Cut response time from 900ms to 300ms with Redis caching.”

The one-minute version

1. Keep the layout simple and the file text-based.
2. Tailor each resume to the ad’s exact words, honestly.
3. Lead with the requirements the ad lists first.
4. Prove skills inside achievements, not only in a skills list.

Want to see how your resume scores against a real ad? Find role-specific keywords in the keyword guides, or run the free check.