What an ATS does
An applicant tracking system (ATS) is the software many employers use to collect applications. It takes the text out of your CV, sorts it into fields such as your name, your jobs and your education, and lets recruiters search and filter everyone who applied. Each employer sets theirs up in its own way, and a recruiter reads what it keeps.
It reads text, not pictures
An ATS reads the words in your file. A CV saved as a picture, or scanned from paper, gives it nothing to read. A PDF made by a CV builder or a word processor has real text.
To check yours, open the PDF and try to select a line of it. If you can select and copy the words, an ATS can usually read them too.
It reads from top to bottom
Two columns, text boxes and tables can come out in the wrong order, so a job title can end up next to the wrong employer. A single column reads most reliably. Two columns are fine when the text comes out in order, which is worth checking.
It looks for the usual headings
An ATS finds your sections by their headings. “Work experience”, “Education” and “Skills” are known everywhere; “Where I have been” may not be. For each job, give the title, the employer and the dates, in the same order every time.
Put your name, email and phone number in the body of the CV, not in a page header or footer, which some systems skip.
Recruiters search it for words
Recruiters search the ATS for the skills, tools and qualifications a job needs. If the advert asks for “Power BI” and you have used it, say “Power BI”, in the advert’s words. Spell out an abbreviation once, as in “search engine optimisation (SEO)”, so that a search for either finds you.
Only include what is true of you. A recruiter or an interview will find out, and a list of copied words reads badly to the person who opens your CV.
Keep the formatting plain
Use a common font at a readable size, plain bullet points, and words rather than icons or emoji. Keep dates in one style, such as “Mar 2022 – Present”, throughout.
What no one can promise
Every employer sets up its system differently, so no tool can tell you how a particular one will rank you. What you can do is make your CV easy to read, complete and relevant, for the software and for the person who reads it next. The how to write a CV guide covers what to put in it.
Check yours in the builder
Every template in the builder makes a PDF with real text in reading order, even in two columns. The ATS check scores your CV out of 100 as you edit, and shows what to improve under the field it is about.