ATS Guide: How Applicant Tracking Systems Read Your Resume
What an applicant tracking system (ATS) is, how it parses and matches resumes, and how to format, choose keywords and test your resume for compatibility.
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Quick answer
An applicant tracking system (ATS) is software that collects, organizes and searches job applications. It parses your resume into fields and lets recruiters search or filter by keywords and qualifications. Use a simple layout, standard headings and relevant keywords, then test that your file's text copies cleanly.
Key takeaways
- An ATS parses your resume into structured fields that recruiters can search, sort and filter.
- Simple formatting, standard section headings and a PDF or DOCX file give the most reliable parsing.
- Include keywords from the job description naturally, using both abbreviations and full terms.
- Avoid graphics, text boxes, complex tables, headers and footers, and decorative fonts.
- Test your resume by copy-pasting its text and running an ATS checker; no tool can promise how a given employer's system reads it.
Many employers use an applicant tracking system to handle applications, so it pays to build a resume that software can read accurately. This guide explains how an ATS works and how to optimize for it. For common misconceptions, see our article on ATS resume myths. To see how software reads your own file, try the ATS resume checker.
What is an ATS?
An applicant tracking system (ATS) is software that manages the hiring process by collecting, organizing and screening job applications. It acts as a database between your application and the recruiters who search it.
An ATS typically does three things:
- Filters applications: screens or searches resumes by keywords, experience and qualifications.
- Ranks or sorts candidates: scores or orders resumes against job requirements, depending on how the employer set it up.
- Manages the pipeline: tracks candidates from application to offer.
Common platforms include Workday, Taleo (Oracle), iCIMS, Greenhouse and BambooHR. Each employer configures its system differently.
How ATS Systems Work
An ATS parses your resume into a database, extracts key information and lets recruiters match it to job requirements. The process usually runs in five steps.
Resume submission
Your resume is uploaded to the ATS database when you apply, and the system begins parsing the file.
Content parsing
The ATS extracts text and tries to identify sections: contact information, work experience, education and skills.
Keyword matching
The system compares your resume content against the keywords, skills and qualifications in the job posting.
Scoring and ranking
Depending on the employer's setup, the resume may receive a compatibility score or be sorted by how well it matches.
Human review
Recruiters review candidates from the pipeline, often by searching or sorting the ATS results.
Many systems mainly store and organize applications so recruiters can search and filter them, and some employers add knockout questions or filters. Whether an ATS rejects anything automatically depends on how the employer configures it.
ATS-Friendly Formatting
Simple, clean layouts with standard fonts and clear sections parse most reliably.
Do:
- Use standard fonts such as Arial, Calibri or Helvetica. See our guide to the best resume fonts.
- Use standard section headers: Work Experience, Education, Skills, Summary.
- Include keywords that match the job description terminology naturally.
- Use DOCX or PDF, preferred by most systems.
- Use simple bullet points in a standard style.
- Include contact info: phone, email, LinkedIn and location.
Avoid:
- Graphics or images: an ATS cannot read visual elements.
- Complex tables and multi-column layouts: they can confuse parsing.
- Text boxes: content may be ignored or misplaced.
- Headers and footers: important details might be missed.
- Fancy fonts: script or decorative fonts can cause errors.
- Keyword stuffing: unnatural repetition hurts readability and can be flagged.
Recommended file formats
| Format | Notes |
|---|---|
| DOCX | Widely compatible with ATS systems |
| Preserves formatting and is widely accepted; use a text-based PDF, not a scan | |
| TXT | A fallback that loses all formatting |
Keyword Optimization
Include relevant terms from the job description naturally throughout your resume, in your experience bullets and in a dedicated skills section.
- Analyze job descriptions. Look for repeated skills, qualifications and industry terms, and focus on requirements that appear in several postings for your target role.
- Use exact phrases. Include both the abbreviation and the full term, such as "AI" and "Artificial Intelligence", because searches often match exact text.
- Integrate keywords naturally. Weave them into your achievements. Stuffing makes the resume harder to read.
- Give skills their own section. List the hard and soft skills the posting mentions, but only those you genuinely have. See our list of good skills for a resume.
Testing Your Resume
Test ATS compatibility before you apply.
- Use an ATS testing tool. Upload your resume to see how it is parsed.
- Do a copy-paste test. Copy the text from your PDF into a plain text editor and check that all of it copies cleanly and in the right order.
- Check keyword balance. Confirm you have included the important terms from the posting without repeating them unnaturally.
- Compare formats. Test your DOCX and PDF versions to see which parses better.
Written by the Woberry Editorial Team
We research each guide from primary sources where we can, name the source for every statistic we quote, and review, fact-check and edit every draft before it is published. We update a guide when the advice or the underlying data changes.
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