How to Get Your CV Past the ATS

What an ATS actually does

An Applicant Tracking System (ATS) is the software employers use to receive and manage job applications — Workday, Greenhouse, Lever, Taleo, iCIMS and dozens more. When you apply online, your CV almost always passes through one first. The ATS parses your document into structured fields (name, work history, skills, dates), then recruiters search and filter that database by keyword and criteria.

Two things get a CV rejected at this stage: the parser can't read it cleanly, so your experience lands in the wrong fields or disappears; or it reads fine but doesn't match what the recruiter searches for. Fixing both is mostly about formatting and keywords, not writing talent.

Formatting rules that keep you parseable

• Use a single-column layout. Multi-column designs are the number-one cause of scrambled parsing — the ATS reads left-to-right across both columns and mixes everything up.
• Stick to standard section headings: “Work Experience”, “Education”, “Skills”. Creative labels like “Where I've Made an Impact” confuse the parser.
• Use a common font (Arial, Calibri, Georgia, Helvetica) at 10–12pt. Decorative fonts can be misread.
• Keep all important information as real, selectable text. Never place your name, contact details, or skills inside a logo, icon, or image — the ATS sees nothing there.
• Avoid tables and text boxes for content that matters; many parsers drop or jumble them.
• Don't put contact details in the header/footer region — some systems ignore it entirely.
• Export a text-based PDF (one generated from a document, not a photo or scan). A clean PDF or .docx both parse well; a scanned image does not.

Keywords: match the job description

Recruiters search the ATS database using terms from the job description. If the posting asks for “project management” and “SQL”, those exact phrases should appear naturally in your CV — in your experience bullets and a skills section. Use the wording the employer uses, including both the spelled-out term and its acronym the first time (e.g. “Search Engine Optimization (SEO)”), so you match either search.

Don't keyword-stuff or hide white text — modern systems flag it and recruiters see through it. Aim for the genuine skills and tools the role names, expressed in your real experience.

Common ATS-killers to remove

• Columns and sidebars holding skills or contact info.
• Icons or images standing in for text (phone, email, skill bars).
• Tables used to lay out experience or skills.
• Non-standard or missing section headings.
• Dates in inconsistent formats — pick one (e.g. “Jan 2022 – Mar 2024”) and keep it.
• Special characters and symbols used as bullets; use a plain bullet.