With the economy tightening and employers becoming increasingly picky about the qualifications they’re seeking, you might find that your applications aren’t bearing as much fruit as usual. As a result, you can’t shake the sense that you must be “doing something wrong” and tend to question whether you’ve set up your resume in the most effective way.
In light of this reality, you might turn to the web for guidance, quickly finding that the bulk of resume advice out there these days centers around making sure one’s document is compatible with the Applicant Tracking System (ATS) technology used by recruiters. While this concept might sound a bit fancy and intimidating, it’s nothing new. It simply reflects that for the past 30 years or so, most employers have either invested in a tool to help them screen, sort and manage all of the job applications they receive — or they advertise their roles on websites such as LinkedIn, Indeed, ZipRecruiter and the like that have ATS capabilities built into their portal.
Given the constant confusion about ATS technology, however, let’s walk through how these systems operate and let me share some tips I frequently pass along to clients as a career coach on how to make sure your resume fits the bill.
1. Don’t Fall Prey to Scams and Fearmongering
As much as I hate to say it, the resume industry is completely unregulated. Many unscrupulous companies have awoken to the fact that they can make millions of dollars by preying upon the fears and insecurities of job seekers. As a result, there are now tons of firms online that claim to possess “the secret” to the perfect resume. These folks often invite you to send your resume to their “expert team” for a free review — particularly regarding ATS compatibility, which they know is a mysterious, hot-button subject among many people looking for work.
No matter how good your current resume might be, the purveyors on these sites will do whatever they can to convince you that you’ve gone about it all the wrong way and will never work again without paying for outside help. While I can’t say that every resume website out there is a racket or that some of the advice such sites promote isn’t valid, you should always be asking, “What’s the catch?” and whether the company in question has an ulterior profit motive that’s coloring their feedback.
2. Use AI to Conduct Your Own ATS Resume Analysis for Free
Piggybacking on the above advice, I’d also stress that another key development in ATS compatibility is that today’s AI tools can quickly help optimize your resume for scanning systems at no charge. In fact, if you visit any of the top three AI tools (ChatGPT, Google Gemini and Microsoft Co-Pilot) and prompt it with the phrase “analyze the following resume for ATS compatibility” — then paste your resume text after the prompt — you’ll get a detailed report of how your document stacks up, ATS-wise, and specific recommendations for improvement.
Honestly, it’s quite an impressive process. I find ChatGPT delivers the most detailed feedback, and it even gives you a ranking out of a 10-point scale of how your current resume measures up. However, Microsoft Co-Pilot also does a decent job and breaks down the feedback into a more straightforward, easier-to-follow list. So, pick your poison. But with this free AI-driven functionality at our fingertips, there’s even less reason to pay for a service or subscribe to a tool for help with ATS compatibility alone.
3. Keep Your Resume Simple and Easy to Scan
Despite people’s attempts to complicate or make ATS seem scary, it’s important to recognize that these systems are not a particularly new or complex phenomenon — nor something you can’t quickly master and figure out yourself.
First, if possible, you want to avoid graphics, tables, columns and text boxes, keeping your document to a simple, straightforward 1–2-page format without any frills. I’d also recommend that you forego putting any essential information in your document’s header and footer areas since some ATS applications can’t read the text contained in these sections.
Second, if you really must use some beautiful, multi-column template you found on Etsy or Canva, consider creating an alternate text-only version for use with online applications. That way, you’ll have a “pretty” version of your document for human audiences and another non-formatted version you use when a computer scanner is likely in play. How does one put together a text-only resume? It’s pretty easy and you can use this detailed tutorial from Indeed.com to guide you through the process.
Lastly, in terms of ATS-friendly formatting, it’s essential not get too creative with the names of your resume section headers. Scanning software looks for standard names like “Employment History,” “Professional Experience,” “Key Qualifications,” “Education” and the like. So, if you start certain sections with language like “All About Me,” “Where I Shine” or “Recent Work Chronology” there’s a good chance the ATS won’t recognize what you’re talking about.
4. Keywords and Context Matter
As for the type of content to include on your resume, the key is to study the typical job descriptions you’re targeting and ensure your document contains as many relevant terms as possible — and that you’re using the most common wording for such skills. For example, if an employer programs an ATS system to look for the phrase “project management,” you need to have that exact phrase listed somewhere. “Project leadership,” “project coordination” and “project planning” wouldn’t count as acceptable substitutes.
Additionally, certain ATS systems can also analyze the context of your resume content, giving more credit to certain keywords that appear next to other relevant terms — or when the word in question is part of a complete sentence instead of just a simple list. So, make sure the bullets under each of your job descriptions are chock full of suitable language, as well.
Finally, if you think you’re going to trick ATS software by putting a ton of words in tiny white text somewhere on the document (strategy folks in the career space have debated for 20+ years!), trust me, it’s not going to work. Not only do you bypass the key step of allowing a human recruiter to see all these important terms, but the ATS is going to turn the text into black type in their system once they scan it. The jig will be up, and the recruiter will instantly spot that you’re trying to pull a fast one, ruining your credibility.
5. Don’t Lose Sight of the “Facts” of Your Background are the #1 Hiring Factor
At the risk of sounding like a broken record (at least if you’ve read some of my prior articles), although resume keywords and ATS compatibility matter, they are not the end-all-and-be-all in resume success. Don’t think that ATS systems are the “boogeyman” behind every rejection you receive because, in my experience, this is not likely the case.
When it comes to getting in front of a human, your background matters more than anything else. Where have you worked? What titles have you held, in what industries and for how long? And what educational credentials do you possess? While job seekers often overlook these factors, they are undeniably the most common reasons a resume submission doesn’t lead to an interview.
For the best results, focus as much as possible on applying to opportunities in your sweet spot based on your work history and industry background, and leveraging networking referrals as much as possible to try and gain extra consideration.