Creating an ATS-Optimized Resume

If you’re applying for an internship or professional role in today’s job market, odds are your application is first going through an applicant tracking system. An applicant tracking system (ATS) is software that companies use to collect and parse resumes, then filter candidates based on the job description. ATS is oftentimes viewed as the “gatekeeper,” since the program will likely see your resume before a human does. Here are some tips for understanding ATS and optimizing your resume to satisfy what the program is looking for. 

ATS Overview

ATS is widely used by companies in all corners of the job market. One study found that approximately 97 percent of Fortune 500 companies utilize ATS in their hiring process. These programs have become mainstream because of how they streamline the hiring process. Research shows that just one corporate job posting can receive approximately 250 applications on average. That’s a lot of applications for a hiring manager to navigate, so ATS helps by doing some of the initial work for them. 

There are a few common platforms that companies use for ATS, such as Workday and Greenhouse. Each ATS platform works a little differently, but all of them have two main functions: parsing and filtering resumes. Parsing is when the program pulls text from your resume into structured fields, such as education, job titles, dates, etc. Once a resume has been parsed and turned into data, it’s ready for filtering. This is where hiring managers can filter through the resume database to find those that match their filters, such as skills, major, graduation year, etc. Both of these steps help the hiring team find the applicants that best match the job description, and weed out those that don’t meet the requirements. These two steps are what candidates need to consider the most when creating an ATS-optimized resume. 

Formatting

Proper formatting is important so that all of the text can be properly parsed by the ATS. While incorrect formatting doesn’t necessarily lead to an auto-rejection, it doesn’t help you get to the top of the pile. Here are some of the top formatting do’s and don'ts:

Do: Your resume should have a single column layout. This makes it easy for the program to read the resume top to bottom and left to right. Multiple columns can become an issue during parsing. Your resume should also have a common, easy-to-read font, such as Calibri or Times New Roman. Keep the formatting throughout your resume consistent, with each job entry structured the same way. If the job description provides instructions for what kind of file to upload your resume as, listen to those instructions. Using a different file type might mean the software can’t properly read your resume. 

Don’t: Avoid creative section names. You should stick to headings like Experience, Education, Skills, and Certifications. Using alternative names might mean the parsing software can’t find the data it’s looking for. Applicants should also avoid creative bullet point types. While a flower bullet point may be more aesthetically pleasing, ATS won’t be able to read your data correctly. Similarly, don’t include any graphics, images, or logos. ATS is only looking for the text data, so including anything other than text will only get in the way and potentially mess up the parsing. Keep it simple and don’t waste your time with complex formatting.

Filtering and Matching 

Now that the software has turned your resume into data points, the hiring manager will filter through the applications with elements from the job description. These filters will most likely be searching for skills, degree, years of experience, job titles, and certifications. 

This is where keywords come into play. In order for your application to appear in the filtered search, it needs to match what is being searched from the job description. If your application isn’t included in the filtered search, this doesn’t mean you’ll be rejected, but your application won’t appear in the search. When creating your resume, include the exact same language that is included in the job posting. If you allude to the same concept but don’t use the exact language, your application could be overlooked. It’s also important to use full terms along with acronyms. For example, let’s say the hiring team is searching for experience with content management systems. If you only include the acronym CMS, the filter might not pick it up. Using both the full term and the abbreviation ensures it will be noticed in whatever way the filter is searching for it.

Keywords should be incorporated in the experience section and not just the skills section. While you definitely should list your expertise within the skills section, this bulleted list doesn’t prove much. Incorporating your hard skills into your past experience helps to show exactly how you utilized the skills in the past. With skills-based hiring on the rise, it’s important to have evidence of your skills, not just a bulleted list. Including your hard skills in your experience section can also help point to how recently you’ve utilized your skills. Experience in data analytics is one thing, but using those skills in your current role can carry more weight compared to if you haven’t used that skill in a year or two. 

Having the keywords in multiple places ensures your application appears in the search results, no matter how exactly that keyword is being searched for. Once your application appears, the experience section is used to give your claims more credibility. 

Whether or not your resume is optimized for ATS isn’t the make-or-break of your hiring journey, but getting to the top of the results will increase your chances of moving on to the next step.