July 17, 2026
Making a resume ATS friendly isn't about gaming a system — it's about removing formatting choices that get in the way of the resume being read correctly, by software or by a person skimming it fast. Here's how to do it, in order.
Multi-column layouts, sidebars, and text boxes are the single most common cause of parsing failures. Rebuild your resume as one continuous column, top to bottom.
Avoid resume templates built in graphic design tools unless you've confirmed the export keeps a real text layer. Google Docs, Word, and most modern resume builders export ATS-readable PDFs by default.
Name, email, phone, and LinkedIn URL should be plain text at the top of the main document body — not inside a header/footer region, and not wrapped in icons that could interfere with parsing.
"Responsible for managing a team" is weak both for ATS keyword matching and for a human reader. "Managed a team of 6, reducing onboarding time by 30%" gives a parser and a recruiter something concrete to match against.
ATS systems and recruiters both look for specific skills and tools named in the job posting. If you have the experience, use the same terminology the posting uses. Don't invent skills you don't have just to pass a keyword filter — that fails the human interview stage instead.
After making changes, it helps to run the resume through an actual ATS-style parser rather than guessing. ATSBuddy scores your resume against these exact checks and tells you specifically what's still broken, plus AI feedback on the writing itself.