How to Write an ATS-Friendly Resume: Step-by-Step Guide

Formatting rules for an ATS-friendly resume

Choose a simple layout with a clear reading order

A clean layout with headings, short paragraphs and bullet points is the safest choice for both people and software. Two-column designs don't always cause problems, but the information must exist as real text in a logical order. All Cvbuildly templates produce text-based PDFs.

Use standard section headings

Skip creative headings like "My Journey" or "What I've Done" and use standard ones: "Work Experience", "Education", "Skills", "Certifications", "Languages".

Don't hide information in tables, text boxes or images

Stars, bars or icons showing skill levels may look nice to a human reader, but the system can't read them. Always write the skill name as plain text too. Avoid putting contact details in the document header or footer; some systems skip those areas.

Readable fonts and consistent dates

Use a common, readable font at roughly 10 to 12 points. Pick one date format and give a start and end month and year for every position.

Keep bullet points simple

Standard round bullets or dashes are the safest choice. Special symbols, emoji and decorative icons can turn into garbled characters in some systems.

Name your file sensibly

Save your resume as "FirstName-LastName-Resume.pdf" rather than "resume.pdf" or "resume_final_v3.pdf". Recruiters download many files in a day, and a file with your name in it is easy to find again, both on their computer and in the attachment list of an ATS.

The plain-text test: check what the system will see

You can test your file yourself in under a minute:

1. Open the PDF you downloaded and select all the text (Ctrl+A, or Cmd+A on a Mac).
2. Paste it into a plain text editor such as Notepad, or TextEdit in plain-text mode.
3. Check the order: do your name, contact details, jobs and dates appear in a sensible sequence?
4. Check for gaps: is any section, date or skill missing?
5. Check the characters: do you see garbled symbols, broken accented letters or words run together?

If the pasted text reads cleanly, an ATS will most likely be able to extract it too. If it doesn't, simplify the layout (one column, no text boxes) and test again.

How to add keywords from the job posting

The most important part of ATS compatibility isn't formatting, it's content. When a recruiter searches for the skills in the posting, those skills need to appear in your resume.

1. Read the posting carefully. List the required qualifications, technical skills, tools, certifications and job titles.
2. Mark the ones you really have. Claiming a skill you don't have will come out in the interview.
3. Use the posting's exact wording. If it says "accounts payable", write "accounts payable", not "vendor payments". Writing an abbreviation together with the full term (for example, "key performance indicators (KPIs)") matches both searches.
4. Use keywords in context. Besides the skills section, use them in your bullet points: "Ran the month-end close in NetSuite."
5. Don't stuff keywords. Hidden white text or repeating the same word dozens of times will be noticed by the person reading your resume and costs you credibility.

Example: matching a posting to your resume

Say a "Staff Accountant" posting mentions: "general ledger", "month-end close", "account reconciliations", "QuickBooks", "advanced Excel" and "external audit support". Here's how those terms can show up in your resume:

In the posting	On your resume
General ledger	Title or summary: "Staff accountant maintaining the general ledger for…"
Month-end close	Bullet: "Completed the month-end close on schedule every month."
Account reconciliations	Both as a skill and in a bullet point
QuickBooks	In the skills section by name, not a generic phrase like "accounting software"
Advanced Excel	"Advanced Excel (pivot tables, XLOOKUP, macros)" – with evidence
External audit support	"Prepared supporting schedules for the annual external audit."

The goal isn't to copy the posting; it's to describe the experience you actually have in the employer's language.

Your job title is a keyword too

Recruiters often search by job title. If your current title is unusual (say, "Growth Hero"), add the common equivalent in parentheses: "Growth Hero (Digital Marketing Specialist)". Also make the target title at the top of your resume close to the title in the posting.

Online application forms and autofill

Many company career portals try to fill in the application form automatically after you upload your resume. If fields come out wrong, that's a sign the system struggled to parse your resume. Check and correct every field before submitting; recruiters often see exactly the fields you corrected. If there's a free-text box, pasting the TXT version of your resume is a practical way to share information without losing formatting.

Keep the form and your resume consistent: write job titles, employer names and dates the same way in both places.

Which file format should you use?

Unless the posting or form asks for a specific format, a text-based PDF is the safest choice in most cases: your layout is preserved and modern systems can read the text. Some employers specifically request Word (.docx); in that case, send what they ask for. Avoid scanned resumes and PDFs exported as images.

With Cvbuildly you can download your resume as a watermark-free PDF, a Word file or plain text (TXT). The TXT version is handy for "paste your resume" fields in application forms.

Keyword examples by field

This table gives a few examples of the kinds of terms that often appear in postings. The terms in your own posting always come first:

Field	Example keywords	Related example
Software	TypeScript, React, REST APIs, CI/CD, unit testing	Software engineer resume
Accounting	General ledger, reconciliations, accounts payable, GAAP, QuickBooks	Accountant resume
Sales	B2B sales, CRM, pipeline management, new business development	Sales representative resume
Healthcare	Critical care, ACLS, patient assessment, infection control	Nurse resume
Education	Classroom management, differentiated instruction, lesson planning	Teacher resume

Common ATS myths

• "Hiding keywords in white text works." Hidden text shows up as soon as your resume is viewed as plain text, and it damages trust.
• "PDFs can't be read." Text-based PDFs are read without trouble by most modern systems; problems usually come from scanned or image-only files.
• "A resume must be one page." Page count isn't decisive for an ATS; readability and relevance matter more. Two pages are normal for experienced candidates.
• "Designed resumes always get rejected." Visual elements aren't the problem; key information that exists only inside graphics is.
• "A high score guarantees an interview." No tool's score can predict a specific employer's decision. In the end, a person reads and evaluates your resume.

Step by step: build an ATS-friendly resume

1. Choose a simple template and keep the standard section headings.
2. Put your contact details in the main body, at the top.
3. Add your experience in reverse chronological order, with month and year dates.
4. List the requirements from the posting you're applying to.
5. Add the skills you really have, in the posting's wording, to your skills section and bullet points.
6. Update your summary for the posting's job title and its two or three most important requirements.
7. Save a text-based PDF and check it with the copy-and-paste test.
8. Run the ATS analysis to see missing keywords and add the ones you genuinely have.

Common mistakes on ATS resumes

• Showing skills only as charts, stars or progress bars.
• Putting key information (name, phone, email) in the page header or footer.
• Sending the same resume to every posting without changes.
• Using abbreviations without the full term, or only the full term.
• Naming the file "resume_final_v2.pdf"; "FirstName-LastName-Resume.pdf" looks more professional.
• Leaving out dates or mixing date formats.

Abbreviations and alternate spellings

The same skill can be searched in different ways: "HR" and "Human Resources", "MS Excel" and "Microsoft Excel", "JS" and "JavaScript". The first time a term appears, write it out in full along with the abbreviation if there is one, for example "customer relationship management (CRM)". That way you show up in either search.

Balancing the ATS and the human reader

ATS compatibility doesn't mean writing for a machine. The system makes you findable, but a person makes the decision. A resume stuffed with keywords but hard to read loses its impact the moment a recruiter opens it. The best results come from a resume that uses the posting's terms in natural sentences, with short bullets and concrete results. In short: write for people first, then check for the ATS.

A practical method: once your resume is done, wait a day, then put the posting and your resume side by side and mark where each requirement is answered. If there's a skill you really have but haven't mentioned, add it. Note the ones you don't have as topics you can discuss as areas you're eager to learn.

ATS resume checklist

Check	Why it matters
Standard section headings	The system sorts information into the right fields
Contact details in the main body	Not lost by systems that skip headers
Skills written as plain text	Graphics can't be read; text can be searched
Consistent dates (month/year)	Time in each role is calculated correctly
The posting's keywords appear	You show up in the recruiter's searches
Abbreviations alongside full terms	Matches both search styles
Text-based PDF or the requested format	Text can be extracted and the layout is kept
File named "FirstName-LastName-Resume"	Looks professional and is easy to find

How Cvbuildly's ATS analysis helps

The ATS analysis in the resume builder does two things. First, when you paste the text of the posting you're applying to, it compares the posting's keywords with your resume and shows which ones are missing, so you notice skills you have but forgot to mention. Second, it reviews your resume's overall structure (whether sections are filled in, bullet points, contact details and so on) and gives an overall ATS score.

The score is a guide. Every employer uses a different system with different settings, so no tool can guarantee the result at a specific company. Use the score to find gaps and tailor your resume to the posting. You can also get constructive feedback on your resume with the AI-powered resume critique.

Your summary is one of the best places for the posting's most important terms; our guide on writing a resume summary shows how to work them in naturally.

For the basics, see how to write a resume; to start from a ready-made structure, browse the resume templates. Ready? Build your ATS-friendly resume and analyze it against the posting.

Sources and further reading

Official and public resources you can use to go deeper:

• CareerOneStop: US Department of Labor career tools, including resume and job search guidance
• National Careers Service: CV sections: UK government advice on what to include in a CV
• Europass: European Union tools and guidance for CVs and cover letters
• ESCO: The European classification of occupations and skills, useful for finding standard job and skill terms