ATS-Friendly Resume Format: What to Use and What to Avoid
An ATS-friendly resume is one that software can turn into clean text with the right sections. It does not have to look plain. It just has to keep its words in a simple, readable structure.
Layout
- One column, read top to bottom.
- No tables or text boxes for content.
- Contact details in the body of the page, not in the header or footer.
- Simple bullets: round dots or dashes, not icons or emoji.
Section names
Parsers look for common headings to decide where things go. Use plain names such as Summary, Experience, Education, Skills, Projects and Certifications.
Creative headings like "My journey" or "Where I have been" can leave a section unlabelled, which means your experience may not be read as experience.
Fonts and styling
Any standard font is fine: Calibri, Arial, Georgia, Garamond and similar. Keep body text around 10 to 12 point.
Bold and colour are fine for headings. Avoid putting important words in images, logos or skill bars, because software cannot read a bar that is "80% full".
Dates and job titles
Write each job the same way: title, company, location, then dates such as "Jan 2023 to Present" or "01/2023 to 03/2025". Consistent dates help the system work out your years of experience.
Use the title people recognise. If your official title was "Associate II", consider "Software Engineer (Associate II)" so it matches what recruiters search for.
Keywords
Recruiters search ATS databases for skills and titles from the job description. If the posting says "stakeholder management" and your resume says "worked with different teams", a search may miss you.
Use the posting's exact wording where it is true for you, in your skills section and in the bullets that prove it. Do not paste keywords in white text or stuff them in a hidden list. Recruiters see the parsed text.
File type
A text-based PDF or a .docx file both work in most modern systems. Send what the posting asks for. Avoid scanned images and image-only exports.
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Are two-column resumes ATS friendly?
Often not. Many parsers read across the page line by line, which mixes the two columns together. A single column is the safe choice.
Can I use colour on an ATS resume?
Yes. Colour on headings or your name does not affect parsing. Just keep the text itself as real text.
Do ATS read headers and footers?
Some do and some skip them. Keep your name, phone and email in the main body to be safe.