An ATS, or applicant tracking system, is software many companies use to receive job applications, sort them and search them by keyword. To get through it, use the ad's own words, simple formatting with standard headings, and a file the system can read easily.
Step by step
- 1
Use the ad's words
The job title, skills and tools exactly as the ad states them, in your summary and experience, as long as they are true of you.
- 2
Standard section headings
Experience, Education and Skills, instead of creative headings the system may not recognize.
- 3
Simple formatting
One column, no tables, images or text inside shapes, and no important details in the page header or footer.
- 4
The right file
Submit the format the ad asks for. If it does not say, use a Word file or a text-based PDF, not a scanned image.
- 5
Test your CV yourself
Copy the text of the file and paste it into a blank document. If it comes out in order and readable, the system will most likely read it too.
Stuffing your CV with keywords that do not describe you may get past the system, but it shows the moment a recruiter reads it or asks the first question in the interview.
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