Parse the document
The ATS extracts text from your resume file. Standard PDF and DOCX formats parse reliably. Tables, text boxes, headers and footers, and graphics-heavy layouts can cause content to be extracted out of order or dropped entirely.
GUIDEHow applicant tracking systems work
How Applicant Tracking Systems (ATS) Work — And How to Format a Resume They Can Read
Most hiring teams use software to collect and sort applications before anyone reads a resume. Here is what that software does, what it looks for, and how to make your resume work with it.
ATS basics
What is an ATS?
An Applicant Tracking System (ATS) is software that hiring teams use to receive, organise, and search job applications. When a company posts a role, every application goes into the ATS first — not directly to a recruiter's inbox. The system stores resumes, allows the team to add notes, assign statuses, and search the applicant pool by keyword.
ATS software is not one universal robot that accepts or rejects candidates automatically. Each employer configures their own screening workflows. What is consistent across systems is that resumes need to be readable by software and clearly aligned with the language in the job description.
98%
of Fortune 500 companies use applicant tracking systems to collect and screen résumés before a recruiter reviews them
Jobscan Fortune 500 ATS report
99.7%
of recruiters use keyword filters in their ATS to sort and prioritise applicants, according to Jobscan's State of the Job Search 2025
Jobscan State of the Job Search 2025
How ATS software scans a resume
How ATS Software Scans a Resume
When your application arrives, the ATS processes it in a predictable sequence. Understanding that sequence tells you where formatting problems cause information to be missed.
Identify sections
The system looks for recognisable section labels — Work Experience, Education, Skills — to sort your content into the right buckets. Non-standard headings like "Where I've Been" or "What I Know" may not be recognised and the content beneath them can be misclassified.
Index keywords
Once parsed, the ATS indexes the text so recruiters can search it. A recruiter searching for "project management" will find candidates whose resumes contain that phrase. If your resume uses "managed projects" but the JD says "project management," the match may not register.
Surface to recruiters
Recruiters then search, filter, and rank the candidate pool. Some teams also use automated scoring to surface the closest matches first. Either way, a resume that parsed cleanly and uses the job description's language is easier to find.
What ATS systems look for
What ATS Systems Look For
Recruiters search and filter in three broad areas. Getting all three right is more reliable than optimising one at the expense of the others.
KeywordsRole-specific terms from the job description: skills, tools, job titles, and responsibilities. Applyvo's ATS report checks which terms from the JD appear in your resume, which are partially covered, and which are missing.
FormattingClean structure that software can parse without errors: standard section headings, readable fonts, and no content hidden in tables, text boxes, or image layers.
Section coverageRecognised sections — Work Experience, Education, Skills — that allow the ATS to slot your content into the right fields and make it searchable by recruiters using standard filters.
How to optimise your resume for ATS
How to Optimize Your Resume for ATS
There is no single trick. A resume that works well with ATS software is also easier for a human recruiter to read quickly. These five practices address the most common parsing and relevance problems.
- ✓Use the job description's exact phrasing for skills and tools, not synonyms you prefer
- ✓Label sections with standard headings: Work Experience, Education, Skills, Summary
- ✓Avoid tables, multi-column layouts, text boxes, headers, and footers — they break most parsers
- ✓Submit a clean PDF or DOCX — avoid image-based PDFs scanned from paper
- ✓Tailor each application: copy the target role title and key responsibilities into your resume where you genuinely have that experience
See how your resume compares with the job description
Applyvo's ATS report checks keyword coverage, section structure, and formatting signals for the specific role you're applying to. Free to use.
FAQ
Common questions about how ATS works
Does ATS software automatically reject resumes?
Most ATS systems do not automatically reject resumes — they organise and rank them so recruiters can review the closest matches first. Whether a resume gets read depends on how well it surfaces in search and filter results, not on a binary pass/fail gate. That said, a resume that fails to parse correctly or contains none of the role's key terms is unlikely to appear at the top of a recruiter's search.
What is an ATS resume?
An ATS resume is a resume formatted so that applicant tracking software can parse it cleanly and index the right content. In practice this means using standard section headings, avoiding complex layouts, and including the role-specific keywords from the job description you are applying to.
Do I need a different resume for every job application?
Not a completely different resume — but each application benefits from a tailored version. The most effective approach is to keep a strong base resume and adjust the summary, skills section, and relevant bullet points to reflect the language in each job description. Applyvo's keyword gap report shows exactly which terms to add and where.
What resume format is best for ATS?
A single-column, reverse-chronological PDF or DOCX with standard section labels (Work Experience, Education, Skills) parses most reliably across ATS platforms. Avoid multi-column layouts, infographic elements, tables for content, and text embedded in images.
How does Applyvo's ATS check differ from the ATS itself?
Applyvo is not a live connection to any employer's ATS. It is a comparison tool: you upload your resume and paste a job description, and Applyvo produces a report on keyword coverage, skills match, and formatting signals for that specific pairing. Use it as a preparation checklist before you apply, not as a prediction of any employer's screening result.