RiseRoleATS friendly resume: a format that gets read
How to make an ATS friendly resume: a simple one-column layout, standard headings, the right file type and the words from the job description.
What an ATS does
An applicant tracking system, or ATS, is software that employers use to collect and sort job applications. When you apply on a company site or a job portal, your resume usually lands in one. The system reads the file, pulls out your details and stores them so a recruiter can search and filter.
So your resume has two readers. First the software, which needs clean text it can read. Then a person, who needs to find the right facts fast. A good format works for both. There is no trick and no secret code. A resume that software reads well is simply a plain, clear document.
Use a simple layout
Use one column that reads from top to bottom. Two columns, tables and text boxes can be read in the wrong order, so your job titles and dates may end up mixed together.
Use the section names everyone uses: Summary, Experience, Education, Skills and Projects. Software looks for these words. A clever heading such as “My journey” can hide the section.
Keep your name, phone number and email in the main body of the page, not in the header or footer. Leave out photos, icons, logos and bar charts for skill levels. Pick one common font and one date style, and use them all the way through.
Pick the right file type
Follow the job ad first. If it asks for a Word file, send a Word file. If it says nothing, a text-based PDF or a Word file is a safe choice. Do not send a scanned page or a design export where the text cannot be selected.
Here is a quick test. Open your resume, select all the text, copy it and paste it into a plain text editor. If the words come out in the right order, software can read them too. If they come out jumbled or missing, fix the layout before you apply.
Use the words from the job description
Recruiters search and filter by the terms in the job description. Read it and mark the skills, tools and duties it names. Where you truly have them, use the same words on your resume. If the job says “inventory management” and you wrote “handled stock”, change your wording so the match is clear.
Write the full term and the short form once, for example “search engine optimisation (SEO)”. Put the most important terms in your experience bullets, not only in a skills list, so a reader can see where you used them.
Do not copy the job description into your resume, and do not add a skill you cannot talk about. A keyword you cannot back up will fail you in the interview.
Write bullets a person can scan
Once software has stored your resume, a person reads it, often quickly. Start each bullet with what you did, then say what came of it. “Answered 40 customer emails a day and cut the reply time from two days to one” says more than “responsible for customer emails”.
Use numbers you can defend. Keep each bullet to one or two lines. Put the bullets that fit this job at the top of each role.
If you are a fresher
You can still write a strong resume without work experience. Lead with your education, then projects, internships and training. For each project, say what the goal was, what you built or did, which tools you used and what the result was.
Add part-time work, college clubs and volunteering if they show a skill the job asks for. One page is enough. Leave out your full address, your date of birth and a long list of hobbies unless the job ad asks for them.
A quick check before you send
Check five things. The layout is one column with standard headings. The text copies out cleanly. The top third of the page fits this job. The key terms from the job description are there, and every one is true. The file name is clear, such as your name and the role.
RiseRole does this for one job at a time. It tailors your resume to the job description using only your own facts, shows what the job asks for that your resume has not shown yet, and gives you a clean PDF and Word file, from $1.