What makes a resume ATS-friendly?
An ATS-friendly resume is one that parses cleanly into the structured fields an applicant tracking system expects. The content can be impressive, but if the formatting confuses the parser, it can come through garbled.
Do
- Use standard headings and a clear, mostly single-column layout
- Put contact details in the body, not in the header/footer image area
- Save as a text-based PDF or DOCX
- Mirror the job posting’s wording where it is genuinely true of you
Avoid
- Tables, text boxes, and multi-column blocks for critical content
- Important text inside images or icons
- Uncommon fonts or heavy graphics
Every ResumeCue template is designed to stay parseable, and exports to PDF or Word.