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Format

The ATS-friendly resume format

A short list of layout rules that survive every modern ATS — and the small list of choices that quietly tank your score.

The five rules

  1. Single column. Top to bottom. No two-column layouts, no sidebars, no wraparound text. Parsers read left-to-right per row and routinely scramble multi-column resumes.
  2. Standard section headings. "Summary," "Experience," "Skills," "Education," "Projects." Avoid clever titles like "What I've Done." Parsers look for the canonical names.
  3. Real text, not images. Export from Docs / Word / Pages so the text is selectable. Test it: open the PDF and try to highlight your name. If you can't, neither can the ATS.
  4. Bullets for achievements. Use real bullets (• or -), not custom Unicode glyphs or text inside graphics. Each bullet ~1–2 lines, starts with a verb, ends with a number where you can.
  5. Standard fonts at body size. Inter, Arial, Calibri, Helvetica. Body 11–12pt, headers 14–16pt. Skip ligatures and decorative typefaces.

What to avoid

  • Tables for layout (parser concatenates left-to-right per row, often wrong)
  • Headers / footers with critical info — many parsers ignore them
  • Text inside images, including infographics or "skill bars"
  • Color-as-information ("blue = strong, gray = weak") — ATS sees text only
  • Multi-page resumes for early-career roles (under 5 years experience)
  • Background images and text behind shapes

The skeleton that always works

If you want a "boring is best" template, this structure passes virtually every ATS:

  • Header line — Name, email, phone, city, LinkedIn URL.
  • Summary (3–4 lines) — role + years + domain + one quantified highlight.
  • Skills — comma-separated list, organized by category if you have many.
  • Experience — most recent first. Company, role, dates, 3–5 quantified bullets per role.
  • Education — degree, school, year. Add coursework only if early-career.
  • Projects / Certifications / Awards — only if directly relevant.

The fastest test

Open your PDF and copy-paste it into a plain text editor. If your resume comes through in the right order, with sections distinguishable by line breaks, an ATS will probably parse it fine. If it's garbled, columns are probably the culprit.

Want a numeric read instead? Run a free analysis — you'll see your formatting subscore and any specific notes (no contact email detected, no bullets detected, etc.).

FAQ

Common questions

PDF or DOCX — which is better?

Both work as long as they're text-based (not images). DOCX is sometimes safer for very old ATS systems; PDF is fine for everything modern. Avoid scanned PDFs at all costs.

Can I use a Canva or Figma template?

Most look beautiful and parse terribly because of multi-column or image-based layouts. If you do, export as plain PDF and run an ATS check before submitting — the score will tell you whether it survived parsing.

Do I need to use a specific font?

Use a common, well-known font: Inter, Arial, Calibri, Helvetica, Times New Roman. Body 11–12pt, headers 14–16pt. Decorative or licensed fonts may render incorrectly when re-rendered by some parsers.

Should I include a photo?

In the US, UK, and Canada — no. Most ATS systems strip images, and many recruiters are advised to skip resumes with photos to avoid bias claims. Some EU countries differ; check local norms.

Keep reading

Related articles

The ATS Guide

The pillar — what an ATS is, how scoring works, and how to pass it.

How an ATS works

What happens to your resume after you click Apply, end to end.

What is an ATS score?

Meaning, scale, and what counts as a good number.

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