How to Pass ATS Screening and Get Your Resume to a Human

About 75% of resumes never reach a human. They get filtered out by applicant tracking systems before anyone even opens them. If youre applying to jobs online and hearing nothing back, this is probably why.

An ATS scans your resume for keywords, formatting, and structure. It scores you against the job description. If you dont hit a certain threshold, your application gets buried. Its not personal. Its software doing what it was told.

Use the exact keywords from the job posting

This is the most important thing you can do. If the posting says "project management" and your resume says "managing projects," the ATS might not make the connection. Read the job description carefully and mirror the language. If they say "cross-functional collaboration," use that exact phrase somewhere in your resume. Dont paraphrase when the system is looking for matches.

Stick with a simple, single-column format

Two-column layouts, tables, text boxes, and graphics look nice but ATS parsers cant read them reliably. Use a clean single-column layout with standard section headers like "Experience," "Education," and "Skills." Fancy designs are for portfolios, not applications going through automated screening. We covered this in more detail in our post on common resume mistakes.

Submit as a .docx or plain PDF

Some older ATS platforms struggle with PDFs that were exported from design tools like Canva or Figma. A Word doc (.docx) is the safest bet. If you prefer PDF, make sure the text is selectable, not embedded as an image.

Dont stuff keywords

Some people try hiding white text full of keywords at the bottom of their resume. ATS platforms have caught on to this. Modern systems flag keyword stuffing, and if a human does see your resume, hidden text looks shady. Use keywords naturally in your bullet points and summary. Thats it.

Match your job titles when you can

If your actual title was "Client Success Specialist" but the job posting is for a "Customer Success Manager," consider listing both. Something like "Client Success Specialist (Customer Success Manager)" helps the ATS connect the dots without being dishonest. For more on how to frame your experience, check out writing a professional summary that gets read.

Include a skills section

A dedicated skills section gives the ATS a clean list of keywords to scan. Include both hard skills (Python, Salesforce, Google Analytics) and soft skills (team leadership, stakeholder communication). Keep it relevant to the job. Ten to fifteen skills is the sweet spot.

Tailor every application

Sending the same resume to 50 jobs is the fastest way to get filtered out 50 times. Each posting has different keywords and priorities. Even small adjustments to your summary and skills section can make the difference between getting screened out and landing an interview. If tailoring every resume sounds exhausting, the right keywords can help you figure out what to change first.