ATS Resume Tips

OR OmniResume Applicant Tracking Systems Nine quick habits that keep your resume readable to both software and humans.

Use a single-column layout

01 Multi-column resumes confuse parsers. Text from sidebars and columns gets merged out of order.

Skip tables and text boxes

02 Important content inside tables or text boxes is often ignored entirely by ATS.

Use standard section headings

03 Work Experience Education Skills Certifications 04 Photos and images trigger parse failures in most systems. Keep your resume text-based and clean. 05 Never submit a scan or image. Test it by selecting text — if you can't, neither can the ATS. 06 Recruiters search ATS databases with the same terms used in the posting. Use those exact terms naturally. 07 "Search Engine Optimization (SEO)" covers every search variation — a small line, but it matters. 08 Copy all text from your resume PDF into a plain text editor. If it reads cleanly in the right order, you're good. OR OmniResume Fifty dedicated ATS templates built for clean parsing. Free to use. Browse ATS Templates

No photos, no graphics

04 Photos and images trigger parse failures in most systems. Keep your resume text-based and clean.

Save as a text-based PDF

05 Never submit a scan or image. Test it by selecting text — if you can't, neither can the ATS.

Mirror keywords from the job posting

06 Recruiters search ATS databases with the same terms used in the posting. Use those exact terms naturally.

Include both the acronym and full form

07 "Search Engine Optimization (SEO)" covers every search variation — a small line, but it matters.

Test by copy-pasting

08 Copy all text from your resume PDF into a plain text editor. If it reads cleanly in the right order, you're good.

Want ATS-ready templates?

OR OmniResume Fifty dedicated ATS templates built for clean parsing. Free to use. Browse ATS Templates