Many employers use an applicant tracking system, or ATS, to sort applications before a recruiter reads them. A strong candidate can be filtered out simply because the file is hard for the software to read. Use this checklist before every application.
Layout and file
- Use a clean one-column layout. Tables, text boxes and multiple columns often confuse parsers.
- Use standard section titles: Summary, Experience, Education, Skills.
- Put your contact details in the body of the page, not in the header or footer.
- Use common fonts and save as Word or PDF, as the job post requests.
Content
- Copy the exact skill names from the job description when they genuinely match your experience.
- Start each bullet with an action verb: led, built, reduced, delivered.
- Add numbers where you can: team size, budget, time saved, growth.
- Keep it to one or two pages, with the most recent role first.
Before you send
- Name the file clearly, for example FirstName-LastName-Resume.pdf.
- Tailor the summary and top skills to each job. A general resume sent everywhere performs poorly.
Start from a structured template
Our ATS-Friendly Professional Resume Template follows these rules and is fully editable in PowerPoint. If you want more choice, the Professional Resume Bundle includes 11 templates plus a collection of 40 designs in English and Arabic.