Resume Tips

10 ATS Resume Tips to Get Past the Filter in 2026

Most resumes are rejected before a human ever reads them. These ten tips will help your resume pass ATS screening and land in front of real recruiters.

Mirror the job description's exact language

ATS systems match keywords literally. If the job says "project management" and you wrote "managing projects," it might not count. Copy the exact phrases from the posting and use them naturally in your resume.

Use a single-column layout

Two-column resumes look great to humans but often break ATS parsing. The system reads left-to-right across the page, mixing up your job titles with your skills. Single column, always.

Add metrics to every bullet point

Numbers are parsed and weighted heavily by ATS systems and impress human reviewers too. Every bullet should answer "how much?" or "how many?" Even estimates with "(est.)" are better than no number.

Use standard section headings

Stick to "Work Experience," "Education," "Skills," and "Summary." Creative headings like "My Story" or "Where I've Been" confuse ATS parsers and your content may be missed entirely.

Put contact info in the body, not a header

Many ATS systems skip content inside header and footer sections of Word documents and PDFs. Your name, email, phone, and LinkedIn should be in the main body of the document.

Include both acronyms and full terms

Write "Search Engine Optimization (SEO)" once so both the acronym and the full term are searchable. Some ATS systems search for one but not the other.

Use a standard, ATS-safe font

Calibri, Arial, Georgia, and Times New Roman all parse reliably. Decorative fonts can cause character recognition errors in ATS parsing engines.

Tailor your resume for every application

A generic resume performs poorly across all job postings. A resume tailored to a specific job posting performs well for that posting. The extra 10 minutes per application compounds significantly over a job search.

Include a skills section

A dedicated skills section helps ATS systems quickly identify your technical competencies. List the exact tools, technologies, and methodologies from the job posting that you genuinely have experience with.

Test before you submit

Use a free ATS checker to see your score before sending. Knowing which keywords are missing and which bullets need metrics lets you fix the specific issues rather than guessing.

Before and after example

✕ Weak bullet

Responsible for managing a team and overseeing product development

Helped with sales and customer relationships

Worked on improving the codebase

✓ ATS-optimized bullet

Led a team of 7 engineers to ship 4 product features, reducing time-to-deploy by 35%

Grew enterprise accounts by $1.2M ARR through consultative sales process

Refactored legacy API layer, reducing average response time from 800ms to 210ms

Let AI tailor your resume automatically

Shortlisted rewrites your resume for each job posting — matching keywords, adding metrics, and preserving your voice. First application is free.

Try it free →