← Résumés, Interviews, and the Job Search
Lesson
Lesson 3: Tailoring to the job and ATS-friendly formatting
The learner tailors a résumé to a specific job using keywords and makes it readable for applicant tracking systems (ATS).
What an ATS is and why it matters
ATS: the system that reads your résumé before a recruiter does
An ATS (Applicant Tracking System) is software companies use to collect, store, and pre-screen résumés. The vast majority of large companies use an ATS: the system scans the document, extracts the text, and looks for keywords from the job description. If your résumé doesn't get through the filter, a recruiter simply won't see it.
To make sure an ATS can read your résumé, avoid: tables and columns (the system gets confused about text order), images and icons (the machine can't read them), headers and footers (they're often ignored), nonstandard section names (write “Work Experience,” not “My Journey”), and contact details only in the header (repeat them in the body of the document).
Tailoring to the job means: reread the job description, write down the keywords (skills, tools, terms) that repeat or are clearly important, and use those words in your résumé — in the context of your real experience. This isn't keyword stuffing (listing words for their own sake): the words should fit naturally into your descriptions of achievements and skills.
Lesson notes
ATS: the system that reads your résumé before a recruiter does
An ATS (Applicant Tracking System) is software companies use to collect, store, and pre-screen résumés. The vast majority of large companies use an ATS: the system scans the document, extracts the text, and looks for keywords from the job description. If your résumé doesn't get through the filter, a recruiter simply won't see it.
To make sure an ATS can read your résumé, avoid: tables and columns (the system gets confused about text order), images and icons (the machine can't read them), headers and footers (they're often ignored), nonstandard section names (write “Work Experience,” not “My Journey”), and contact details only in the header (repeat them in the body of the document).
Tailoring to the job means: reread the job description, write down the keywords (skills, tools, terms) that repeat or are clearly important, and use those words in your résumé — in the context of your real experience. This isn't keyword stuffing (listing words for their own sake): the words should fit naturally into your descriptions of achievements and skills.