Resume Writing Tips: How to Beat ATS and Impress Hiring Managers
Most job seekers know what a CV is for. Far fewer know what it needs to do in 2024: it needs to pass through an Applicant Tracking System (ATS) before a human ever reads it, and then persuade a hiring manager who's skimming it in under a minute. These are two different challenges, and your CV needs to solve both.
This guide covers what ATS actually does to your CV, how to format and write your experience to pass both filters, and the specific mistakes that cause strong candidates to disappear before anyone sees them.
What Is an ATS and Why Does It Matter?
An Applicant Tracking System is software that companies use to collect, sort, and filter job applications before a human reviews them. When you apply online—through a company's careers page or a job board—your CV almost certainly goes through an ATS.
The ATS doesn't evaluate your ability or potential. It scans your CV for keywords, job titles, qualifications, and formatting that matches what the recruiter has specified. If your CV doesn't contain the right terms in a readable format, it gets filtered out before anyone sees it—regardless of how relevant your experience is.
This isn't a reason to panic. It is a reason to be deliberate about the words you use and the way you format your document.
Formatting Your CV for ATS Compatibility
File format
Submit your CV as a Word document (.docx) or a plain PDF unless the posting specifies otherwise. Avoid PDFs created from design tools like Canva or InDesign—they often produce files that ATS systems cannot parse correctly.
Layout
Use a clean, single-column layout. Two-column CVs, text boxes, graphics, icons, and fancy tables look impressive to humans but confuse most ATS software. The system reads content in order—if your layout creates a non-linear reading order, information gets misassigned or dropped.
Standard section headings
Use conventional section headings: Work Experience, Education, Skills, Certifications. Creative alternatives ("Where I've Worked," "What I Know") sometimes fail to parse correctly. Keep it standard.
Contact information
Put your name, email, phone number, and LinkedIn URL at the top of the document. Some ATS systems have trouble reading contact information placed in the header or footer of a Word document—put it in the body of the page.
Keyword Optimisation: Matching the Job Description
ATS systems are largely keyword-matching tools. They compare the terms in your CV against the terms the recruiter entered when setting up the job posting. The closer the match, the higher your ranking.
How to identify the right keywords
Read the job description carefully. Note the specific skills, tools, technologies, job titles, and qualifications mentioned—especially those that appear more than once or seem central to the role. These are the terms you need to include in your CV.
If the description says "Salesforce," your CV should say "Salesforce"—not "CRM platform" or "cloud-based sales tool," even if those descriptions are more accurate about your experience. Use the exact terminology.
Where to place keywords
Keywords carry more weight in certain locations:
- Your professional summary at the top of the CV
- Job titles and role descriptions
- A dedicated skills section
- Achievement bullets that describe what you did using industry-standard language
Don't keyword-stuff. A CV that lists every skill in the job description without evidence of using them will be filtered out at the human review stage even if it passes the ATS.
Writing Achievement-Focused Bullet Points
Once your CV passes the ATS, a human reviews it—and they're doing so quickly. The goal of each bullet point is to give a specific, credible account of what you accomplished, not what you were responsible for.
The formula that works
Strong bullet points follow a simple structure: Action verb + what you did + the measurable result.
Instead of: "Responsible for managing client accounts"
Try: "Managed a portfolio of 24 enterprise accounts, achieving a 92% renewal rate over two years"
Instead of: "Helped improve the onboarding process"
Try: "Redesigned the new employee onboarding programme, reducing time-to-productivity from six weeks to three"
Numbers and specificity
Hiring managers are trained to look for evidence of impact. Numbers—percentages, revenue figures, team sizes, timeframes, volumes—make your achievements credible and comparable. If you don't have exact figures, use honest approximations: "around 30%," "approximately 15 clients." Precision matters, but so does inclusion—a vague achievement beats no achievement.
The Professional Summary: First and Most Important
A professional summary (sometimes called a profile or personal statement) sits at the top of your CV and is typically the first thing a recruiter reads if they open your CV at all. Three to five sentences, in the first person, covering:
- Your current level and specialism ("Senior UX designer with eight years' experience in fintech…")
- Your core strengths in terms of the value you offer
- A signal of what you're looking for next
Include your most important keywords here—this section carries significant weight in ATS matching.
Tailoring Your CV for Each Application
A single generic CV is a liability in a competitive market. Tailoring doesn't mean rewriting from scratch every time—it means adjusting your professional summary, updating which achievements you lead with, and ensuring the keywords from that specific job description appear naturally in your document.
Spending twenty minutes tailoring a strong base CV for a specific role dramatically improves both your ATS score and the impression you make on a human reviewer. When you're building a pipeline of roles to tailor for, job listing platforms like AllJobBoard can help you identify target roles efficiently.
Common CV Mistakes That Hurt Your Chances
Using a table or text box structure. These often fail in ATS parsing. Use plain text formatting instead.
Writing in the third person. "John is an experienced project manager…" reads as awkward and dated. First-person or entirely omitted pronouns are both fine.
Using images or graphics. Photos, charts, icons, and logos in a CV create parsing problems and are rarely appropriate in professional contexts outside of design portfolios.
Leaving gaps unexplained. Employment gaps have become much less stigmatised than they once were, but unexplained gaps invite questions. A brief note ("Career break: full-time caring responsibilities, 2021–2022") is better than silence.
Using a generic objective statement. "Looking for a challenging role in a dynamic environment" says nothing that every other candidate isn't also saying. Replace it with a specific professional summary.
Frequently Asked Questions
How long should a CV be?
Two pages is the standard for most professional roles. One page is appropriate for recent graduates or candidates with less than two years' experience. Senior executives with twenty or more years of relevant experience may justify three pages, but only if each page earns its place. Length should be driven by relevance, not volume.
Should I include a photo on my CV?
In the UK, North America, and Australia, photos are generally not included and can inadvertently introduce bias into the screening process. In some European countries and in certain sectors, they are more common. Follow the convention for your target market.
How far back should my work history go?
Focus on the last ten to fifteen years of experience in full detail. Earlier roles can be listed briefly (title, employer, years) or omitted entirely if they're not relevant. The exception is if an earlier role is directly relevant to the job you're applying for—in that case, give it appropriate space.
Can I include volunteer work on my CV?
Yes, particularly if it involved skills relevant to the role or if there are gaps in your paid work history. Keep it brief and treat it the same way as paid experience—lead with what you did and what impact it had.
Should I list all my skills, including basic ones?
No. Listing "Microsoft Word" or "email" in a skills section actively undermines the credibility of that section. Include skills that are genuinely relevant to the roles you're targeting and that you'd be comfortable being tested on in an interview. Remove everything else.
This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute professional career advice. Occupational data sourced from O*NET and the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.