ATS-Friendly Resume: The Ultimate Guide for Beginners [2025] | Placed Blog
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How to Make an ATS-Friendly Resume [A Complete 2025 Guide]
Step-by-step tips to create resumes that pass Applicant Tracking Systems and get noticed by recruiters.
RU
Rakib Uddin
Published 18 September, 2025
Table of Contents
A company receives hundreds of applications for every opening, and manually checking to find the perfect one is really tough.
That's why they are using a software called Applicant Tracking Systems (ATS).
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It's the gatekeeper of most job applications today. And if your resume doesn't match their criteria, it won't even make it to the recruiter's desk.
So, having a traditional resume or the right skills isn't enough anymore. You need to make sure your resume is formatted in a way that the system can understand and approve.
In this blog, we'll walk you through how to make ATS friendly resume that passes the scan and reaches real human eyes.
Let’s get started!
Step 1: Research your Profession Online
Before you craft a single line of your resume, take time to do some research on your profession online.
This isn’t just about gathering information; it’s about decoding the language of your industry so your resume can pass through ATS and land in front of human eyes.
This simple industry-specific research will help you understand:
What skills and qualifications are in demand
Industry-specific keywords and phrases
The market value of your position
What top companies expect from candidates
Now the question is- how do you begin this research? Here’s how to do it-
Start by Exploring Job Boards
Start with popular job platforms like LinkedIn, Glassdoor, Indeed, ZipRecruiter, and others. Search for openings that match your target role and review the job descriptions closely.
Pay close attention to the specific skills, certifications, and experience employers are seeking. Make a list of recurring keywords and phrases- these are likely what the ATS will be scanning for.
Study Company and Industry Websites
Many of the companies publish job descriptions, career guides, and lists of in-demand skills on their website. You can find them in website sections like “Careers,” “Join Us,” “Work With Us”, and others.
These resources can give you deeper insight into what’s trending in your profession and what language is commonly used so that you can use them on your resume.
Observe your Industry Professionals
Today, many professionals maintain online portfolios to showcase their skills, and some even share their resumes or CVs publicly.
Looking at LinkedIn profiles of professionals already in the role you’re targeting is also a plus point.
This allows you to see how they present their experience, the keywords they use, and how they structure their achievements.
By analyzing these real-life examples, you’ll gain a clear benchmark for what works- helping you craft a resume that resonates with both recruiters and ATS software.
Step 2: Pick the Right Resume Format
Choosing the right resume format helps your resume look good to hiring managers and makes it easier for the ATS to read and understand your information.
However, there are three main resume formats to consider:
Chronological (Reverse-Chronological): Lists your work experience starting with the most recent position and working backward.
Functional (Skill-Based): Focuses on your skills and qualifications rather than your work history.
Combination: Blends both chronological and functional elements, highlighting skills while also providing a detailed work history.
For most job seekers, especially when creating an ATS friendly resume, the “reverse-chronological” format is the best choice. This format is the most widely used and recognized by both hiring managers and ATS software.
Step 3: Make A Draft of your ATS Friendly Resume
Now that you’ve completed your research and chosen the right resume format, it’s time to start how to make a resume ATS friendly by drafting it.
Begin by aligning your research findings. Fill in your content, making sure to highlight your most recent and relevant experiences, achievements, and skills.
However, you can create your resume using a variety of platforms, such as Google Docs, PowerPoint (PPT), PDF editors, or even with design tools like Adobe Illustrator, Figma, Canva, or others.
Each platform offers different features and flexibility, so choose the one that you’re most comfortable with.
Here’s an example of making a resume draft using Canva.
However, regardless of the platform you use to create your resume, the ideal file of resume formatting for ATS is PDF. It’s the best file type for consistent formatting across devices and printing.
Plus, being a PDF makes it look the same no matter what operating system, device, or browser it's being viewed on. And it gives a great impression with both the ATS and hiring managers.
Step 4: Adjust the ATS Resume Layout
Drafting a resume is not the final version.
Whenever an HR professional opens your resume in this condition and sees a wall of cluttered text, chances are they'll close it just as quickly.
And the same goes for an ATS- if the layout is messy, it might not scan your resume correctly.
That's why having a clean and organized layout is key. It helps both the software and the person behind the screen understand your words clearly.
Here's the layout adjustment way that shows you how to make resume ATS friendly:
Fix the margins: Set one-inch margins on all sides. It keeps things neat and ensures your content isn’t too cramped or too spaced out.
Adjust the line spacing: Stick to 1.0 spacing for text, and use around 1.15 spacing after headings or sections. It adds breathing room without wasting space.
Pick a professional font: Choose the best fonts for ATS resumes like Arial, Lora, Roboto, Calibri, or Helvetica. They’re clean, modern, and easy to read- perfect for human eyes, too.
Use proper font sizes: Keep body text between 10-12 pt and section headings between 14-16 pt for clear hierarchy and readability.
Use bullet points: Ditch long paragraphs. Bullet points help highlight your skills and achievements quickly and are easier for ATS to scan.
Avoid graphics or images: ATS can’t read charts, tables, icons, or photos(except profile photo). So, keep it simple - only text is your best friend here.
Step 5: Label Your Headings Correctly
It’s wise to use the right headings/ titles for your resume sections when creating an ATS resume.
For example, you have given your previous job title a creative name, such as “Design Guru,” in your resume. But when a company is looking for a "UI/UX Designer," the ATS might not realize it’s the same job designation.
Same as other creative headings like "Professional Journey" or "Academic Journey," also make ATS struggle to scan it.
So, it’s better to use the standard and clear section headings like "Work Experience," "Skills," and "Education," which can be understood by ATS.
Step 6: Include Job-Specific Keywords
You have researched in the beginning (step 1) and drafted some keywords and phrases according to your job positions. Now it’s time to use them.
Why?
Because ATS searches for specific words related to the job, things as ‘skills’, ‘certifications’, ‘tools’, or other industry terms.
If you don’t have the right keyword-optimized resume, it could get filtered out, even if you're a great fit.
For example:
If the job asks for “Designer,” you might also include related phrases like “Product Designer”, “UI/UX Designer”, “Graphics Designer,” and others.
Instead of just saying “digital marketing skills,” try something like:
“Supports the company with email marketing, SEO writing, social media copy, and others to make it sell 3x more.”
But don’t cram too many keywords and phrases into your resume. This tactic can make your resume difficult to read and may be flagged as suspicious by both ATS software and human readers.
Step 7: Finalize your ATS Resume by Fixing Common Mistakes
Before you finalize your resume, please take a moment to review it. We are human, and sometimes we make mistakes too.
So, here are some key things to check before finalizing your ATS resume:
Proofread your resume and fix spelling and grammar mistakes
Spell out abbreviations and acronyms
Don’t use creative fonts, colors, and multi-column layouts that confuse ATS
Never place information in headers and footers because most ATS can't scan them
Stick to roles and achievements related to the job you're applying for
Always craft your resume using keywords from the job post
Double-check that your email, phone number, and LinkedIn profile are listed and up to date
Skip listing references; it’s unnecessary for a resume or CV
Finally, name your resume like “Resume of Jacqueline Thompson_Software Engineer” instead of a random file name
Make ATS-friendly Resume with AI (ONE-Click Method)
The steps above show how to make an ATS-friendly resume manually. While this handcrafted approach works well, it can take a bit of time and effort. If you want a quicker option, you can use a resume builder or an ATS-resume template. An AI job search tool like Placed Today offers the perfect platform to generate an ATS-friendly resume in just minutes.
Ready to Make ATS Friendly Resume?
We’ve reached the end, and now you’re fully equipped on how to make ATS friendly resume that won’t get lost in the digital shuffle.
You can go the scratch route by following all the research, formatting, keyword, and layout tips we discussed.
Or, you can use an ATS resume builder tool to speed things up and tweak the result to fit ATS standards.
Both methods work well; choose the one that fits your workflow best.
Our tip?
Start with an ATS resume builder like Placed Today, then fine-tune manually for the best results within a minimal time.
We are recommending this tool because it gives you more personalized resume templates, a job description generator, an Interview Q&A builder, and an AI cover letter generator to make your job search journey easy.
Plus, it is equipped with some LinkedIn-related tools, like a post generator, a bio generator, and a recommendation generator, to make your social media(LinkedIn) branding ready.
If this guide helped you, feel free to share it with your friends or anyone job hunting.
Good luck landing that interview!
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