When you apply online, your resume is often read by software before a person sees it. An applicant tracking system (ATS) pulls the text out of your file and tries to sort it into fields: name, contact details, job titles, employers, dates, education and skills. Recruiters then search those fields. If the text does not come out cleanly, a strong resume can show up with a missing job title, jumbled dates or an empty skills field.
This guide is about the format side of that problem: how to lay out a resume so the text comes out in one piece. Choosing the right words for a particular job is a separate step, covered in how to tailor your resume to a job description. (In Pakistan, India and the UK this document is usually called a CV. The advice is the same for both.)
Quick answer
An ATS-friendly resume uses a single column, standard section headings, real text rather than images, a common font, consistent dates, and contact details in the main body rather than in the header or footer. Save it as a DOCX or a text-based PDF, depending on what the employer asks for. Then check it by copying all the text out of the file and reading it as plain text: if it reads in the right order, you are in good shape.
One honest caveat before the details: there are many different ATS products, and employers set them up differently. Some read complex layouts well, others do not. Nothing here, and no tool, can guarantee an interview. A simple format just removes one avoidable reason for being missed.
What parsing actually needs
One column, read top to bottom
Text extraction usually reads a page in a fixed order. With two columns, a parser may read straight across the page, mixing a line of your skills sidebar into the middle of a job description. A single column keeps the reading order the same as the visual order.
Standard section headings
Parsers look for familiar headings to know where one section ends and the next begins. Use plain ones: Summary, Experience (or Work Experience), Education, Skills, Projects, Certifications. Creative headings such as "My Journey" or "What I Bring" may not be recognised.
Real text, not images
Text that is part of an image cannot be read as text. That includes a resume exported as a picture, a scanned page, skills shown as icons, or your name inside a graphic banner. If you cannot highlight a word with your cursor in the PDF, software probably cannot read it either.
Simple fonts and plain bullets
Use a common font such as Arial, Calibri, Helvetica, Georgia or Times New Roman at a readable size. Use ordinary round bullets or hyphens. Unusual symbols, emoji and decorative bullets can come out as strange characters.
Contact details in the body
Some systems skip the header and footer areas of a Word document. Put your name, phone number, email and city as normal text at the top of the page, not inside the header area.
Consistent dates
Pick one format and use it everywhere, for example "Jan 2024 to Jun 2025" or "01/2024 to 06/2025". Put dates on the same line as the job title or employer. Mixing formats, or writing only "2 years", makes it harder for software to work out your timeline.
Tables, text boxes and columns are a risk
Tables and text boxes are a common way to build a two-column look, and they are also a common source of parsing errors. Text in a text box may be read out of order or skipped. Some modern systems cope with them; some do not. Because you usually do not know which system an employer uses, the safest choice is to avoid them for anything important.
File type
Follow the employer's instructions first. If they do not say, a DOCX file or a PDF created by "Save as PDF" from a word processor are both widely accepted. The PDF must contain real text. A PDF made by scanning a printout, or by turning a design into an image, may look perfect and still be unreadable to software.
A plain-text ATS resume template
Here is a skeleton you can copy into any word processor. It works for experienced candidates and for freshers; if you have little work history, move Education and Projects above Experience.
- FULL NAME, then one line: City, Country | Phone | Email | LinkedIn or portfolio link
- SUMMARY: two or three lines on your level, main skills and the type of role you want.
- EXPERIENCE: for each role, a line with Job Title, Employer, City, Month Year to Month Year, then three to five bullets starting with an action verb.
- EDUCATION: Degree, Institution, City, Month Year (or expected Month Year), plus relevant modules if useful.
- PROJECTS: Project name, one line on what it was, one or two bullets on what you did and the result.
- SKILLS: a short list separated by commas, grouped if helpful (for example, Tools: Excel, Power BI, SQL).
- CERTIFICATIONS: Name, issuing organisation, Month Year.
- LANGUAGES: one line, if relevant to the job.
It looks plain on purpose; good spacing, bold job titles and a clear font make it pleasant for a human reader too.
ATS resume format for freshers
The format rules are identical for a first job. The difference is order: freshers usually lead with Education and Projects, then any internships, part-time work or volunteering under Experience. Keep it to one page.
Formatting checklist
| Check | Safer choice | Riskier choice |
|---|---|---|
| Layout | Single column | Two columns, sidebars |
| Headings | Experience, Education, Skills | Creative or unusual headings |
| Text | Selectable text throughout | Text inside images, icons, scans |
| Contact details | Top of the main body | Page header or footer only |
| Structure | Plain paragraphs and bullets | Tables and text boxes |
| Font | Common font, readable size | Decorative fonts, very small text |
| Bullets | Round bullets or hyphens | Emoji, arrows, custom symbols |
| Dates | One consistent format | Mixed formats or durations only |
| Skills | Listed as words | Rating bars, stars, charts |
| File | DOCX or text-based PDF | Scanned or image-based PDF |
How to check your own resume
1. The plain-text test
Open your PDF, select all the text, copy it and paste it into a plain text editor such as Notepad. Read it top to bottom. Is your name at the top? Are job titles next to the right employers and dates? Is anything missing or in a strange order? This rough test shows you something close to what a parser starts with. If nothing pastes at all, your PDF is an image.
2. Run it through an ATS checker
The free ATS resume checker on this site reads your file in your browser. It accepts PDF, DOCX, TXT, MD, CSV and JSON files, or you can paste your resume as text. If it cannot pull readable text out of a PDF, it tells you the file may be image-based, which is itself a useful warning. You also paste the job advert. The extracted text and the job advert are sent to an AI service (Google Gemini, or Groq as a backup) for analysis and are not stored; if the AI service is unavailable, a simpler local check runs instead.
You get an overall score with separate keyword, formatting, content and skill scores, a list of matched and missing keywords, and a set of checks such as whether your resume has an email, phone number, dates, bullet points and clear education, experience and skills sections. Because the checker works on the extracted text, it cannot see your page layout the way you do, so use it alongside the plain-text test rather than instead of it. For a walk-through of every result tab, see the ATS resume checker guide.
A note on design-heavy builders
Many resume builders, including ours, export the PDF as a picture of the design. That is fine for printing or emailing a person, but an ATS may not read it well. For online applications, keep a DOCX or plain text version of the same content to upload.
Frequently asked questions
What is the best resume format for ATS?
A reverse-chronological layout (most recent role first) in a single column with standard headings is the most widely readable. The exact template matters less than the rules above: real text, simple structure, clear headings and consistent dates.
Is PDF or Word better for ATS?
Both are commonly accepted. Use whatever the employer asks for. If they say nothing, a DOCX or a text-based PDF saved from a word processor is a sensible choice. Avoid scanned or image-only PDFs.
Should I hide keywords in white text?
No. Many systems show recruiters the plain text, where hidden words become visible, and it looks like an attempt to cheat. Use relevant keywords openly, in real sentences, and only where they are true.
Does an ATS-friendly format guarantee I will get shortlisted?
No. Format only helps the software read your resume correctly. Whether you are shortlisted depends on how well your experience matches the job, how the employer has set up their system, and the people who review it.
Do I need a different format for each job?
No. Keep one clean format and change only the wording: your summary, bullet order and keywords.
Final takeaway
An ATS-friendly resume format is a plain one: one column, standard headings, real selectable text, a common font, consistent dates and contact details in the body. Save it in a format the employer accepts, run the copy-and-paste test, and use a checker to spot missing sections and keywords. Different systems behave differently and none of this guarantees an interview, but it makes sure that when someone searches for your skills, your resume can actually be found.