How to Beat Applicant Tracking System

Request a Consultation from an Award-Winning Recruiter and Resume Writer

(Board, C-Level, VP, Director & Mid-Career Professionals)

Here are some do’s and don’ts to keep in mind:

DON’Ts

  • Don’t upload your resume in .PDF, .DOCX or any other fancy format. Instead, stick to the good old .RTF or .DOC. Better yet, try converting your resume to .TXT to understand what information will be picked up by the ATS and how it will be displayed, and make adjustments accordingly.
  • Don’t use tables, text boxes, or columns. Most ATS’s won’t recognize and read them correctly.
  • Don’t embellish your resume with images, graphs, clipart, and symbols. The system will overlook them.
  • Don’t use fancy bullets (Wingdings, Webdings, etc.) Standard options should be fine, while “+”, “-“ and “*” are your safest bet.
  • Don’t experiment with fonts. Since applicant tracking software relies on optical character recognition (OCR), go with Arial, Calibri, Times New Roman, or other standard fonts instead.
  • Don’t put important information, especially your contacts, in the header or the footer (except if it’s page 2+ of your resume). ATS usually skips headers and footers.
  • Don’t use abbreviations or acronyms. Spell everything out.
  • Don’t submit a functional resume. The system will not know how to interpret your document, so it’s unlikely that you’ll make the cut.

DO’s

  • Do use common section headings and capitalize them (i.e. “WORK EXPERIENCE”, “EDUCATION”, “AWARDS”, not “Value Added” or “Team Building Expertise”). That way you can ensure that the ATS picks up and organizes your information properly.
  • Do put each piece of information on a new line. For example,

Company
Dates of employment
Position

or

College degree
Year
School

  • Do repeat company name if you have held several positions within one organization.
  • Do fill your resume with appropriate buzzwords and key phrases, as it will be matched against a set of terms related to the vacant position and ranked accordingly. However, take care that you put the keywords in the context – sophisticated systems will know if you’re cheating.
  • Do take as many pages as you need to describe all the relevant work experiences, competencies and skills. With the ATS there’s no need to worry about the length.
  • Do have a “pretty”, i.e. visually attractive, version of your resume handy when you come in for an interview.

Is your resume optimized to be ATS-friendly? Do you have any tips on how to game the system? Share your experiences in our comment section!

Let us help you land your next position by crafting the best ATS optimized resume or by managing your entire job search. Here’s more information about our Resume Writing Services and Reverse Recruitment Service. Book a call today to speak directly with our CEO and Founder, Arno Markus!

About iCareerSolutions

iCareerSolutions, America’s #1 Executive and Professional Resume Writing Services, Reverse Recruitment, and LinkedIn Profile Development Company. 28X award-winning resume writers deliver professional resumes that get interviews. We have successfully landed our executive clients senior-level leadership positions at companies like Apple, Amazon, EA, Oracle, GM, Google, Facebook, DoJ, Gap, and 2U just to name a few. iCareerSolutions has 200+ 5-star reviews and offers a 60-day interview guarantee. Every resume template created is Applicant Tracking Systems (ATS) compatible and highly customized to meet your unique needs.

Active Members of The National Resume Writers’ Association (NRWA) │ The Professional Association of Resume Writers & Career Coaches (PARW&CC) │ Career Directors International (CDI) │ Career Professionals (CPC) │ Forbes Coaches Council

One of the Top Multi-Award-Winning Resume Writing Services in the country.

Book a complimentary consultation for your Professionally Managed Job Search now!

Forbes Coaches Council
60 Day Interview Guarantee

Here are some of our Top Resume Testimonials

Ben Howard
“Arno and his team at iCareerSolutions are fast, reliable, and incredibly knowledgeable about resumes, LinkedIn SEO, and the recruitment process. From start to finish, communication was a constant and the entire process was professional. Every step of Arno’s process is on time and delivers on what was promised. I am pleased with the results, and I recommend Arno for assistance with your resume,…
Ben HowardDirector of IT Security & Compliance
Daniel Hyman
Arno has been a crucial voice for me in crafting my professional story. His process for getting me to identify my professional successes and turn them into stories have helped me understand my impact but also feel confident in speaking about my experience and professional contributions. His methodology also laid a superior foundation for fielding and answering interview questions….
Daniel Hyman
blank profile picture 1
I heard nothing but great things through friends whom used this service so when it came down to looking for my next opportunity I had to give it a try myself. I am happy to say that I was not disappointed, and look forward to referring others as well.
Q Hawkins
Manjunath Shanabag
I had reached out to Arno for updating my resume and LinkedIn profile. I selected Arno after interviewing several possible professionals as he provided precise feedback about my then current profile, having done background research before we spoke. That set him apart from others. Through out the process he was very professional, with acute insight into what executives and recruiters like to see in…
Manjunath ShanabagAdvisory Board Member
Maureen Traynor
Hi Arno, Wow, this is so different!  Thank you for sending.  I’ll review this week and get back to you with any adjustments.
Maureen Traynor
Edward Dollard
Arno is fantastic! His process is solid. He fully understands your objectives and can edit your resume to bring out the best of your accomplishments. Easily one of the best investments in my career. Arno is engaged with you throughout the process and is able to work at your pace. He can turn around your resume quickly and collaborate with you on edits. I definitely recommend Arno for elevating you…
Edward DollardVice President of Procurement
Hector Moran
I would like to remind how important could be an outstanding resume and a well-structured cover letter when you start a job search. Bear in mind how crowded is the job market nowadays. Having said that, Arnold is the quintessence in terms or professional resume writing, someone that identifies from the very beginning the key strengths of a person in order to present the best picture in a very conv…
Hector MoranSenior Portfolio Manager
Joelle Philogene
For my first experience with a career expert, it was an amazing one. Arno made sure that every aspect of creating either my resume or cover letter or even my profile, was covered. No stone was left unturned. Thank you again for your help and best of all sharing your knowledge in such an accessible way.
Joelle Philogene
Jennifer Wein
Having worked with two high-end professional resume and bio writers, I can officially say that the intake template that iCareerSolutions provided was simpler to complete and honed in on key points. They also did a great job taking my complicated history and summarizing it into a structured bio and pitch that I can continue to update. Thank you, iCareerSolutions!…
Jennifer WeinSenior Creative Director
Greg Adkins
Arno is a mentor, motivator, and proffessional guru. Not only does he have a great understaning of the current market place to help drive undetstanding and interest; He takes the time to understand your needs, direction, and goals. I feel blessed to have had the opportunity to work with Arno and find the next organization I can make and impact. Anyone that works with Arno will be lucky to enjoy hi…
Greg AdkinsSenior Sales Manager

Top Resume Writing Awards

Employers who have Onboarded Our Clients

Scroll to Top
Scroll to Top