5 Tips of Writing An ATS Friendly Resume

Technology is leaping every year, we can see improvements and advancements in almost every sector making the process easier and more effective.

The same goes with the job hunting market part. As we can see the number of applicants is increasing drastically with the reference of time.

Hence, it becomes very complex to take out a worthy candidate for your offered job. Here comes the role of an ATS (Applicant Tracking System). 

It filters out irrelevant applications, by which recruiters can focus more on the right applications.

According to a report by Capterra, 75% of recruiters across the globe were using ATS at the time of research conducted. The number of ATS users has undoubtedly increased with the reference of time.

Hence, making an ATS-compliant resume will help you rank higher in the ATS scan test while application screening and grab your targeted job.

Following these below-given guidelines while making your resume will help you to parse your resume through the ATS without any hurdle.

Choose The Right Format

The first step to build your resume appropriately is to choose the right format for your resume. Your resume format will depend on your skills, work experience, niche of job, etc. Getting clear on all these points will help you choose better.

There are three resume formats used across the globe majorly:

• Chronological Resume Format

• Functional Resume Format

• Combination Resume Format

Craft Appropriate Headings

Headings play a vital role in the ATS screening process. As it works on machine language, it prioritizes basic resume headings instead of creative headings.

Take a look at some of the correct and incorrect headings for your resume:

Frame Your Details in Bullet Points

It is one of the key factors that will make your resume impressive for a machine as well as for a human. Avoid using long paragraphs throughout your resume except for the summary/objective part.

Always use one-liner bullet points while showcasing your details on your resume. Starting your bullet points with a power verb will hook your reader. Moreover, showcasing every point addressing STAR (S- Situation, T- Task, A- Action, R- Result) format will make your recruiter satisfied with its authenticity.

Add Keywords

Applicant Tracking System will detect the presence of industry-specific keywords in your resume to examine the relevance with the job profile.

Hence, it is very important to incorporate as many profile-centric keywords as you can in your resume to take a step ahead towards your goal.

For example, if you apply for a developer profile, these keywords can work well for your resume:

• SDLC
• Python
• Java
• Software Testing
• ROR
• C#
• PHP

Bold Required Information

To highlight your important information and required keywords, you can bold them throughout your resume. It will not only benefit you in the ATS screening process but also in the recruiter’s screening round.

However, highlighting too much in your resume will make it look vague.

Graphics Can Degrade Quality

Graphical representation in your resume can cause harm in your recruitment process. It might look beautiful to human eyes, but machines can not read them and dodge them without wasting any second.

Every information you mention in the form of graphics on your resume will be lost and you might end up being disqualified. Hence, it is recommended for you to showcase all your details in text form.

Final Words 

Following these above-mentioned guidelines will make you one step ahead of your competitors in the recruitment process. These points will help you in getting through the ATS and reach up to the final interview round. Here are the key takeaways of this article:

• Choose the right format for your resume
• Make appropriate headings for all the resume sections
• Showcase your details in bullet points
• Add profile oriented keywords
• Highlight important information and keywords
• Avoid using graphical representation in your resume

All the steps to make an ATS-friendly resume can be seen in this article. These points will help you in getting your desired job. Moreover, we welcome every thought and suggestion to make this article better. You are free to express your views in the below-given comment section.