ATS-friendly CV format: what actually passes the filter

What the parser needs

Standard section headings (Experience, Education, Skills), a clear chronological list of jobs with employer, title and dates on their own lines, and real text – not text inside images. Fonts do not matter as long as the PDF contains selectable text.

What breaks parsing

• Tables and multi-column layouts where reading order is ambiguous
• Headers and footers – many parsers skip them, so never put your contact details only there
• Icons instead of words ("📞" instead of "Phone")
• Skill bars and star ratings – the parser cannot read a bar
• Text as image, scanned CVs, decorative fonts with ligatures
• Creative section names ("My journey") instead of "Experience"

Can a designed CV be ATS-friendly?

Yes, if the design is built on normal text flow. A coloured sidebar with contact and skills is fine as long as the main column is a simple top-to-bottom list and the sidebar text is real text. The 56 designs our team made for RezuYes are built this way: the visual layer is CSS, the document underneath is plain, parseable text.

The checklist

• PDF, under 2 MB, selectable text
• Name and contact details in the body, at the top
• Section headings: Summary, Experience, Education, Skills (Languages optional)
• Each job: title, employer, dates (MM/YYYY – MM/YYYY) on separate lines
• Keywords from the posting used verbatim where true
• No tables, no text in images, no headers/footers with key data

FAQ