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Applicant Tracking Systems (ATS) have become essential tools for recruiters, transforming how they manage and streamline the hiring process. But what does this shift mean for today’s job seekers?

Creating a resume that is appealing and relevant to recruiters and hiring managers is essential for students aiming to secure job interviews and future career or educational opportunities. At U Career Success, we've streamlined the process to help you get started with resume creation and editing. Below we’ve listed everything you need to know about creating a resume with ATS in mind.

Understand Applicant Tracking Systems (ATS)

ATS is a software used to facilitate and streamline the hiring process. Recruiters can use an ATS to look for keywords that match the job description and other crucial characteristics. Here are some important things to know about ATS:

Widespread Adoption: Practically every company, organization, or public/private entity uses some version of ATS.
Essential Tool: Some positions can attract hundreds of applications, making an ATS essential for recruiters to manage candidate screenings.
Functionality: An ATS can check your resume and application for relevant education, work experience, keywords, skills, and even spelling and grammar.
Platforms: Common ATS software includes Workday, Greenhouse, Bamboo HR, and Ashby, among others.

The Truth About ATS

It’s a common myth that an ATS will scan and potentially reject your resume, preventing human recruiters from even seeing it. The truth is, in most cases a human will see your resume. In ATS platforms, your resume will always be attached to your application in some way.

The truth that has likely been twisted to create this myth, is that it is possible for your application to be filtered out based on qualifying questions. When applying for a job, if the application contains questions like “How many years of experience do you have?” That is likely a qualifying question. These questions are designed to filter out applicants whose answers don’t align with the requirements of the position. It’s important to understand that you can be filtered out based on answers to the qualifying questions but not based on your resume alone. The best way to face this is to apply for jobs where you meet the required qualifications of the qualifying questions.

The ATS does scan your resume, but it only does so to assist the recruiter in organizing candidates and making the data presentation uniform and therefore easier to compare.

Why ATS Compatibility Matters

So, we know many employers use an ATS to collect, organize, and review resumes, but why does it matter for you as a university student?

Rating: An ATS is the first to review your materials. Your resume may be prioritized for the recruiters if you match the position well in regard to keywords, skills, education, previous work experience, etc.
Consequences: A poorly formatted or mismatched resume can make it difficult for the ATS to parse your resume accurately into an application, resulting in the recruiter being unable to effectively compare your experience and background to other candidates. This is why we recommend utilizing our templates – meet with your career coach to find the strongest templates to use. In addition, we have a resume format checklist that can be utilized to ensure your resume highlights your skills and accomplishments in the most effective way.

Steps to Make Your Resume ATS-Friendly

To ensure your resume is optimized for success and consideration, employ these steps which are broken down into 4 categories: Format, Organization, Information, and Final Steps.

Format

Use a Simple and Clean Format. An ATS software can struggle with parsing complex formatting, graphics, and unusual fonts.

Use standard fonts like Arial, Calibri, or Times New Roman.
Stick to a simple layout with clear headings (e.g., Education, Experience, Skills). Avoid using columns, tables, text boxes, colored text and graphics.

Use Standard Section Headings. An ATS is programmed to recognize common headings to parse information correctly.

Use headings like "Work/Professional or Healthcare Experience," "Education," "Skills," "Certifications," and "Projects."
Avoid creative headings like "My Journey" or "What I Do" as they might confuse the ATS.
Do not use the add header or footer feature in Word – this extra information is difficult for the ATS to parse.
- Instead, use a simple header that includes the essential information, your name, contact information, etc.

Organization

Use Reverse Chronological Order. An ATS software typically sifts through chronological resume formats better than any other style. This is also the format that most recruiters are used to reading which allows your resume to be easy to read and considered in the recruitment process.

List each section of experience in reverse chronological order including education, work experience, internships, etc.

Example: Include your time at the University of Utah first, then any other colleges/high schools you have attended in the past.

Include Relevant Keywords. An ATS software scans resumes for specific keywords that match the job description. Carefully read the job description and identify important keywords and phrases.

Weave these keywords naturally into your resume, especially in the experience, skills, and education sections.
Use both acronyms and full phrases as appropriate (e.g., "Bachelor of Science" and "B.Sc.").

Optimize for Readability. Both an ATS and human reviewers benefit from resumes being easily readable.

Use bullet points for easy scanning, avoid paragraphs and run-on sentences.
Ensure consistent formatting (same font, size, and spacing).
Use appropriate line spacing (1.0 to 1.15) and margins (1 inch all around).

Information

Prioritize Relevant Information. Both an ATS and human reviewers prioritize relevant and recent experience. For students, emphasize internships and work experience, volunteer work, and relevant coursework.

Include measurable achievements
- e.g., "Increased social media engagement by 30%"

Quantifying your resume will help you stand out and be memorable. Sometimes, you will need to adjust the titles from your previous experience to match the positions you are applying for. Keep this in mind as you may have multiple versions of your resume.

Avoid Unnecessary Information. Irrelevant information can clutter a resume, ultimately lowering your chance of advancing in the interview and hiring processes. Use the job description to prioritize, organize, and highlight your most relevant skills and accomplishments.

Do not include personal information like age, gender, or marital status.
Avoid listing every job you've ever had; focus on relevant experience.
Exclude outdated skills and experiences or materials that no longer serve you.

Most students should also aim to keep their resume at one page of length, however, in some situations it will make sense to reach two pages.

Include Contact Information and LinkedIn URL. Accurate contact information is crucial for follow-up, and a LinkedIn profile can provide additional context.

Clearly list your name, phone number, email address, and LinkedIn URL at the top.

You can also create a shortened and customized URL by following this link. Having a custom URL for your LinkedIn profile can make it easier for someone to find you. Ensure your LinkedIn and Handshake profiles are up-to-date and match your resume. Once your resume is complete, you can copy and paste your bullet points into each system. So easy!

Example: The University of Utah’s mascot, Swoop, would be: Swoop1850 (full URL would be www.linkedin.com/in/Swoop1850). For someone with a first and last name, here is another example: John Doe linkedin.com/in/JDoe1850

Final Steps

Proofread Thoroughly. Errors can detract from professionalism, cause parsing issues in an ATS, and lower your chance of being selected.

Double-check for spelling, grammar, and formatting errors.
Use tools like Grammarly, the University Writing center or ask a peer to review your resume. Your career coaches can always assist as well!
Ensure consistency in tense, punctuation, and style.

Artificial Intelligence such as ChatGPT, Google Gemini, and so many others can assist you in the final editing process. This can include rewriting some bullet points to match a job description or to better sentence structure. Do not only rely on AI in any form to write everything for you. People who do this have found themselves with an extremely similar resume as all others who solely rely on AI. In turn, relying on AI ultimately makes you less unique and potentially less attractive to an ATS, recruiters, and other hiring personnel.

Use Standard File Formats. An ATS can better process resumes in standard formats.

Save your resume as a PDF file.
Ensure the PDF is text-based and not an image, as some ATS cannot read images.
When saving, name the file as your First and Last name such as: John Doe Resume 2024.

There is always a possibility that your file will detach from the application. By utilizing this file naming process the recruiter will be able to gather your information without much fuss. Stay organized by utilizing a file-naming system if you create multiple versions of your resume.

Example: JohnDoeResume2024-MarketingNintendo.

Keep a Master file. At the end of your resume reviewing process you will have a lot of versions of your resume. Keeping a master file, specifically just for your resume, will allow for ease in future editing. As you edit your resume for various positions, copy and paste each rendition into a running document. There may be times where you apply to similar positions of which the job description is asking for a background that overlaps with something you have already written out. You can make the rewriting process easy for yourself by implementing this system.

Utilize Career Center Resources

At the University of Utah, our career coaches have created industry and major-specific templates that students can download and adapt to their unique backgrounds. These templates are designed to simplify the resume-building process and ensure ATS compatibility. Reach out to your career coach for a template.

Get Professional Feedback

Once you have filled out the template, you can get feedback and ensure your resume is polished and ready to go.

Submit for Review: Email your resume to a student intern at our office via resumereviews@careers.utah.edu.
Schedule an Appointment: Make an appointment with your career coach here.

By following these guidelines and utilizing our resources at the U Career Success Center, you can create a strong, ATS-friendly resume that stands out to both software and real-human reviewers.

Sources

https://topresume.com/career-advice/what-is-an-ats-resume#:~:text=Unfortunately%2C%20more%20often%20than%20not,to%20ensure%20it%20gets%20selected.