ATS Resume Formatting: What Recruiters Must Know

How ATS Parsing Works

When a resume enters an ATS, the system attempts to extract structured data from an unstructured document. It identifies the candidate's name, contact information, work experience (employer, title, dates, descriptions), education, and skills. This data populates the candidate record and enables search.

The parsing process typically follows these steps:

1. Text extraction: The ATS reads the file and extracts raw text. For .docx, this is straightforward. For PDFs, it depends on whether the PDF contains selectable text or is image-based.
2. Section identification: The parser looks for section headers (Experience, Education, Skills) to segment the content.
3. Data classification: Within each section, the parser identifies specific data points — company names, job titles, dates, bullet points.
4. Field mapping: Extracted data is mapped to the ATS's candidate record fields.
5. Skill extraction: Skills are matched against the ATS's skill taxonomy or keyword database.

When formatting interferes with any of these steps, data gets lost, misclassified, or corrupted.

The 7 Formatting Issues That Break ATS Parsing

1. Multi-Column Layouts

Two-column and three-column layouts are the #1 ATS parsing issue. Many ATS systems read content left-to-right, line-by-line. Multi-column layouts cause the parser to merge content from different columns, creating nonsensical output — a job title from column 1 combined with a date from column 2.

2. Text Boxes and Graphics

Content inside Word text boxes is often invisible to ATS parsers. The parser reads the main document body but skips floating elements. If a candidate's name or skills are in a text box, they won't appear in the ATS record.

3. Headers and Footers

Many ATS systems ignore or misparse header/footer content. If you put the candidate's name or contact info only in the header, it may not be parsed. Rule: Put all critical information in the document body. Use headers only for branding elements you don't need parsed.

4. Image-Based Content

Infographic resumes, skill bars, and icons look visually appealing but are invisible to ATS. Images are not text — parsers can't read them. Any content rendered as an image (including some PDF exports from design tools) will be lost.

5. Non-Standard Section Headers

ATS parsers look for standard section labels to segment content. 'Professional Experience' works. 'Where I've Made an Impact' doesn't. Use standard labels:

6. Unusual File Formats

.docx and .pdf (with selectable text) are universally supported. These formats cause problems:

• .doc (old Word format) — less reliable than .docx
• .pages (Mac) — most ATS can't read it
• .odt (LibreOffice) — inconsistent support
• .jpg/.png (image files) — no text extraction possible without OCR
• PDF from Canva/design tools — often image-based, not text-based

7. Fancy Formatting

Special characters, unusual bullet styles, decorative lines, and embedded objects can confuse parsers. Stick to:

• Standard bullet points (round or square)
• Standard fonts (Calibri, Arial, Times New Roman, Garamond)
• Simple horizontal rules for section dividers (or just white space)
• No embedded charts, tables, or SmartArt

ATS-Specific Parsing Behaviors

Every ATS parses differently. Here's what we've observed across the major platforms:

Our ATS compatibility pages cover 50+ platforms in detail, including specific formatting recommendations for each.

The ATS-Safe Resume Template

Here's the formatting specification that works across virtually all ATS platforms:

• Layout: Single column, top-to-bottom flow
• Font: Calibri, Arial, or Garamond at 10.5-12pt body, 13-16pt headings
• Margins: 0.5-1 inch on all sides
• Section headers: Standard labels (Experience, Education, Skills), bold, slightly larger font
• Dates: Consistent format (Month Year - Month Year or Year - Year)
• Bullets: Standard round bullets, properly indented
• File format: .docx preferred, text-based .pdf acceptable
• Content location: All critical info in document body, not headers/footers

Testing ATS Compatibility

Before deploying a new template, test it:

1. Upload a formatted resume to your ATS as if it were a new candidate
2. Check the parsed candidate record — are all fields populated correctly?
3. Verify: name, email, phone, current title, current employer, skills
4. Test with 5 different resume content types (technical, executive, entry-level, international, career changer)
5. If any fields are missing or wrong, adjust the template and retest

Explore Our ATS Guides

We've created dedicated formatting guides for 50+ ATS platforms, covering specific parsing behaviors, recommended file formats, and formatting tips for each: