How to Write an ATS CV in 2026
Most CVs fail before a human reads them. Over 90% of large employers and the majority of mid-size companies use Applicant Tracking Systems to filter applications automatically. If your CV is not formatted correctly or is missing the right keywords, it gets rejected before a recruiter ever sees it.
This guide covers exactly what an ATS looks for, how to format your CV to pass it, and how to check your CV against a specific job description before you submit.
What is an ATS and how does it work?
An Applicant Tracking System is software that scans, parses and ranks CVs automatically. When you apply for a job online, your CV almost always goes into an ATS before a person sees it.
The ATS does three things:
- 1Parses your CV — extracts your contact details, work history, education and skills into a structured format
- 2Scores it against the job description — matches your keywords and experience to the role requirements
- 3Ranks it — orders applications by match score so recruiters review the strongest candidates first
If your CV fails at step one — because the formatting confuses the parser — your score at step two is meaningless. This is why format comes before keywords.
ATS CV format rules
Use a single-column layout
Multi-column layouts look clean to the eye but confuse ATS parsers. The software reads left to right, top to bottom in a straight line. A two-column layout causes it to read across both columns simultaneously, mixing your job title from the left column with dates from the right column into garbled text.
Use a single column only. No sidebars.
Avoid tables, text boxes and graphics
Tables and text boxes are invisible to most ATS software. Any content inside them — skills, contact details, work experience — may not be parsed at all. Graphics, icons and skill-rating bars are completely unreadable.
Use plain text with standard bullet points. Nothing else.
Use standard section headings
ATS systems are programmed to look for specific headings to categorise your information. Unconventional headings like "My Story" or "Where I've Been" may cause the software to misclassify or ignore that section entirely.
Use these exact headings:
- Work Experience (or Professional Experience)
- Education
- Skills
- Certifications (if applicable)
- Professional Summary (or Personal Statement for UK CVs)
CV Anywhere's ATS-friendly CV template uses all of these headings by default.
Choose a clean, standard font
Arial, Calibri, Georgia and Times New Roman all parse cleanly. Decorative or custom fonts sometimes render as symbols or fail to parse entirely. Stick to 10–12pt body text, 12–14pt for section headings.
Save as PDF or DOCX
Most modern ATS systems parse both formats reliably. PDF is the safer default — it preserves your formatting exactly as intended. Only use DOCX if the employer specifies it or the application portal requires it.
Name your file FirstName-LastName-CV.pdf, not CV-final-v3.pdf.
Keywords: how to get them right
Format gets you through the parser. Keywords get you ranked.
Start with the job description
The job description is your keyword source. Read it carefully and identify:
- Job title — use the exact title from the posting in your personal statement and work history
- Required skills — list these in your skills section using the same phrasing as the job description
- Qualifications and certifications — if they ask for "PRINCE2" not "project management certification", use "PRINCE2"
- Tools and software — list specific tools by name: "Salesforce", not "CRM software"
Mirror the language exactly
ATS systems match keywords literally. If the job description says "stakeholder management" and your CV says "managing stakeholders", some systems will not count it as a match. Where possible, use the exact phrase from the job description.
Do not keyword stuff
Pasting the job description into your CV in white text, or listing 40 skills in a block with no context, does not work. Modern ATS systems penalise keyword stuffing and recruiters who see it in a screened application will reject it immediately. Use keywords naturally within your experience bullets and skills section.
Use the CV Anywhere JD Fit Checker
The fastest way to check your keyword coverage is to paste the job description into CV Anywhere's JD Fit Checker. It scores your CV against the posting, shows you exactly which keywords are missing, and suggests where to add them. It takes about two minutes and removes the guesswork.
Check my CV against a job descriptionThe five sections every ATS CV needs
Contact details
Name, phone number, email address, LinkedIn URL (optional), location (city and country — no full street address needed). Do not put these in a header or text box. Place them in the main body of the document.
Personal statement or professional summary
Two to four sentences. State your role, years of experience, one concrete result, and what you are looking for. Include the job title you are applying for. Keep it under 100 words.
Example for a software engineer role:
"Software engineer with seven years of experience building scalable web applications in Python and React. Led a team of four that reduced page load time by 60% and increased conversion by 22%. Looking for a senior engineering role at a product-led company."
Work experience
List roles in reverse chronological order — most recent first. For each role include:
- Job title (exact, as it appears on the offer letter)
- Company name
- Dates (Month Year to Month Year, e.g. May 2021 to March 2024)
- Three to six bullet points per role, each starting with an action verb and including a measurable outcome where possible
Education
Degree title, institution, year of graduation. For UK applicants, include A-levels if you have fewer than five years of work experience. Do not list GCSEs unless you are a school leaver.
Skills
A clean list of hard skills — specific software, tools, languages, certifications. Do not rate your skills (e.g. "Python ★★★★☆") — ATS systems cannot parse rating graphics and recruiters find them meaningless.
Common ATS CV mistakes
Using a creative or designed template
Templates with columns, graphics, icons and decorative fonts look impressive but fail ATS parsing. A plain, clean template outperforms a designed one in every ATS system.
Putting contact details in a header
Headers and footers are often excluded from ATS parsing. Your name and contact details should be in the main body of the document.
Using images for your skills section
Skill bars, radar charts and icon grids are completely unreadable to ATS software. List skills as plain text.
Not tailoring each application
Sending the same CV to every job is the single biggest reason for low match scores. Each application needs the keywords from that specific job description. It takes ten minutes to tailor a CV with the right tools — CV Anywhere's JD Fit Checker makes this faster by showing you exactly what is missing.
Inconsistent date formats
ATS systems parse dates to build your employment timeline. Inconsistent formats (mixing "Jan 2022" and "01/2022" in the same CV) can confuse the parser and cause it to misread gaps in your employment. Use Month Year throughout, e.g. January 2022 or Jan 2022. Be consistent.
How to check your CV before you apply
Before submitting any application, run through this checklist:
- Single-column layout with no tables, text boxes or graphics
- Standard section headings: Work Experience, Education, Skills
- Keywords from the job description in the skills section and experience bullets
- Job title from the posting in the personal statement
- Dates in consistent Month Year format throughout
- Saved as PDF with a clean file name
- Contact details in the main body, not a header or footer
Then paste the job description into CV Anywhere's JD Fit Checker for a keyword match score. If your score is below 70%, review the missing keywords and add the ones that genuinely apply to your experience.
Check my CV score freeBuild an ATS-ready CV from scratch
If you are starting from scratch or rebuilding your CV, CV Anywhere's CV builder creates ATS-compliant CVs with the correct format, section headings and export settings built in. You do not need to worry about whether the template will parse correctly — it will.
The free plan includes one AI CV analysis and unlimited DOCX downloads.
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