ATS Resume Checklist: 10 Things Recruiters Look for

Currently, more than 90% of large companies rely on Applicant Tracking Systems (ATS) to screen resumes before they reach a human recruiter. Failing to meet ATS standards can prevent even highly qualified candidates from getting interviews.

This ATS resume checklist ensures your resume is optimized for both robots and recruiters. Our AI Resume Builder automates every item on this list, creating documents engineered to pass ATS screenings and earn 3x more interview requests.

1. Single-Column Layout

ATS software reads documents left to right, top to bottom. Multiple columns, text boxes, or creative layouts confuse parsers, scrambling your information into gibberish.

ATS Friendly Format:

• Clean, vertical flow from contact info to education
• No sidebars, graphics, or multi-column designs
• Standard margins (0.5" to 1" on all sides)

Quick Fix: Start with our free ATS-friendly templates, all pre-formatted with single-column layouts that pass every ATS scan.

2. Standard Section Headers

ATS is programmed to recognize common section titles. Creative headings might impress humans but are invisible to bots.

ATS-Recognized Headers:

• Contact Information / Contact
• Professional Summary / Summary
• Work Experience / Experience / Professional Experience
• Education
• Skills / Technical Skills / Core Competencies
• Projects / Certifications (if applicable)

Headers to Avoid:

• "Where I've Worked"
• "My Academic Journey"
• "What I Bring to the Table"
• "Skill Set"

3. Relevant Keywords From Job Description

ATS ranks resumes based on keyword match percentage. Missing key terms from the job description guarantees a low score.

Keyword Strategy:

• Identify 10-15 key terms from the job description
• Include exact phrases (e.g., "project management," not just "managed projects")
• Place keywords naturally in your summary, skills, and experience bullets
• Include both hard skills (Python, SEO, Financial Modeling) and soft skills (Leadership, Collaboration)

Pro Tip: Our AI Resume Builder automatically analyzes job descriptions and injects relevant keywords throughout your resume, optimizing your ATS match score.

4. Quantified Achievements

Numbers translate across systems and impress recruiters. Vague statements get filtered out; quantified achievements get interviews.

Before & After Examples:

Vague: "Improved sales performance"
Quantified: "Increased quarterly sales by 27% through new outreach strategy"

Generic: "Managed social media accounts"
Quantified: "Grew Instagram following from 1K to 10K in 6 months, increasing engagement rate by 300%"

Metrics That Matter:

• Percentages (%) - increases, reductions, improvements
• Dollar amounts ($) - revenue, savings, budgets managed
• Time frames - faster delivery, reduced processing time
• Scale - team size, project scope, audience reach

5. Concise Professional Summary

Your summary is prime ATS real estate. It should immediately establish your relevance with keywords and value proposition.

ATS Optimized Summary Formula:

[Years of experience] + [Industry/role] + [Key skills] + [Major achievement] + [Value you bring]

Example: "Marketing Manager with 8+ years experience in SaaS, specializing in SEO, content strategy, and growth hacking. Increased organic traffic by 250% at previous company. Seeking to drive customer acquisition at TechScale Inc."

Note: Our AI Resume Builder generates tailored professional summaries based on your experience and target job description.

6. Skills Section in Comma Separated Format

ATS needs to easily parse your skills. Fancy formatting (icons, tables, charts) can cause parsing errors.

ATS Friendly Skills Format:

Technical Skills: Python, SQL, Tableau, AWS, Git, React, Docker, Jenkins
Soft Skills: Project Management, Team Leadership, Strategic Planning, Client Relations

ATS Unfriendly Formats:

• Skill bars or progress circles
• Icons or symbols before each skill
• Nested tables or text boxes
• Rating systems (e.g., "Python: ★★★★☆")

Pro Tip: Group similar skills together (Programming Languages, Design Tools, Certifications) for better readability after ATS parsing.

7. Tailored Experience Section

Generic resumes get generic results. Each application deserves a tailored experience section that speaks directly to the job requirements.

Tailoring Strategy:

1. Read the job description and identify 3-5 core requirements
2. Prioritize relevant experience at the top of each job entry
3. Rewrite bullet points to mirror the language of the job description
4. Remove or minimize irrelevant experience
5. Ensure at least 70% of your bullet points directly address job requirements

Time-Saver: Our AI Resume Builder automatically tailors your experience section based on any job description, rewriting bullet points to maximize relevance and ATS scoring.

8. Projects Highlighting Technical & Business Impact

Projects demonstrate applied skills and initiative. For ATS, they're additional keyword real estate.

ATS-Friendly Project Format:

E-Commerce Analytics Dashboard | Personal Project | Jan 2024
• Built Python script to analyze 50,000+ transaction records using Pandas and NumPy
• Created Tableau visualizations showing sales trends, customer segmentation, and ROI by channel
• Insights identified underperforming product category, leading to 15% inventory optimization

Learn More: See our complete guide on how to list projects on a resume with detailed examples for every industry.

9. ATS-Friendly File Format (PDF or DOCX)

The wrong file format can render your resume unreadable to ATS.

Recommended Formats:

• Text-based PDF: Best choice - preserves formatting across systems while remaining parseable
• .DOCX (Microsoft Word): Most universally compatible - the safest choice for complex ATS systems

Avoid These Formats:

• Scanned PDFs (image files - completely unreadable to ATS)
• .PAGES (Mac-only, often converts poorly)
• Google Docs links (download and convert to PDF first)
• JPEG/PNG image files

10. Matching Cover Letter

A tailored cover letter complements your ATS-optimized resume, addressing the human reader and providing context.

ATS-Aware Cover Letter Tips:

• Include the exact job title and company name from the job description
• Mirror 3-4 key keywords from the job description
• Reference specific achievements from your resume with metrics
• Explain any gaps or career changes briefly
• Keep it to one page, 3-4 paragraphs maximum

Complete Your Application: Use our AI Cover Letter Generator to create perfectly tailored cover letters that match your ATS-optimized resume in minutes.

Bonus Tip: Test Your Resume Before Submitting

Never submit a resume without ATS testing. Catching formatting issues early can save your application.

Pre-Submission Checklist:

1. Copy-Paste Test: Copy your entire resume into Notepad or TextEdit. If the text is jumbled or out of order, the ATS will see the same mess.
2. File Size Check: Keep your resume under 500KB to ensure easy uploading and parsing.
3. Keyword Density: Ensure keywords from the job description appear 3-5 times throughout your resume.
4. Use Our Tool: Run your resume through our AI Resume Builder's analysis feature for instant ATS compatibility feedback and improvement suggestions.

Internal Linking for Further Reading

• Start with our free ATS-friendly resume templates for a perfectly formatted foundation.
• Learn how AI resumes outperform traditional methods with 3x more interviews.
• Master the art of customization with our step-by-step resume tailoring guide.
• Complement your resume with an AI-generated cover letter for a complete application package.
• Explore industry-specific formats with our computer science resume guide and engineering resume guide.

Final ATS Resume Checklist

1. ✓ Single-Column Layout: No tables, columns, or text boxes
2. ✓ Standard Headers: "Work Experience," "Education," "Skills"
3. ✓ Keyword-Rich: Matches job description terminology
4. ✓ Quantified Achievements: Every bullet includes metrics
5. ✓ Concise Summary: 2-3 lines with keywords and value prop
6. ✓ Simple Skills List: Comma-separated, no icons or ratings
7. ✓ Tailored Experience: Rewritten for each application
8. ✓ Impactful Projects: Shows applied skills with results
9. ✓ Correct File Format: Text-based PDF or .DOCX
10. ✓ Matching Cover Letter: Tailored to same job description
11. ✓ Pre-Submission Test: Passes copy-paste and file checks

Published on: [Current Date] | Covers: ATS resume checklist, resume optimization, ATS formatting, keyword strategy, resume testing | Reading time: 8 minutes