A pro resume tip you probably haven't heard of

Applying for a job can feel like screaming in to the void. Click-bait title aside, there’s one thing I’ve found that can make your resume more effective and help you get more interviews: look at your resume the way an ATS would.

A new way to look at it ​

This article isn’t about how you should be networking or using AI tools. Those are all things you should be at least considering as part of your overall job hunting strategy. Instead, this is for when you’re simply applying to a role. Just hitting that “Submit Application” button.

This is one of the key techniques I’ve been coaching my mentees on ADPList and it’s helped me personally go from a 1-in-30 first-interview-to-application ratio to a 1-in-10.

TL;DR ​

Copy & paste your PDF resume into a plain text editor. This will give you a close approximation of how an applicant tracking system (ATS) sees your resume. Fixing any weirdness you find can help it be ATS-friendly; meaning you’ll have a better chance at getting that first interview.

It’s a hidden technology problem ​

If you’ve applied to any role in recent memory, likely you’ve submitted your application to an ATS. If you don’t know what your resume looks like to that ATS, you’re at a disadvantage.

70% of large companies use an ATS. They’re used to manage the entire hiring pipeline. Lever, Workday, Greenhouse, and iCIMS are all common examples of ATS. When you apply for an open role, your resume is sent to the company’s ATS rather than directly to a recruiter. That ATS processes your resume and filters & sorts all the applicants for that role, surfacing the highest quality matches to the recruiter. Only then is there a chance a recruiter sees your resume.

This ATS flow seems unfortunate, but it’s really out of necessity. An open role will get hundreds (250+ on average), sometimes thousands of applicants. For a recruiter managing multiple open roles, there simply isn’t enough time in the day to look at every application. It’s just a reality of the current job market.

The first hurdle to any job application is making sure your resume can be read by an ATS. It’s not about content, structure, keywords, design, or anything else at this point. That’s all secondary to an ATS simply being able to read the words in your resume. So, how do you do this?

Making an ATS-readable resume ​

Figuring out what an ATS sees when it reads your resume, or at least a close approximation, might sound daunting. It’s actually pretty simple; copy & paste your resume into a plain text editor. If you see anything weird, then you’ve got some fixing to do.

Let’s break it down step-by-step:

1. Build your resume
2. Export your resume to PDF
3. Copy everything in your PDF
4. Open a plain text editor
5. Paste it into a plain text editor
6. Look for anything weird

Step 1: Build a resume ​

This step should be self-evident. Before you can check your resume for ATS readability, you need to have a resume. If you don’t have one, go make one. If you have one already, great, use that and keep going.

Step 2: Export it to PDF ​

A PDF is likely your best option when sending out your resume. It’s the most widely supported. The biggest benefit, in my opinion, is everything is embedded in the file; there’s no risk of any layout, font, or image issues when viewed on a different computer.

Step 3: Copy everything in your PDF ​

With your freshly exported resume in PDF form, simply select all then copy (⌘+A then ⌘+C or CTRL+A then CTRL+C). This is going to copy everything in your document.

Step 4: Open a plain text editor ​

You’ll need a plain text editor, or at least paste just the plain text version of what’s in your clipboard. Some good options for plain text editors are Bear or Obsidian. You can also use TextEdit, which is built into every Mac, you’ll just need to paste as plain text in the next step.

Step 5: Paste your resume in a plain text editor ​

With your text editor open just hit paste (⌘+V or CTRL+V). If you went down the rich text editor path (e.g., TextEdit or Word), you’ll need to paste as plain text or unformatted text (⌘+Option+Shift+V for Mac users).

Step 6: Look for anything weird ​

This is where the magic happens. Don’t expect to see any sort of styling or layout, this is the most basic view of the text of your resume. It’s a close approximation of what an ATS will see. If things are in the wrong order, spaces are missing, text is garbled, or anything that doesn’t match what should be on your resume that’s also what an ATS will see. If something’s not right, it’s time to start finding a fix.

What to expect ​

The plain text view of your resume won’t look good. It doesn’t have to, an ATS doesn’t care what it looks like. It will look like a basic text document with no formatting and everything is ordered top-to-bottom. You’re still going to apply to job postings using the PDF version of your resume, not this text version. Remember, the goal is to make sure your PDF is readable by an ATS.

Common problems and how to fix them ​

There’s really just two main problems I’ve seen: weird text and things in the wrong place.

Garbled or strange text ​

I’ve typically seen this be caused by the tool you’ve built your resume in. The culprit is usually Figma. Don’t use Figma for your resume. As a designer, that statement is basically blasphemy. It’s not a text editor and I’ve never seen it export an ATS-readable PDF. Personally, I use Pages for my resume and rarely have any text issues.

Things in the wrong place ​

Maybe your name is wedged somewhere in your experience and your contact info is lost somewhere in your skills section. This is usually because you’ve used tables or multiple columns to manage your layout. Don’t use tables or columns. Instead, the best method I’ve found is using good old fashioned tab stops for aligning text. This means your layout will need to be more basic, and that’s ok. Few people will care if you have a two-column layout or a single column, certainly not an ATS.

Guidelines for an ATS-friendly resume ​

Tool choice ​

What app or program you use to make your resume is key when exporting a readable PDF.

✅ Do: Use a text editor

The old standby is Word, but I’ve found it can be really inconsistent when it export especially if you’re using the online version. As a Mac user, Pages has been great for resumes. I switched to Pages from Word and haven’t looked back.

❌ Don’t: Use a graphic design tool

Use the right tool for the job. Seriously, don’t use Figma. I haven’t seen it export an ATS readable resume. It can get close, but it’s a giant pain and might take you more effort and time than it’s worth. This isn’t a UI or a graphics project, it’s a text document. Stick with a tool that made for text documents.

Page layout ​

Columns aren’t a concept that translates well to a PDF. Text is going to be organized however it needs to be in order to create the PDF.

✅ Do: Use a single-column page layout

Simple is better. A single-column will help ensure your PDF can be read left-to-right, top-to-bottom in the the correct order. If this means your resume needs multiple page, that’s fine. A “page” doesn’t mean anything to an ATS. Besides, you’re probably not printing hard copies anyways.

❌ Don’t: Use multi-column page layout

This is one of the biggest culprits of your content being read in the wrong order. Honestly, there’s not much reason to use a multi-column layout. They’re harder for a person to scan too, so it doesn’t really help you out even when a recruiter looks at it.

Content alignment ​

✅ Do: Use tab stops for alignment

Yes, tab stops. Google it if you don’t know what they are. Use them judiciously though. Complex layouts using tab stops will drive you crazy.

🤔 Maybe: Use multi-column sections

I know, I said don’t use multi-column page layouts. Multi-column sections can be totally fine though, like a bulleted list of skills broken into three columns. Just don’t use a table to accomplish this.

❌ Don’t: Use tables

Tables will give you same headache as multi-column page layouts. They don’t translate well when exported to PDF; your text is likely to get jumbled and read out of order by an ATS.

Images ​

Used intentionally, images can take a resume to the next level. This is especially true if you’re a designer or have a long resume.

🤔 Maybe: Use images

Images are ok if they don’t mess up the plain text view of your resume. Full disclosure, there are images in my resume. It’s three pages long and the images help it be more human scannable and provide visual milestones.

Where to go from here ​

With an ATS-friendly resume you can confidently apply to open roles. You probably don’t have to do this whole thing every time you export your resume. Definitely double it check it if you make big changes or if it’s been awhile.

Some job applications give you the option to automatically fill it out by uploading your resume. This is a fantastic way to test your ATS-friendly resume. Upload it and see what it successfully pre-fills the application with.

Happy job hunting!