How to Create an ATS-Friendly CV: A Step-by-Step Guide With Template

Overview

Many employers use applicant tracking systems (ATS) to collect, organise, and search job applications. An ATS may identify details such as job titles, skills, qualifications, employment dates, and contact information before a recruiter reviews the application. The exact software and screening process vary between employers, so no CV format can guarantee an interview. However, a simple, well-structured document makes your experience easier for both software and people to understand.

An ATS-friendly CV should do four things well:

• Present your work history in a logical, easy-to-scan order.
• Use terms that accurately reflect the vacancy and your experience.
• Avoid formatting that can make text difficult to extract.
• Show relevant evidence rather than listing skills without context.

Think of your CV as a document for two readers. The ATS needs consistent text and headings; the recruiter needs a concise explanation of what you can contribute. A strong CV serves both purposes without filling the page with keywords.

For more detail on how these systems work, see our guide to creating an ATS-friendly CV that gets through applicant tracking systems. If you are applying for your first role, the entry-level ATS-friendly CV guide provides additional context.

Checklist by scenario

1. Start with a reliable CV structure

Use a simple reverse-chronological layout unless the employer asks for a different format. Begin with your name and contact details, followed by a targeted profile, relevant skills, work experience, education, and optional additional sections.

A reusable CV template can look like this:

• Name and contact details: Include your phone number, professional email address, town or region if relevant, and a LinkedIn profile or portfolio link when it supports your application.
• Professional profile: Write two to four sentences summarising your experience, strongest relevant skills, and the type of role you are seeking.
• Key skills: List specific capabilities that appear in the job description and that you can support with evidence.
• Employment history: Show job title, employer, location if useful, dates, and achievement-focused bullet points.
• Education and training: Include qualifications, institutions, dates where useful, and relevant modules or certifications.
• Additional information: Add projects, volunteering, languages, technical tools, or professional memberships only when they help demonstrate suitability.

2. Tailor the CV for a specific vacancy

Do not send the same unchanged CV to every employer. First, highlight the vacancy's repeated or important terms. These may include a job title, software, technical skill, qualification, customer group, industry term, or responsibility.

Next, compare those terms with your own experience. Use the employer's wording where it truthfully describes your background, including both the full term and a familiar abbreviation when appropriate. For example, you might write “customer relationship management (CRM) software” the first time, then use “CRM” later. Never add a skill simply because it appears in the advert.

Use our resume keyword guide by job category as a starting point, then prioritise the language in the individual vacancy. Our guide to tailoring your CV for different job types can help you maintain a master CV while creating focused versions.

3. Adapt the checklist to your situation

For entry-level jobs or internships: Put relevant coursework, projects, placements, volunteering, part-time work, and transferable skills to work. A retail, hospitality, student society, or delivery role can demonstrate reliability, communication, organisation, or customer service when described with specific examples. Do not apologise for limited experience; show what you have done and learned.

For remote jobs: Highlight written communication, independent planning, digital collaboration, time management, and experience using relevant tools. Be precise about the type of remote or distributed work you have completed rather than relying on the word “remote.”

For part-time or shift-based roles: Make availability, customer-facing experience, cash handling, stock work, safety awareness, or scheduling experience easy to find when these details are requested. Include only availability information that is accurate and appropriate for the application.

For a career change: Lead with transferable skills and relevant achievements. You can include a short “Selected Projects” section to connect previous experience with the new field. Reorder bullets so the most relevant evidence appears first.

What to double-check

Content and keywords

• Does the target job title appear naturally in your profile or experience where accurate?
• Have you included the main skills and qualifications you genuinely possess?
• Are your bullet points specific about actions, responsibilities, tools, outcomes, or scope?
• Have you removed unrelated details that distract from the role?

Formatting and file quality

• Use standard headings such as “Profile,” “Skills,” “Experience,” and “Education.”
• Choose a readable font and consistent sizing, spacing, dates, and punctuation.
• Avoid text inside images, complex tables, multiple text columns, decorative graphics, headers and footers containing essential information, and unusual symbols.
• Use clear date formats consistently, such as “May 2023–January 2025.”
• Follow the employer's requested file type and naming instructions. If none are provided, use a professional filename such as “FirstName-LastName-CV.”

Accuracy and accessibility

• Check spelling, grammar, phone number, email address, links, and employment dates.
• Make sure the document remains readable when viewed in a basic text extraction or preview tool.
• Confirm that every claim can be explained in an interview.
• Ask someone unfamiliar with your work to identify unclear abbreviations or unexplained jargon.

A CV optimizer or resume builder can help identify missing terms and improve consistency, but treat automated suggestions as prompts for review rather than instructions. The final wording should sound like you and remain truthful.

Common mistakes

Keyword stuffing: Repeating a term unnaturally can make the document difficult to read and may create questions about your actual experience. Use each important term where it fits meaningful evidence.

Over-designed templates: Colour, icons, graphics, and columns may look attractive but can interfere with text extraction. A clean layout is usually the safer choice for online applications.

Generic introductions: Statements such as “hardworking team player” are weak without context. Replace them with a concise description of your relevant experience and the value you offer.

Duty-only bullet points: “Responsible for answering calls” describes a task but not its context or contribution. A stronger version might explain the type of enquiries handled, systems used, or service standard maintained, provided the statement is accurate.

Submitting without checking the advert: A well-written CV can still miss important instructions, required documents, location details, eligibility questions, or application deadlines. Review the complete vacancy before sending it.

Using one version everywhere: Keep a master CV with your full history, then create a shorter tailored copy for each application. Track which version you submitted using a simple job application tracker.

When to revisit

Revisit your ATS-friendly CV before every application, even if you made only a small change. Compare the vacancy with your skills, adjust the profile and priority bullets, and run the final checklist again. Review it after completing a course, project, internship, temporary role, volunteer activity, or major achievement so your master version stays current.

It is also worth reviewing your format when an employer changes its application portal or requests a different file type. Tools and workflows can change, and a document that worked in one system may not display identically in another. Keep a plain-text backup of your key information so you can rebuild the layout if necessary.

Before you apply, complete this final five-minute check:

1. Match the CV to the vacancy and confirm the main keywords are supported by evidence.
2. Read the profile and first few bullets as if you were a recruiter deciding whether to continue.
3. Check dates, contact details, links, spelling, and file format.
4. Open the saved file and confirm that the layout is intact.
5. Record the version submitted and prepare examples for likely entry-level interview questions or role-specific interview questions.

A good CV is not finished once it looks polished. It is ready when it clearly connects your experience to the particular opportunity, remains easy to read, and can be supported confidently in an interview.