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ATS-friendly resume formatting: what career services advise

Many employers receive applications through applicant tracking systems (ATS): software that stores resumes and helps recruiters search and sort them. We have not tested any of these products, and this page does not describe how any particular one reads files.

So instead of promising a format that "beats the ATS", this page sets out the common ground in advice published by university career services, notes where that advice disagrees, and explains how CV Tayyar's templates line up with it.

What these systems do, according to career services

Robert Morris University's career center describes an ATS as human-resources software that helps employers organise large numbers of resumes, compares each resume to the job description and ranks it. Source: Robert Morris University Career Center, checked 26 October 2026. Bellevue University's career services say the systems scan resumes for keywords and that some score resumes by how closely they match the job description. Source: Bellevue University Career Services, checked 26 October 2026.

All four sources on this page are US universities. Employers in India use a range of systems, and many resumes are also read by people, so the advice below is about being readable by both.

Advice the sources share

  • Keep the layout simple and in one column. Career services at the University of Missouri–St. Louis (UMSL) advise against templates, tables, text boxes, graphs and columns. Source: UMSL Career Services, checked 26 October 2026. The University of Houston article recommends a single-column resume. Source: University of Houston, Bauer College career center, checked 26 October 2026.
  • Keep contact details out of page headers and footers. UMSL, Bellevue and Robert Morris all advise this; Bellevue notes that not every system reads the header and footer areas of a Word document. Source: Bellevue University Career Services, checked 26 October 2026.
  • No images, charts or graphic skill ratings. Bellevue says these are difficult for tracking systems to read. Source: Bellevue University Career Services, checked 26 October 2026.
  • Use common section headings such as Education, Work Experience and Skills. Source: Robert Morris University Career Center, checked 26 October 2026.
  • Use a common font in black, at 10 to 12 point, with simple bullets and left-aligned text. Bellevue says 10 or 12 pt is best and recommends black text, simple bullets and left alignment. Source: Bellevue University Career Services, checked 26 October 2026. Robert Morris says a basic font at size 10 to 12, in black print only. Source: Robert Morris University Career Center, checked 26 October 2026.
  • Write dates in full: a four-digit year, and either a two-digit month or the month name written out. Source: Robert Morris University Career Center, checked 26 October 2026.
  • Match the advert's spelling and abbreviations. UMSL says to spell terms out; Robert Morris and Bellevue suggest abbreviating only where the job description does. Source: Robert Morris University Career Center, checked 26 October 2026.
  • Use keywords in context, inside achievement-focused points, and proofread: a misspelled word will not be recognised. Source: UMSL Career Services, checked 26 October 2026.

Where the advice disagrees: PDF or Word?

The sources do not agree on file type. UMSL suggests saving as .docx or .pdf, and Robert Morris says a Word document or PDF. Bellevue calls .doc or .docx the safest choice and says to send a PDF only when one is requested. The University of Houston article says to use Word rather than PDF.

Our reading: follow whatever the application asks for. If it accepts PDF, a PDF saved from CV Tayyar contains real, selectable text. If it asks for Word, use Copy plain text in the builder, paste into your word processor and apply simple formatting. If a portal gives you text boxes for each section, paste from the plain text too.

How CV Tayyar’s templates follow this advice

  • All three templates are a single column with no tables, text boxes, images or skill bars.
  • Your contact details are part of the page body, not a page header or footer.
  • Default section headings are plain: Summary, Experience, Education, Skills. If you rename one, keep it recognisable.
  • Body text is set at 10 to 10.5 point in common system fonts, left aligned.
  • Links are printed as visible text, so they still make sense on paper.
  • The Classic template, with black text and no lines, is the most conservative choice. Choose the Black colour in any template for an all-black resume.
  • Robert Morris also advises avoiding borders, lines and symbols, though bullet points are fine. Source: Robert Morris University Career Center, checked 26 October 2026. Modern draws a thin rule under each heading and Compact draws one under your name and contact details, and all three templates separate items such as your phone and email with a vertical bar ( | ). Classic in Black is the closest match to that advice; if a portal asks for plain text, use Copy plain text.

See the templates page for a side-by-side look.

Check your own PDF in two minutes

  1. Open the PDF you saved.
  2. Select all the text and copy it into a plain-text editor, such as Notepad.
  3. Check that it reads in a sensible order: name, contact details, then each section.
  4. Look for missing pieces or strange characters, especially in dates, bullets and links.
  5. Search the text for two or three key words from the advert that apply to you.

If the text comes out jumbled, try the Classic template, or paste the builder's plain-text version into the application instead.

What we do not claim

CV Tayyar does not give an "ATS score", and no layout can guarantee that a resume is shortlisted. Matching your real experience to the job matters far more than formatting. Do not hide key words in white or tiny text: anyone who copies the text out, or opens a plain-text view, will see it.

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Sources

Reviewed 26 October 2026. Suggestions on this page are our own; facts are cited above.