ATS-Friendly Resume Templates

Designs that applicant tracking systems read in the right order: standard headings, real text and skills written as words. The safe choice for applications through job portals.

27 designs. Your words stay put when you switch, so try as many as you like.

What makes a template ATS-friendly?

A clear reading order

Text runs from top to bottom, so a parser meets your name, jobs and dates in the order you wrote them. The few two-column designs here keep the second column short and plain.

Headings parsers expect

Experience, Education and Skills are the words tracking systems map to the fields of a profile. Creative names for sections make that harder.

Skills written as words

None of these designs draws skills as bars, stars or dots. A parser cannot read a graphic, and a recruiter cannot tell what 80% of a skill means.

Our rating, not a guarantee

The rating is our reading of each design's structure, not a test against every system on the market. The ATS guide explains what the software does and how keywords work.

Questions

Are ATS-friendly templates plain?

Plain in structure, not dull: type, spacing and one accent color do the work. Horizon, Folio and Monogram show how much character fits in a single column.

Can an ATS-friendly resume have a photo?

Yes, several of these templates have a place for one. Whether to add it depends on the country: most employers in the US, the UK and Canada prefer no photo, while it is common in much of Europe.

Should I upload a PDF or a Word file?

Either works when the text is real text, as it is in every file the builder makes. Send what the posting asks for; if it asks for nothing, a PDF keeps your layout exactly as you saw it.

More template styles