Applicant Tracking Systems (ATS) - How to make sure a human reads your resume

If you’ve ever applied for a job online, you’ve likely encountered an Applicant Tracking System (ATS)—a tool designed to streamline the hiring process. In theory, ATS systems are a recruiter’s best friend, helping them sift through hundreds (or even thousands) of resumes quickly. However, for job seekers, these systems often feel more like an obstacle than a helpful filter.

The truth is, ATS systems are deeply flawed, and their limitations are frustratingly apparent, especially when they can’t even populate basic fields correctly from your resume. Let’s take a closer look at why ATS systems aren’t as smart as we’d like to think, and how these shortcomings might be impacting your chances of landing a job.

1. Formatting? ATS Can’t Handle It

One of the most infuriating things about ATS systems is how poorly they handle formatting. Many job seekers spend hours perfecting their resumes—adding sections, bullet points, tables, or even creative designs—to showcase their skills and experience. But here’s the catch: ATS systems are notoriously bad at reading anything beyond basic text formatting.

Tables? They might as well be invisible.
Fancy fonts or graphics? Good luck!
Even basic bullet points can trip up the system.

ATS systems often reduce your beautifully formatted resume into a jumbled mess of text, causing important details to either disappear or be miscategorized. Worse yet, they’re prone to misinterpreting sections—so your skills might get thrown into the work experience section or your contact info might be completely overlooked.

2. Autopopulate Fails: A First-Hand Look at the Problem

If you’ve used the autopopulate feature when applying for a job online, you’ve probably had that moment where you hit “next” and realize the system has completely butchered your resume. Suddenly, your job title is listed as your company name, or your email address is missing. You think to yourself, “How did it mess up something so basic?”

This isn’t just annoying; it’s a clear indication that ATS systems aren’t great at recognizing even the most obvious sections of a resume. If a system can’t correctly identify your job title or work history, what else is it misreading? It raises a critical point: if the system can’t autopopulate simple fields, what are the chances it’s correctly assessing your qualifications?

3. The Keyword Game: If You Don’t Use the Right Terms, You Lose

Another major flaw with ATS systems is how heavily they rely on keywords. Many ATS tools are designed to scan resumes for specific words and phrases. The problem? If your resume doesn’t use the exact keywords from the job description, you could be automatically disqualified—no matter how qualified you actually are.

For example, if a job posting asks for experience with "project management software," and you list “JIRA and Trello,” the ATS might not make the connection. To the system, your resume could appear to lack this critical skill simply because you didn’t use the generic term “project management software.”

This leads to a situation where job seekers are playing a game of keyword bingo, trying to guess the exact words that will trigger the system to rank their resume higher. It’s not about what you know—it’s about whether you use the exact language the system is programmed to recognize.

4. Low Match Ratings: An Unfair Comparison

Because of these keyword-driven algorithms, ATS systems often assign a match rating to candidates based on how well their resume aligns with the job description. But here’s the catch: someone who knows how to game the system by stuffing their resume with keywords might score a higher match rating than someone who’s more qualified but uses different phrasing.

You could have 10 years of experience in the exact role, but if you describe it in a way that doesn’t match the job posting’s wording, the system might rank you lower than someone with far less relevant experience. That’s a big flaw in a system designed to identify the best candidates.

5. ATS Can’t Evaluate Personality, Passion, or Potential

While keywords and formatting are key technical issues, one of the biggest drawbacks of ATS systems is that they are, by design, unable to assess a candidate’s soft skills, personality, or potential.

You could be the perfect cultural fit for a company, or you might have the drive and creativity they need, but if it’s not reflected in a way the ATS can “read,” you’re out of luck. These systems reduce human potential to a set of binary qualifications, ignoring the complex and nuanced qualities that make someone a great hire.

6. What Can You Do?

While it’s easy to get frustrated with ATS systems, it’s important to recognize that they aren’t going anywhere. Many companies rely on them to deal with the flood of resumes they receive. So, what can you do to improve your chances of getting through the ATS barrier?

Here are some tips:

• Keep Your Formatting Simple: Stick to basic fonts, avoid tables, graphics, or complicated layouts. A plain, clean resume has a better chance of being read correctly by an ATS.

• Tailor Your Resume for Each Job: Read the job description carefully and use the same language in your resume. If the job posting mentions specific skills or qualifications, make sure those exact terms appear on your resume.

• Use Standard Headings: Stick with common section titles like “Experience,” “Education,” and “Skills.” Avoid using creative headings like “My Journey” or “What I Do.”

• Don’t Overuse Keywords: While it’s important to include relevant keywords, avoid keyword stuffing. ATS systems can sometimes detect when candidates are trying to game the system.

• Check the Autopopulate Results: Always review how the system auto-populates your resume into fields when applying online. Manually fix any mistakes to ensure the information is accurate.

Final Thoughts: ATS Needs to Evolve

While ATS systems can be helpful to recruiters who need to manage large volumes of applicants, they have significant limitations that create barriers for job seekers. These systems are far from perfect and often reject highly qualified candidates simply because of formatting issues or missing keywords.

For job seekers, navigating the ATS world means adapting your resume to meet the system’s quirks. But for employers, there’s a bigger takeaway: ATS systems need to evolve. As it stands, these tools are leaving too many qualified candidates on the table and relying too heavily on rigid algorithms that don’t reflect the full value of an individual’s experience.

Until that happens, remember: your goal is to write a resume that not only reflects your best self but also plays nice with the robots.