Hiring teams skim fast—and ATS software filters even faster. The goal isn’t to “game” the system; it’s to make your resume easy to parse, easy to scan, and impossible to misunderstand. Here are practical ways to strengthen your resume for both ATS and real humans.
Most applicant tracking systems read left-to-right, top-to-bottom.
Quick check: If you copy/paste your resume into a plain text editor, does it still look readable?
Your bullets should show impact, not just responsibilities.
Try this formula:
Examples:
Tip: Aim for 2–5 strong bullets per role. If everything is “responsible for,” nothing stands out.
ATS often ranks resumes by how closely they match the posting.
Pro move: Create a small “core skills” list tailored per role instead of one giant generic list.
Recruiters typically scan in this order: title, recent roles, company names, dates, then bullets.
A strong Summary is 2–4 lines that quickly answers: “What do you do, and what are you known for?”
If you want, paste one job description + your current resume bullets (anonymized), and the community can help identify missing keywords and rewrite 2–3 bullets for stronger impact.
What’s the hardest part of resume writing for you right now—formatting, keywords, or turning your work into measurable results?
This is excellent, practical guidance—especially the “not to game the system” framing. One extra tactic that’s helped candidates: build a quick **JD-t...
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