ATS-Friendly Resume Template
Most companies with more than a handful of openings run every resume through an applicant tracking system before a person sees it. An ATS-friendly template is one the parser can read top to bottom without losing a section.
What the template needs to do
- One column. Two-column layouts built with tables often get read row by row, mixing your skills into your job titles.
- Standard section names: Experience, Education, Skills. Creative headings like "My journey" are not recognized.
- Real text, never an image of text, and no text boxes or headers/footers holding contact details.
- Use the exact words of the job posting for skills and job titles; the ATS matches strings, not meanings.
- Save as PDF generated from text (like the one below), not a scan.
Sample: data analyst resume, Compact layout
Recommended layout: Compact — Dense single column, no color blocks — safest for ATS parsers.
Make yours
Every CV Forge account starts free: paste your notes, get a formatted PDF in the Compact template (free PDFs carry a small CV Forge watermark). Pro removes the watermark and unlocks all 9 templates; see pricing.
Generate this resume free — then swap in your notesNo signup, no card. Then check it against the posting with the free ATS Match Score.
Other resume templates
- Modern resume template
- Minimal resume template
- Compact resume template
- Classic resume template
- Academic resume template
- Bold resume template
- Tech resume template
- Split resume template
- Europass resume template
- One-Page Resume Template
- Student Resume Template
- Entry-Level Resume Template
- Executive Resume Template
- Career Change Resume Template
- Simple Resume Template
- Professional Resume Template