How to improve your resume's ATS score, step by step
An ATS score is an estimate of how easily software can read your resume and how closely it matches a job post. No score predicts whether a particular company will shortlist you, but the same fixes that raise it also make your resume easier for a person to read. Work through these steps in order.
Start by checking what software can actually read
Software cannot score what it cannot read. Before touching the wording, make sure your file is plain and parseable. Run it through a checker and look at the extracted text: if your name, a job title or a date is missing or jumbled, the layout is the problem, not the content.
- Use one column. Sidebars and tables often read out of order.
- Keep important text out of images, text boxes, headers and footers.
- Use a normal font at 10 to 12 points and save as PDF with real, selectable text.
- Do not use a scanned or photographed resume: it has no text for software to read.
Use standard section headings
Parsers look for familiar headings to sort your information into fields. Headings such as Summary, Experience, Education, Skills and Projects are understood almost everywhere. Creative names like “My Journey” or “What I Bring” can leave a section unrecognised.
Match the job post's language, truthfully
Read the job description and list the skills, tools and duties it repeats. Where you genuinely have that experience, use the same wording the employer uses: write “Microsoft Excel” if the post says so rather than only “spreadsheets”. Spell out an abbreviation once, then use either form.
Never add a skill you do not have. Interviewers will ask about it, and many application forms ask you to confirm it. If a required skill is missing, say so honestly in your cover letter and show the closest related experience instead.
- Put the most relevant skills in your Skills section and again in the experience bullets where you used them.
- Mention each important keyword in context, not in a long unexplained list.
- Use the job title as written in the post if it honestly describes your work.
Show results with numbers
Bullets that start with an action verb and end with a measurable result read better to humans and give software more specific terms to match. Compare “Responsible for sales” with “Grew monthly sales from ₹4 lakh to ₹6.5 lakh in six months by reopening dormant accounts”. Only use figures you can defend in an interview.
Make the contact details and dates unmistakable
Put your phone number, email and city at the top of the page body, not in the page header. Use one date format throughout, such as Jun 2021 to Present, and keep job titles and company names on clear lines of their own.
Re-check, then tailor for each application
After each change, run the checker again with the job description pasted in and see which skills are still missing. Keep one master resume with everything you have done, then trim and reorder a copy for each job. A resume that is tailored to the post will usually score better than a generic one, and it reads better too.
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Keep reading
- How to make your resume ATS-friendlyWhat applicant tracking systems do, how they read your resume and how to avoid common formatting mistakes.
- Resume keywords: how to find and use the right onesHow to pick keywords from a job post and use them naturally so ATS software and recruiters see the match.
- How to check your resume with a free ATS checker before you applyWhat an ATS resume checker looks at, how to read your score, and how to fix the gaps against a job description before you apply on Naukri, LinkedIn or a company site.
- How to tailor your resume to a job descriptionLearn to read a job post, pick out what matters, and adjust your summary, skills and bullets for each application without inventing experience.