ATS-friendly CV: the complete guide (2026)
Software often reads your CV first. If it can't read it properly, information can go missing or end up in the wrong place. Here's how to avoid that - with 8 concrete tips.
An Applicant Tracking System (ATS) is software that automatically screens CVs. Large employers (banks, multinationals, government) use them to make the first cut in 100+ applications per vacancy. If the software doesn't read your CV properly, information can go missing or end up in the wrong place - for example because of columns, images or unusual headings. The 8 tips below help your CV get read properly, so a human actually gets to see it.
1. Use standard section names
ATS systems work with pattern recognition. 'Work experience', 'Education', 'Skills', 'Languages' are recognized. 'My professional journey', 'What I can do', or 'Adventures' often don't or get misclassified. Be predictable in your structure, be creative in your bullets.
2. Avoid tables and columns
Two-column layouts (sidebar left + content right) look great, but ATS systems often read them top-to-bottom instead of column-by-column. The result: your skills from the sidebar end up in the middle of your work experience in the parsed text. Keep it linear: one column, top-to-bottom.
3. No text inside images or graphics
Your name in a logo, your role in a banner image, your skills in an infographic with circles - an ATS doesn't read that. All important info must be selectable text in your PDF. Test: open your PDF, try selecting text with your mouse. What you can't select, an ATS can't read either.
4. Pick a machine-readable font
Standard fonts always work: Inter, Calibri, Arial, Lato, Garamond, Source Serif. Avoid handwritten or decorative fonts - ATS OCR often doesn't recognize them correctly. Our templates use standard fonts (Helvetica and Times) that every PDF reader has built in.
5. Generate the PDF as text-based, not as scan
A CV scanned on the printer and saved as image PDF = unreadable for ATS. A CV exported directly from Word, Google Docs or our builder = perfectly readable. Test: open your PDF in a text editor (copy-paste into Notepad). Does everything come through as text? Great. See gibberish? Re-export.
6. Use keywords from the job description
ATS systems often score CVs on keyword match with the vacancy. Vacancy asks for 'JavaScript and React' - write exactly that (not 'JS / React ecosystem'). Vacancy asks for 'project management' - use the same phrasing. Don't lie: only match your real experience with the right words.
7. Filename without spaces or strange characters
Good filenames: 'CV_Sophie_van_Berg.pdf' or 'cv-sophie-van-berg.pdf'. Bad: 'my cv (final, finally) v3.pdf' or 'CV Sophie #1.pdf'. Avoid spaces (ATS systems sometimes break names on spaces), accents and special characters.
8. Test your CV against a real ATS
Before you send: test. Quick method: copy all text from your PDF and paste into a blank Word or Notepad document. Does everything come through cleanly, in the right order, with all info? Then an ATS will read it too. Scattered or incomplete text? Then your layout needs adjusting - usually by switching to a single-column template.
Quick path: use a tested template
All 10 templates on CVontwerper are tested with major HR systems (Workday, Greenhouse, Lever). Four of them are single-column (look for the "ATS-safe" badge), and all 10 contain real, selectable text without photos or skill bars. You don't need to configure anything - pick a template, fill in your details, download. That way you avoid the most common reading errors without walking through the checklist above. Building is free, downloading €2.
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