Five Easy Strategies How to Beat Applicant Tracking System

Have you ever come across a recruiter who required you to upload your resume or CV, take an online assessment, or answer a questionnaire? You were likely interacting with an applicant tracking system (ATS). Many big-name companies and corporations rely on this technology to pre-process applicants. Such large organizations have a massive workforce, and they often need to fill out a lot of positions simultaneously, and thus they need to rely on ATS to comb through the sheer volume of resumes submitted to find the best candidates.

Systems such as Jobvite ATS, JobScore, and OpenHire save recruiters and HR managers the trouble of having to interview weak, ill-prepared, and irrelevant applicants. Good for them, but bad for you, especially if you have all the qualifications they’re looking for, but didn’t format your resume in a way that appeals to the system’s trackers. If only you knew how ATS worked. We’ll help with that! We’ll help you develop an applicant tracking system resume that works both for machines and people.

How Does ATS Work?

There are a wide variety of ATSs in the market, but they generally work the same way - they scan submitted resumes for the right keywords, as determined by the people (most often, recruiters) who manage them. Say you’re applying for a job as a sales marketer, the ATS will check your papers for keywords like “sales enablement,” “ad agency,” “telemarketer,” and other such relevant terms. The ATS also tracks keywords that the company wants to avoid. For instance, if the company is looking for a sales manager, then the ATS will be on the lookout for words that signify inexperience, such as “junior” or “assistant.”

These are the main aspects to consider when wondering how to beat an applicant tracking system:

• Resume Ingestion

When you upload or email your resume, the system imports the file (usually .doc or PDF) into its database. It converts the document into plain text, which means that most design elements are stripped out. When choosing a resume format for an applicant tracking system, you should keep that in mind.

• Parsing into Structured Data

The system identifies and tags discrete fields: name, contact information, education, job titles, dates, skills, certifications… If you include complex formatting, such as tables, text boxes, and graphics, the ATS may misread or ignore them altogether. 

• Keyword Matching and Scoring

Hiring managers configure the ATS with “include” and “exclude” keyword lists, based on the job description. The ATS will compare the parsed data against positive keywords, which boost your relevance score. But it will also compare it against negative keywords that detract from your score. For example, if you’re vying for a manager role, “assistant” may be a negative keyword. In that case, it’s important to only include management skills in a resume.

The weighting can vary, and that’s why it’s so hard to beat Applicant Tracking System. A keyword in your job title or skills section may count more than a keyword buried in a bullet point. 

• Ranking and Filtering

Each resume gets a composite score. The resumes that are above a certain threshold are a priority for human review. Lower-scoring resumes remain in the system, but the recruiter might not pay that much attention to them. They will most likely find candidates to interview from the best-scoring resumes. 

• Human Review and Compliance

According to the regulations, every resume remains accessible to recruiters, even the ones that score low on the ATS. But recruiters will mostly focus on the top tier. 

Advanced ATS platforms incorporate recruiter feedback for ongoing learning. For example, they will get data about candidates that actually got an interview after the human review, so they will refine future keyword weightings and improve the matching accuracy. 

Why is it important for you to understand the mechanics of ATS? First and foremost, you should recognize that ATS isn’t out to get you. It’s just a tool that recruiters use to manage volume. When you know how it works, you’ll make better formatting and keyword choices. It’s possible to align your resume precisely with what the system and hiring team expect. Professional resume writers are trained to help you with that.  

Strategies to Optimize Your Resume for ATS

As you can imagine, even if you’re qualified for the job, you can still have a reduced chance of getting hired, simply for not knowing the right keywords to use in your submitted documents. With this in mind, you need to know how to beat Applicant Tracking Systems and write your resume in ways that an ATS will approve. How to beat Applicant Tracking System: Here are five anti-ATS strategies that you need to employ to beat the system.

1. Assess Yourself

Before you submit your resume, read the job descriptions carefully. Do you really have the qualifications they’re asking for? A couple of years back, I would say that you needed to meet at least 50% of the requirements before applying, or you would have wasted both your time and the company’s. In today's hyper-competitive and fast-changing job market, you should match your desired position by a minimum of 90%. Rough, I know. But that's the reality of today. 

Here’s how you can deepen your self-assessment:

2. Hit the Right Keywords

Each and every job comes with its own set of lingo that involves skills, responsibilities, tools, and training as they relate to the position, and the ATS will hone in on them. That’s what they’re designed to do, after all. To raise your chances of getting ATS approval, be sure to:

• Use key phrases used by the company in their job search ad, as these are likely what their ATS is programmed to pick up on. So if the ad says they’re looking for someone with experience using “Adobe Photoshop” or who underwent “sales training,” keep them on your resume. Of course, you need to actually possess the skills, talents, and training required before you can list them.
• Use services like Google Keyword Planner or KeywordTool to help you identify which keywords to focus on.
• Integrate them into your resume content naturally and organically. Don’t just tack the keywords onto your resume nonsensically. 
• When dealing with acronyms, use the short and spelled-out form (e.g., registered nurse – RN), as an ATS may be programmed to read one, the other, or both.

Important note: Avoid keyword stuffing, where you attempt to exploit the system by overusing keywords. This was effective in the past when ATS was still in its infancy. However, technology has developed enough today that it can quickly detect this kind of underhanded technique. Even if ATS lets you through, you’ll likely earn the ire of the HR manager with your overboard resume.

To make sure you’re on track, read the resume out loud. Does the language feel natural? If anything sounds weird, change it. Remember: it’s the human recruiter you’re trying to impress, so prioritize readability. 

3. Use the Correct Format

Resumes come in three different formats: chronological, functional, and a combination of the two. While the chronological format is the most commonly used, it might not be what the job calls for. Your resume’s format determines how the ATS will ‘read’ it, and it’s worth noting that many qualified resumes find their way in the trash because their format was not ATS-optimized. The rule of thumb for using the right resume format is as follows:

In addition, you need to keep your text basic and formal. Use standard, easy-to-read fonts such as Arial, Calibri, or Times New Roman. When highlighting words, stick to boldface, italics, and underline. Don’t use overly casual embellishments such as images, logos, symbols, and shadings. Format your resume correctly, and you’ll increase your chances of getting past ATS.

The format is especially important for federal resumes. Federal job applications have to be structured in a very specific way for the ATS to process them. 

4. Make Your Resume Error-Free and Engaging

Your resume not only needs to be free of any errors in grammar and spelling, but it also has to be engaging. Even when your resume has been optimized for ATS, you still have to impress employers and recruiters, so triple-check your resume information and pay attention to the writing style. Make it as winning as you can.

Why does this matter? The ATS helps with sorting, but a real human will still make the final decision. Grammatical mistakes, typos, or poorly structured sentences can create a negative impression. They signal carelessness or lack of attention to detail. On the other hand, clear and energetic writing can help your resume stand out once it gets through the initial scan. 

Here are a few ways to keep your resume error-free and engaging:

• Proofread multiple times. You can read your resume aloud to catch awkward phrasing and missing words. 

• Use grammar tools like Grammarly or Hemingway. You can also rely on AI to polish your language. Check the recommendations for passive voice, and get rid of it to improve the overall clarity. 

• A trusted colleague or mentor can help you catch issues you overlooked. They can also suggest improvements to your tone and flow. 

As for making the resume more engaging, these are the right tips to follow:

• Start your bullet points with strong action verbs: led, improved, developed, implemented… They immediately communicate impact. 

• When possible, quantify your achievements. “Increased sales by 22% in six months” sounds much more convincing than “Responsible for sales.”

• Check the tone and terminology of the job description and mirror that language in your resume. 

• Keep the resume readable by avoiding dense blocks of text. Use bullet points, consistent formatting, and white space to make it easy to skim. 

Avoid some common mistakes that hurt engagement:

       ❌ Overusing jargon or acronyms that aren’t widely known in the industry.

       ❌ Writing in first person (I managed…). Their resume should be written in a neutral, professional tone, no matter how unnatural it seems when you’re doing it for the first time.

       ❌ Using overly generic phrases like “team player” or “hard worker” without backing them up with examples.  

5. Bypass the ATS Altogether

An ATS isn’t the only way you can gain an audience with a recruiter. As long as you feel you are legitimately qualified, reach out to a recruiter using other channels, such as LinkedIn or even personal acquaintances. Use your social network both online and in real life to arrange to meet or even talk with them briefly, then hand your resume in person. If they can see that you are genuinely excited about the job, they will be more inclined to take your application seriously.

Why is bypassing the ATS one of the main job market trends in 2025? Software helps employers to manage high volumes of applications, but it’s far from perfect. When it comes to applicants with non-traditional backgrounds, career changes, or transferable skills that don’t match exact keywords, it doesn’t work to their advantage. Making a human connection can override the limitations of automated filtering and allow your personality to shine. 

Here’s how to beat the applicant tracking system by going around it:

• Use LinkedIn strategically. You should find and follow the hiring manager or someone in the department you’re applying to. Engage with their content genuinely, with likes and insightful comments. You can also send a personalized connection request with a short message to express your interest in the role. Once connected, you can politely ask if they are open to receiving your resume directly. 

• Use your personal and professional network. You can ask mutual connections to introduce you to someone inside the company, especially if it’s a referral-friendly organization. Employee referrals often bypass ATS filters and go straight to the recruiter’s inbox. 

• Attend industry conferences, webinars, meetups, and job fairs, both virtual and in-person. They are great places to meet hiring managers and company reps. Even a brief positive interaction can create a memory. When your resume shows up later, it will no longer be “cold.”

• Write a great outreach message. For example: “I admire the work your team is doing. I recently applied for a social media manager role and would love the chance to briefly introduce myself. I’d appreciate any opportunity to connect or send my resume directly if that’s appropriate.”

• Your goal is to be proactive, not pushy. Following up once is fine, but that's it. If you don’t get a response, leave it there and move on with your application. 

From Zero Interviews to Five: How One Candidate Cracked the ATS Code

Marissa, a mid-level marketing professional, had applied to more than 30 jobs in two months. And not a single callback. Despite having the right experience, she wasn’t hearing from employers. She started looking for the best resume writing services and came to Resumeble. Here’s what she changed as a result:

• We rewrote the resume using keywords pulled directly from job postings. We focused on phrases like “content strategy,” “Google Analytics,” and “campaign performance.”

• We simplified the formatting. Every job candidate should understand how long a resume should be. For a mid-level applicant, a page and a half is enough. In this case, we ditched the two-column layout and fancy imagery in favor of a clean, single-column structure. 

• We advised Marissa to reach out to a recruiter at her dream company via LinkedIn with a polite, personalized message. She attached her resume. The message was not desperate; it was friendly, short, and non-pushy. 

What happened? Within four weeks, Marissa landed three interviews, including one at the company she’d previously heard nothing from. 

What lesson can job candidates learn from this real-life example? Small changes lead to a big impact. By aligning your resume with ATS expectations and making a human connection, you get noticed and get results. 

Next Steps: Your ATS-Ready Resume Game Plan

We just guided you through the five key strategies to make your resume more ATS-friendly, without compromising your authenticity or relying on gimmicks. But before you close the tab and move on, take a few more moments to put this knowledge into action. A little effort can significantly improve your chances of landing interviews. 

Here’s a quick checklist you can follow every time you apply for a new position:

       ☐  Read the job description carefully and highlight important qualifications and language. 

       ☐  Tailor your resume with those keywords and relevant achievements. It’s especially important for candidates to include keywords in their resume objectives (that is, if your resume is calling for an objective. Thread it carefully here).

       ☐  Format your resume for readability: use clear headings, standard fonts, and no graphics, photos, or fancy design elements. 

       ☐  Proofread thoroughly, so you’ll catch any grammar or spelling issues. 

       ☐  Reach out to a recruiter, if appropriate. You can introduce yourself and show genuine interest. 

Feel free to print out this checklist or save it for future use. It’s a powerful way to stay consistent and intentional in your job search. 

Small Steps Lead to Big Wins

You don’t have to overhaul your entire resume in one sitting. That can feel overwhelming, and it doesn’t have to be your approach. Instead, commit to just 30 minutes today. Choose one section to work on. The resume accomplishments section is the most challenging one to improve, so it’s a good start. Focus on making it stronger, clearer, and more aligned with the job you’re excited about. 

With each section you revise, ask yourself: Does it reflect the language and skills the employer is looking for? Does it clearly show the value I brought to the role?

Small, intentional improvements like these don’t just increase your chances of passing the ATS; they build a resume that genuinely reflects your potential. Just a few smart tweaks can help you go from silence to multiple interviews in a matter of weeks. 

Remember: it’s not about gaming the system at all. It’s about working with it, so your hard-earned skills and experience don’t get overlooked.