What is ATS? How to Create an ATS-Friendly Resume in 2026

1. What is ATS?

An Applicant Tracking System (ATS) is a software application that employers use to manage, organize, and automate their entire recruitment process. Think of it as a digital gatekeeper that stands between your resume and the hiring manager. When you submit a job application online, your resume does not land directly in a recruiter's inbox. Instead, it enters an ATS database where it is parsed, categorized, and scored before any human ever reviews it.

ATS software was originally developed in the late 1990s as companies began receiving more applications than their HR teams could manually process. The first systems were simple databases that stored resumes and allowed keyword searches. Over the decades, these systems have evolved into sophisticated platforms powered by artificial intelligence and natural language processing. Today's ATS solutions do far more than store resumes -- they actively screen, rank, and even predict candidate suitability based on complex algorithms.

The Scale of ATS Adoption

The numbers speak for themselves. As of 2026, over 99% of Fortune 500 companies use some form of ATS to handle their hiring. Approximately 75% of mid-size companies (50-500 employees) have adopted ATS technology, and even small businesses are increasingly turning to these tools. Research from Jobscan indicates that roughly 97% of large employers rely on ATS software, while a growing number of small to medium businesses adopt simplified versions. The global ATS market was valued at over $2.7 billion in 2025 and continues to grow rapidly.

This means that no matter what industry you work in or what level of seniority you hold, your resume will almost certainly pass through an ATS at some point during your job search. Ignoring ATS compatibility is essentially throwing your application into a void.

Popular ATS Software Used by Employers

There are dozens of ATS platforms on the market, each with slightly different parsing capabilities and quirks. Some of the most widely used systems include:

• Workday: Used by many Fortune 500 companies, especially in finance, healthcare, and technology sectors. Known for its comprehensive HR suite integration.
• Taleo (Oracle): One of the oldest and most widely deployed ATS platforms, commonly used by large enterprises and government organizations.
• Greenhouse: Popular among technology startups and mid-size companies. Known for its structured hiring approach and user-friendly interface.
• Lever: Favored by fast-growing tech companies. Combines ATS and CRM functionality in a single platform.
• iCIMS: A major enterprise-level ATS used across industries including retail, healthcare, and financial services.
• SAP SuccessFactors: Widely adopted by multinational corporations that already use SAP for other business processes.
• BambooHR: Popular among small to mid-size businesses for its simplicity and affordability.
• SmartRecruiters: An enterprise recruiting platform that emphasizes candidate experience alongside ATS functionality.

Why Do Companies Use ATS?

To understand why ATS is so prevalent, consider the volume of applications modern companies receive. A single job posting on a popular platform like LinkedIn or Indeed can generate hundreds or even thousands of applications within days. A mid-size company may receive 50,000 to 100,000 applications per year, while large enterprises can see millions. Without automated screening, HR teams would be completely overwhelmed.

ATS software helps employers in several critical ways. It reduces the time-to-hire by automating initial screening, which can cut the average hiring cycle from 42 days down to under 30. It ensures compliance with equal employment opportunity regulations by standardizing the screening process. It creates a searchable database of candidates that recruiters can revisit for future openings. And it provides analytics and reporting that help organizations optimize their recruitment strategies over time.

From a cost perspective, ATS adoption is a no-brainer for most employers. The average cost per hire in the United States is approximately $4,700, and ATS software can reduce this figure significantly by streamlining the most labor-intensive parts of the recruitment process. For companies making hundreds or thousands of hires per year, the return on investment is substantial.

2. How Do ATS Systems Work?

Understanding the inner workings of an ATS is crucial for optimizing your resume. While each ATS platform has its own proprietary algorithms, they all follow a similar general process when handling your application. Let's break down exactly what happens from the moment you click "Submit" to the point where a recruiter might (or might not) see your resume.

Step 1: Document Parsing

The first thing an ATS does is parse your resume document. Parsing is the process of reading the file, extracting text content, and organizing it into structured data fields. The ATS attempts to identify and categorize information such as your name, contact details, work history, education, skills, and certifications.

This is where many resumes fail. If your document uses unusual formatting, the parser may misinterpret or completely miss important information. For example, if you place your name in a document header rather than the body, many ATS parsers will skip it entirely. If you use a table to lay out your work experience, the parser might jumble the rows and columns, mixing up your job titles with your dates of employment.

Modern ATS parsers have improved significantly in their ability to handle different formats, but they are still far from perfect. The parsing accuracy varies widely depending on the software version, the document format, and the complexity of the resume layout. Studies suggest that even the best ATS parsers achieve only about 60-70% accuracy when extracting information from formatted resumes, which means critical details can be lost or misinterpreted.

Step 2: Information Extraction and Categorization

Once the document is parsed, the ATS extracts specific pieces of information and maps them to corresponding fields in its database. A typical ATS database has fields for: candidate name, email address, phone number, location, work experience (with sub-fields for company name, job title, start date, end date, and description), education (with sub-fields for institution, degree, field of study, and graduation date), skills, certifications, and sometimes additional categories.

The ATS uses section headers and contextual clues to determine which parts of your resume correspond to which database fields. This is why using standard, recognizable section headers is so important. If you label your work history as "My Professional Journey" instead of "Work Experience," the ATS may not correctly categorize that section, and your job history could end up in the wrong field or be ignored entirely.

Step 3: Keyword Analysis and Matching

This is the core of ATS screening. The system compares the keywords and phrases found in your resume against the requirements specified in the job posting. Each job listing in the ATS is associated with a set of required and preferred qualifications -- these might be specific skills, certifications, years of experience, educational requirements, or industry-specific terminology.

The keyword matching process can be simple or sophisticated depending on the ATS. Basic systems use exact string matching: if the job requires "Python" and your resume says "Python," it's a match. More advanced systems use semantic matching, which can recognize that "machine learning" and "ML" refer to the same concept, or that "managed a team" is related to "leadership experience." However, you should never assume the ATS you're dealing with has sophisticated semantic capabilities. Always include exact keyword matches from the job description.

Step 4: Scoring and Ranking

Based on the keyword analysis, the ATS assigns each resume a compatibility score. This score reflects how closely the resume matches the job requirements. The scoring algorithm typically weighs different factors: required skills might carry more weight than preferred skills, recent experience might be valued more than older experience, and exact matches might score higher than partial matches.

Recruiters can then sort all applications by score and focus their attention on the highest-ranking candidates. Some ATS platforms use a percentage-based score (e.g., "85% match"), while others use a simpler ranking system (e.g., "Qualified," "Partially Qualified," "Not Qualified"). In many cases, the recruiter sets a minimum score threshold, and any resume falling below that threshold is automatically filtered out without human review.

Step 5: Filtering and Recruiter Review

After scoring, the ATS presents the filtered results to the recruiter. Most recruiters configure their ATS with specific filters and knockout questions. These might include binary requirements such as "Must be authorized to work in the US" or "Must have a valid driver's license." If your resume or application does not satisfy these hard requirements, it may be automatically rejected regardless of your keyword score.

Recruiters typically review only the top 10-20% of scored applications. For a posting that receives 300 applications, this means approximately 30-60 resumes will actually be read by a human. The rest remain in the ATS database, potentially searchable for future openings, but effectively invisible for the current role.

3. ATS-Friendly CV Format

The format of your resume plays a decisive role in whether ATS software can correctly read and interpret your information. Even if you have the perfect qualifications, poor formatting can render your resume unreadable to automated systems. Here is a comprehensive guide to formatting your resume for maximum ATS compatibility.

File Format

The file format you use matters more than most candidates realize. Different ATS platforms have different capabilities when it comes to reading various file types.

• .docx (Microsoft Word): This is the safest and most universally compatible format. Virtually every ATS can parse .docx files accurately. If you are unsure which system the employer uses, .docx is your best bet.
• .pdf (Portable Document Format): Modern ATS systems handle PDFs well, but some older systems or smaller company platforms may struggle with them. PDFs created from text-based documents (e.g., exported from Word or Google Docs) are generally fine. PDFs created from scanned images are not readable by any ATS.
• .txt (Plain Text): While the most ATS-compatible format technically, plain text files lose all formatting and look unprofessional if a human reads them. Use this only as a last resort.
• Avoid: .pages, .odt, .rtf, .jpg, .png, and any image-based formats. These are either incompatible with most ATS platforms or result in significant data loss during parsing.

Font Selection

Your font choice directly affects ATS readability. Some fonts contain characters or ligatures that ATS parsers interpret incorrectly, leading to garbled text in the database. Stick to these ATS-safe fonts:

• Highly Recommended: Arial, Calibri, Helvetica, Times New Roman, Garamond, Georgia, Cambria
• Acceptable: Verdana, Tahoma, Trebuchet MS, Book Antiqua, Palatino
• Avoid: Script fonts (e.g., Brush Script, Lucida Handwriting), decorative fonts (e.g., Papyrus, Comic Sans), symbol fonts (e.g., Wingdings, Symbol), and any custom or downloaded fonts

Use a font size of 10-12 points for body text and 14-16 points for section headers. Your name at the top can be 16-20 points. Never use font sizes smaller than 10 points -- not only are they harder for humans to read, but some ATS systems may skip text that appears to be intentionally hidden through tiny sizing.

Page Layout and Margins

A clean, well-structured page layout is essential for both ATS compatibility and human readability. Follow these guidelines:

• Margins: Use standard margins between 0.5 inches and 1 inch on all sides. The most common recommendation is 0.75 inches, which provides a good balance between content space and visual breathing room.
• Alignment: Use left-aligned text throughout your resume. Centered text is acceptable for your name and contact information at the top, but the rest of the document should be left-aligned. Avoid justified text, as it can create irregular spacing that some parsers struggle with.
• Spacing: Use consistent spacing between sections. A single blank line between sections is standard. Use 1.0 to 1.15 line spacing for body text. Avoid cramming too much content onto a single page -- white space improves both ATS parsing and human readability.
• Page Length: Keep your resume to 1-2 pages. One page is ideal for candidates with fewer than 10 years of experience. Two pages are acceptable for senior professionals. Rarely should a resume exceed two pages unless you are in academia, medicine, or government where longer CVs are standard.

Column Structure

This is one of the most critical formatting decisions for ATS compatibility. Always use a single-column layout. While multi-column resumes look visually appealing and use space efficiently, they create significant problems for ATS parsers.

When an ATS encounters a multi-column layout, it typically reads text from left to right across the entire page width, regardless of column boundaries. This means content from your left column gets merged with content from your right column on the same horizontal line, creating nonsensical text strings in the database. For example, if you have your job title in the left column and a skill in the right column on the same line, the ATS might combine them into a single unintelligible entry.

4. Correct Section Headers for ATS

Section headers act as signposts that tell the ATS where to categorize different pieces of information from your resume. Using standard, conventional headers dramatically improves parsing accuracy. ATS systems are programmed to recognize specific header labels and map them to corresponding database fields. When you use non-standard or creative headers, the ATS may fail to categorize your information correctly, which means your qualifications could be ignored during keyword matching and scoring.

Recommended Standard Headers

Use these exact header labels (or very close variations) for maximum ATS compatibility:

• Contact Information or Personal Information -- For your name, email, phone, location, and LinkedIn URL
• Professional Summary or Summary -- For your career overview (also acceptable: "Profile," "Executive Summary," "Career Summary")
• Work Experience or Professional Experience -- For your employment history (also acceptable: "Experience," "Employment History")
• Education -- For your academic background (also acceptable: "Academic Background," "Educational Background")
• Skills or Technical Skills -- For your competencies (also acceptable: "Core Competencies," "Areas of Expertise," "Professional Skills")
• Certifications or Licenses and Certifications -- For your professional credentials
• Projects -- For significant project work (also acceptable: "Key Projects," "Selected Projects")
• Languages -- For your language proficiency
• Volunteer Experience -- For unpaid work and community involvement
• Awards and Honors -- For recognition and achievements

Headers to Avoid

Creative headers might look unique on paper, but they confuse ATS parsers. Avoid these types of non-standard labels:

• "My Professional Journey" instead of "Work Experience"
• "What I Bring to the Table" instead of "Skills"
• "Where I Studied" instead of "Education"
• "Career Highlights" as a catch-all section (too vague for ATS categorization)
• "About Me" instead of "Professional Summary"
• "Toolbox" instead of "Technical Skills"

Formatting Your Headers

Beyond choosing the right words, how you format your headers also matters for ATS parsing. Use bold text and a slightly larger font size (14-16 points) to distinguish headers from body text. Keep headers on their own line -- do not run header text into the same line as body content. You can use a horizontal line below headers for visual separation, but avoid using text boxes, shapes, or graphics as header backgrounds.

Consistency is key. If you bold your first header, bold all of them. If you use title case for one header, use it for all. ATS systems rely on formatting patterns to identify section boundaries, and inconsistent formatting can confuse the parser.

5. Keyword Optimization

Keywords are the foundation of ATS screening. The system's primary job is to determine whether your resume contains the skills, qualifications, and experience terms that match the job requirements. Effective keyword optimization is the single most impactful thing you can do to improve your ATS score. However, there is a fine line between strategic keyword placement and keyword stuffing -- and crossing that line can be just as harmful as ignoring keywords entirely.

How to Extract Keywords from Job Descriptions

The job description is your keyword blueprint. Every word the employer uses to describe their ideal candidate is a potential keyword you should incorporate into your resume. Here is a systematic approach to keyword extraction:

1. Read the full job description carefully at least twice. On the first read, get a general understanding of the role. On the second read, start highlighting key terms.
2. Identify hard requirements -- these are usually preceded by words like "must have," "required," "minimum," or "essential." These keywords carry the most weight in ATS scoring.
3. Note preferred qualifications -- these are often labeled "preferred," "desired," "nice to have," or "bonus." Including these can boost your score above other candidates.
4. Look for repeated terms -- if a skill or qualification is mentioned multiple times in the posting, it is almost certainly a high-priority keyword.
5. Capture both acronyms and full terms -- include "SEO" and "Search Engine Optimization," "CRM" and "Customer Relationship Management," "SQL" and "Structured Query Language."
6. Analyze 3-5 similar job postings from different companies to identify industry-standard terminology that should appear on any resume for this type of role.

Natural Keyword Placement

Once you have identified your target keywords, the next step is incorporating them into your resume in a way that reads naturally. Keywords should appear in context, within meaningful sentences or bullet points that demonstrate your experience with that skill or qualification. The most effective approach is to weave keywords throughout multiple sections of your resume:

• Professional Summary: Include 3-5 of the most important keywords that define your professional identity and align with the job requirements.
• Work Experience bullet points: This is where most keywords should appear, embedded in achievement statements that show how you used the skill and what results you achieved.
• Skills section: List keywords as standalone items. This serves as both a quick reference for human readers and a keyword catch-all for the ATS.
• Education and Certifications: Include relevant coursework, degree titles, and certification names that contain target keywords.

Avoiding Keyword Stuffing

Keyword stuffing -- the practice of overloading your resume with target keywords to inflate your ATS score -- is counterproductive and potentially harmful to your application. While older ATS systems could be fooled by keyword repetition, modern systems are designed to detect and penalize this behavior. More importantly, even if your stuffed resume passes the ATS, a human recruiter will immediately recognize it as unnatural and likely reject it.

Signs of keyword stuffing include: repeating the same keyword more than 3-4 times in a one-page resume, listing skills without any supporting context or achievement, including skills you do not actually possess, and using hidden text (white font on white background) to add invisible keywords. All of these practices should be strictly avoided.

6. Common ATS Mistakes That Get Your Resume Rejected

Even well-qualified candidates get filtered out by ATS systems because of avoidable formatting and content errors. Understanding these common pitfalls is just as important as knowing what to do right. Here are the most frequent ATS mistakes and how to fix them.

Using Tables for Layout

Tables are one of the most common reasons resumes fail ATS parsing. Many candidates use tables to create clean-looking multi-column layouts or to align dates with job titles. However, ATS parsers handle table data unpredictably. Some systems read tables row by row (left to right across each row), others read column by column (top to bottom in each column), and some simply strip out table content entirely.

The result is that information in your table cells can appear jumbled, out of order, or missing entirely in the ATS database. Instead of tables, use tabs, spaces, and line breaks to align text. If you need to show dates alongside job titles, place the date on the same line as the title, separated by a tab or multiple spaces, or put dates on a separate line directly below the title.

Embedding Graphics, Images, and Charts

ATS systems cannot read images. Period. Any information contained within a graphic element -- whether it is your headshot, a logo, a skill rating bar, an infographic, or a chart showing your proficiency levels -- is completely invisible to the ATS. This includes icons used as bullet points, graphical section dividers, and even text that has been converted to an image format.

Skill rating systems using stars, progress bars, or percentage circles are particularly problematic. Not only can the ATS not read them, but they also communicate ambiguous information to human readers. What does "4 out of 5 stars in Python" actually mean? Replace graphical ratings with specific, quantifiable descriptions such as "Advanced Python proficiency with 5 years of production development experience" or list your proficiency level using standard descriptors like "Expert," "Advanced," "Intermediate," or "Basic."

Placing Information in Headers and Footers

This is a surprisingly common and costly mistake. Many resume templates place the candidate's name, contact information, or page numbers in the document's header or footer area. While this looks clean and professional in print, most ATS parsers completely ignore header and footer content because these areas are technically separate from the document body in file formats like .docx.

If your name and phone number are in the header, the ATS may create a candidate record with no name and no contact information -- making it impossible for a recruiter to reach you even if your resume scores well. Always place all important information in the main body of the document.

Using Special Characters and Symbols

Special characters, Unicode symbols, and decorative bullet points can cause parsing errors. While standard characters like basic bullet points (round dots) are generally safe, more exotic symbols like arrows, checkmarks, stars, and emojis may be converted to question marks, empty boxes, or random characters by the ATS parser.

Stick to standard bullet characters (the ones generated by your word processor's built-in bullet list function), hyphens, and basic punctuation. Avoid mathematical symbols, currency symbols beyond the dollar sign, and any characters that require special encoding.

Multi-Column Layouts and Text Boxes

We covered column issues in the formatting section, but text boxes deserve special mention. Text boxes in Word documents are floating objects that exist outside the normal document flow. ATS parsers typically process the main text body of a document sequentially, and text boxes may be read out of order, at the end of the document, or not at all.

If you have placed your contact information, skills summary, or any other important content in a text box, there is a significant chance the ATS will either miss it completely or append it to the end of your resume as disjointed text. Remove all text boxes and place the content directly in the document body.

Other Common Mistakes

• Submitting a scanned PDF: If you scanned a physical document, the resulting PDF is just an image -- the ATS cannot extract any text from it. Always create your resume digitally.
• Using uncommon file names: Name your file professionally using the format "FirstName_LastName_Resume.docx". Avoid generic names like "Resume.docx" or cryptic names like "doc_v3_final_FINAL.pdf".
• Not tailoring your resume: Submitting the same generic resume for every application is one of the biggest mistakes. Each application should be tailored with keywords from that specific job description.
• Abbreviation inconsistency: If you use "Sr." for "Senior" in one place, do not spell it out elsewhere. Better yet, include both the abbreviation and the full term at least once.
• Missing date formats: ATS systems expect dates in recognizable formats. Use "January 2024 - Present" or "01/2024 - Present" rather than "Since last year" or "2024-now".

7. ATS Tips by Industry

While the core principles of ATS optimization are universal, different industries have unique keyword patterns, formatting expectations, and ATS platforms that you should be aware of. Tailoring your approach based on your target industry can give you a meaningful advantage over other candidates.

Technology

The tech industry is arguably the most ATS-intensive sector. Companies like Google, Meta, Amazon, and Microsoft receive hundreds of thousands of applications annually and rely heavily on ATS screening. Tech resumes should emphasize specific programming languages, frameworks, tools, and platforms by name. Avoid vague descriptions like "proficient in multiple programming languages" -- the ATS needs to see "Python," "JavaScript," "Java," or whatever languages you actually know.

Include version numbers and specific technologies where relevant: "React 18" is more precise than "React," and "AWS Lambda" is more searchable than "cloud computing." List your technical skills in a dedicated section, but also mention them in your work experience bullet points to show practical application. Include relevant certifications such as AWS Certified Solutions Architect, Google Cloud Professional Data Engineer, or Certified Kubernetes Administrator, as these are commonly used as ATS filter criteria.

Finance and Banking

Financial services firms use some of the most stringent ATS configurations because of regulatory requirements. Keywords should include specific financial instruments, regulatory frameworks, and analytical tools. Terms like "financial modeling," "risk assessment," "regulatory compliance," "GAAP," "IFRS," "Bloomberg Terminal," "SEC reporting," and "SOX compliance" are common ATS filters in this industry.

Quantify your achievements with dollar amounts, percentages, and portfolio sizes. Finance recruiters and their ATS systems are specifically looking for measurable results. Mention specific certifications like CFA (Chartered Financial Analyst), CPA (Certified Public Accountant), FRM (Financial Risk Manager), or Series 7/63 licenses, as these are frequently used as knockout criteria.

Healthcare

Healthcare ATS systems are uniquely demanding because of the critical importance of certifications, licenses, and compliance requirements. Your resume must include the full names and acronyms of all relevant credentials: "Registered Nurse (RN)," "Board Certified in Internal Medicine," "Basic Life Support (BLS)," "Advanced Cardiovascular Life Support (ACLS)," etc.

Include specific Electronic Health Record (EHR) systems you have used, such as Epic, Cerner, or Meditech. Mention patient population sizes, clinical specialties, and any specialized procedures or equipment experience. Healthcare organizations often use ATS knockout questions related to active license status and specific certifications, so ensure these are prominently displayed on your resume.

Marketing

Marketing resumes need to balance creative positioning with ATS-friendly formatting. This can be challenging because marketing professionals often want their resumes to showcase their design sensibility. Resist the urge to use elaborate graphics or creative layouts -- save your design portfolio for your website or a separate attachment.

Key ATS keywords in marketing include specific platforms and tools: "Google Analytics 4," "HubSpot," "Salesforce Marketing Cloud," "Hootsuite," "SEMrush," "Ahrefs," "Mailchimp." Include channel-specific expertise such as "SEO," "SEM," "PPC," "content marketing," "social media marketing," "email marketing," "influencer marketing," and "affiliate marketing." Quantify results with metrics like "increased organic traffic by 150%," "reduced cost per acquisition by 30%," or "grew email subscriber list from 10K to 50K."

Engineering

Engineering resumes should highlight specific software tools, methodologies, and certifications. Depending on the engineering discipline, important keywords might include "AutoCAD," "SolidWorks," "MATLAB," "ANSYS," "Lean Six Sigma," "PMP," "LEED," "FEA (Finite Element Analysis)," or "GMP (Good Manufacturing Practice)."

Engineering ATS systems often filter by specific years of experience with particular tools or methodologies, so be explicit about your tenure with each technology. Include relevant professional engineering licenses (PE, EIT) and industry-specific certifications. Mention specific standards and codes you have worked with, such as ASME, IEEE, ISO, or ASTM standards, as these are frequently used as ATS search terms by engineering recruiters.

8. ATS-Friendly Resume Checklist

Before you submit your next application, run through this comprehensive checklist to ensure your resume is fully optimized for ATS screening. Each item addresses a specific aspect of ATS compatibility that can make or break your application.

File and Format

• Resume is saved in .docx or text-based PDF format
• File is named professionally (FirstName_LastName_Resume.docx)
• File size is under 5 MB
• Document is not password-protected or encrypted

Layout and Design

• Single-column layout is used throughout the document
• No tables are used for content layout
• No text boxes or floating elements are present
• No images, graphics, charts, or icons are included
• No information is placed in document headers or footers
• Standard margins between 0.5 and 1 inch on all sides
• Consistent formatting (fonts, sizes, spacing) throughout
• Resume is 1-2 pages in length

Fonts and Typography

• Standard ATS-safe font is used (Arial, Calibri, Times New Roman, etc.)
• Body text is 10-12 points in size
• Section headers are 14-16 points in size
• No decorative, script, or custom fonts are used
• Bold and italic formatting is used sparingly and consistently

Section Headers

• Standard section labels are used (Work Experience, Education, Skills, etc.)
• Headers are clearly distinguishable from body text (bold, larger size)
• Each header is on its own line
• Headers are formatted consistently throughout the document

Content and Keywords

• Resume is tailored to the specific job description
• Keywords from the job posting are incorporated naturally
• Both acronyms and full terms are included (e.g., "SEO (Search Engine Optimization)")
• Hard skills and technical tools are listed by their official names
• Job titles match industry-standard terminology
• Achievements are quantified with numbers, percentages, and dollar amounts
• Action verbs are used to begin each bullet point
• No keyword stuffing or hidden text

Dates and Formatting

• Dates are in a consistent, recognizable format (e.g., "January 2024 - Present")
• Employment gaps are addressed or accounted for
• Standard bullet points are used (not custom symbols or graphics)
• No special characters, emojis, or Unicode symbols
• Contact information is in the document body, not in the header/footer

Final Checks

• Content has been copied to a plain text editor to verify correct parsing order
• All spelling and grammar have been checked
• Contact email address is professional and working
• LinkedIn URL is included and up to date
• Resume has been reviewed by another person for clarity and errors