An applicant tracking system is a database with a search box. It stores your application, pulls out your details, and lets a recruiter search and filter. Most of the time it does not score you and bin you. The usual failure is plainer: it could not read your resume, or the recruiter searched for a word that is not on it.
That changes what to fix. You are not trying to beat an algorithm. You are making the document easy to parse and easy to find.
1. Use one column and plain text
Parsers read left to right, top to bottom. Two columns, sidebars and text boxes make them read across the page, so a job title ends up glued to a skill. Put everything in a single column. Skip tables for layout.
2. Name sections the standard way
Use Experience, Education and Skills, each alone on its own line. "Where I've been" is charming, and a parser will not know it is your work history.
3. Put contact details in the body, not the header
Some systems ignore the page header and footer. Put your name, email, phone and city in the first lines of the page itself.
4. Copy the job post's words
If the post says "stakeholder management" and you wrote "worked with partners", a keyword search for the first will miss you. Where it is true, use the post's exact phrase. Read how to find resume keywords in a job description for a method.
5. Spell out acronyms once
Write "Search Engine Optimization (SEO)" the first time. Recruiters search both forms, and you match either.
6. Show keywords in bullets, not only in a skills list
A skills list proves you know the word. A bullet like "Cut page load by 38% by moving the app to Next.js" shows the skill in use, and a human reading it can see the result.
7. Keep dates and titles consistent
Use one date format throughout, such as "Mar 2022 – Aug 2024". Give each role a clear title, company and date range on the same line or the lines directly above its bullets.
8. Save as a text-based PDF or DOCX
A PDF exported from Word, Google Docs or a design tool has selectable text. A scan or a screenshot saved as PDF has none, and nothing can be read. Open the file and try to select a line. If you cannot, fix that first.
9. Skip the graphics
Skill bars, rating dots and icons carry no text a parser can use. "Python ●●●●○" says nothing a system can search. Write "Python, 5 years" instead.
What to do next
Run your resume through the scanner below with one real job post. Fix the high-priority items first, then run it again. If the keyword gap is large, the job may simply not be a fit, and that is useful to know before you spend an hour tailoring.