Guides

Short, practical guides on getting read by the software before a person ever sees your resume. Everything here is what our own checks do, explained.

• How an ATS reads your resume

  The machine keeps text, not design. Here's what survives, what disappears, and why you get no reply.

• ATS resume format for India

  One column, standard headings, no photo or declaration — plus the two Indian details recruiters really do filter on.

• Resume keywords, without the guesswork

  Where to find them, why “AWS” and “Amazon Web Services” aren't the same string, and why a keyword wall does nothing.

• Invisible text in resumes

  One invisible line took a resume from 17 to 92 in our own tests. Here's why we stopped counting it — and why you shouldn't try it.

Check your own resume against everything on this page: the ATS score is free and instant, and a job match shows which of a job's keywords you already have. 3 free uploads a day, no sign-up.