Will Your Resume Pass ATS?
98% of Fortune 500 companies use ATS to filter resumes before humans see them. Check if your resume will make it through—and fix what's holding you back.
The Hidden Gatekeeper Rejecting Your Applications
You have the qualifications. Your experience is relevant. You spent hours perfecting your resume. So why aren't you getting callbacks?
Up to 75% of resumes are rejected by ATS before a human ever sees them. Not because candidates are unqualified—but because their resumes aren't formatted for software that was designed in the 1990s.
Applicant Tracking Systems scan for keywords, parse your sections, and score your fit. If your formatting breaks their parser or you're missing keywords, you never reach the hiring manager.
What We Check
Our ATS checker simulates real applicant tracking systems
Keyword Match
Compare your resume against job descriptions to find missing skills, qualifications, and terminology that ATS searches for.
Formatting Compatibility
Detect tables, columns, graphics, and other elements that cause ATS parsing failures.
Section Recognition
Verify that ATS can correctly identify your experience, education, skills, and contact sections.
Font & File Issues
Check for uncommon fonts, encoding problems, and file format issues that break ATS parsing.
Common Issues That Cause Rejection
These formatting choices look professional but break ATS parsing
Tables and Columns
Multi-column layouts and tables look nice but confuse ATS parsers, scrambling your content.
Graphics and Icons
Skill bars, icons, and images cannot be read by ATS—this information is completely lost.
Header/Footer Content
Contact info in headers or footers is often ignored by ATS. Keep it in the main body.
Creative Section Names
"My Journey" instead of "Experience" or "Toolkit" instead of "Skills" confuses the parser.
What ATS-Friendly Resumes Do Right
Follow these principles to pass ATS and impress humans
Use Standard Headings
Experience, Education, Skills, Summary—stick to what ATS recognizes reliably.
Simple Formatting
Single column, standard fonts (Arial, Calibri, Times New Roman), left-aligned text.
Mirror Keywords
Use exact terms from the job description. If they say "project management," don't just say "managed projects."
Include Both Forms
Write "Search Engine Optimization (SEO)" to match searches for either term.
The Numbers Are Clear
of Fortune 500 companies use ATS
of resumes rejected before human review
average applications per job posting
ATS Is Just Step One
Passing ATS gets your resume to human eyes. But then you need to impress the hiring manager in about 7 seconds—the average time spent on initial resume review.
That's why JobJourney offers both ATS checking and resume analysis. We make sure your resume passes the bots AND wins over the humans.
After optimizing your resume, take it further: practice your interviews with AI so you're ready when the callbacks start coming.
Complete Your Job Search Toolkit
Frequently Asked Questions
What is an ATS and why does it matter?
An Applicant Tracking System (ATS) is software that companies use to screen resumes before a human reviews them. 98.4% of Fortune 500 companies use ATS, and up to 75% of resumes are rejected at this stage—often due to formatting issues, not qualifications.
How does the ATS checker work?
Our checker simulates how ATS software parses your resume. It identifies formatting issues that cause parsing errors, checks for missing keywords from your target job, and scores your overall ATS compatibility. You get a detailed report showing exactly what to fix.
What makes a resume ATS-friendly?
ATS-friendly resumes use standard section headings, simple formatting without tables or columns, common fonts, and relevant keywords. They avoid images, graphics, headers/footers with important info, and unusual file formats.
What is a good ATS score?
Scores above 80% indicate strong ATS compatibility. Between 60-80% means room for improvement. Below 60% suggests significant issues that may cause automatic rejection. The goal is to get as high as possible while maintaining readability for human reviewers.
Should I save my resume as PDF or DOCX for ATS?
DOCX is generally safer for ATS compatibility, as some older systems struggle with PDFs. However, modern ATS can usually handle simple PDFs. Our checker tests both formats and tells you which works better for your specific resume.
How is ATS checking different from resume analysis?
ATS checking focuses on technical compatibility—will the software correctly parse your resume? Resume analysis focuses on content quality—is your resume compelling to human readers? Both matter: you need to pass ATS to reach humans, and impress humans to get hired.
Check Your ATS Compatibility Now
Upload your resume and find out if it will pass ATS screening. Free to start—see exactly what's holding you back.