How to write an ATS friendly CV, and what ATS really does

What ATS does not do, and the myths to ignore

In almost every hiring process, a person decides who gets shortlisted. The software helps that person sort and search. It does not usually reject people on its own, except where the employer has set a hard rule, such as a required degree or a screening question you answered 'No' to.

• Myth: '75% of CVs are rejected by ATS before a human sees them.' We have not found a reliable public study behind this number. Treat it as a myth, not a fact.
• Myth: any design or colour gets you rejected. Software struggles with content it cannot read, such as text inside images or complex tables. A clean design with colour in the headings is usually fine.
• Myth: you need a 100% match score. Match scores are estimates made by each tool, and different tools give different numbers for the same CV. Employers do not see the score from a checker you used.
• Myth: hiding keywords in white text helps. Parsers read hidden text and recruiters can see it when they copy your CV. It looks dishonest and can end your application.
• Myth: someone can guarantee you will 'pass the ATS'. Nobody controls an employer's settings or a recruiter's decision. Be careful with services that promise this.

Format rules that help software read your CV

The aim is simple: every word on your CV should come out as clean text, in the right order, when software reads it. These rules do that without making your CV look plain.

• Use one column. Two-column layouts can be read across the columns, mixing your skills into your job history.
• Use standard section headings: Summary, Experience, Education, Skills, Training and Certifications. Creative headings like 'My Journey' are harder for software to classify.
• Do not put text inside images, icons, logos, skill bars or star ratings. Software cannot read a bar that says you are '80% good at Excel', and recruiters do not trust it either.
• Avoid tables and text boxes for important content. If you use a table for layout, check the copy-paste test below.
• Put your name, phone and email in the main body of the page, not in the header or footer. Some systems skip headers and footers.
• Use a common font such as Calibri, Arial or Cambria, at 10.5 to 12 point for body text.
• Write dates the same way everywhere, for example 'Jan 2023 to Present' or '01/2023 to 05/2025'.
• Send a .docx file or a text-based PDF exported from Word or Google Docs. A scanned PDF or a photo of your CV is an image, and software cannot read it.
• Name the file clearly, for example 'Rahim-Uddin-CV-Sales-Executive.pdf', not 'CV final new (2).pdf'.

Keywords: use the job ad's words, honestly

Keywords are the skills, tools, qualifications and job titles that the employer names in the ad. Recruiters search for them, and they also scan for them with their own eyes. If you have the skill but describe it differently, you can be missed.

Read the ad and underline the requirements: hard skills (Microsoft Excel, SAP, IFRS, Google Ads), qualifications (BBA in Finance, CA-CC, IELTS), domain words (FMCG distribution, SME banking, B2B sales) and the job title itself. Then check whether your CV uses the same words for things you have really done.

Use the exact term where it is true. If the ad says 'Microsoft Excel' and your CV says 'spreadsheets', change it. If the ad uses an acronym, write the full form once with the acronym: 'Anti-Money Laundering (AML)'. Put keywords where they belong: in your summary, in your skills list, and in the job bullets where you actually used them. A skill that appears inside a real achievement is far more convincing than one in a list.

Never add a skill you do not have. Interviews and written tests check them. A Daily Star report in 2024 described a recruiter whose shortlisted graduates could not finish a basic Excel test. Listing a skill you cannot show wastes your chance with that employer.

The sections software and recruiters expect

Standard sections make your CV easier to read, for both software and people. Our CV check looks for clear Experience, Education and Skills headings, because those are the sections parsers rely on most.

• Contact details: full name, phone number (for example +880 1712 345678), professional email, city, LinkedIn link if you have one.
• Summary: 3 to 4 lines on your role, years of experience and strongest skills. Freshers can use a short, specific objective instead.
• Experience: job title, organisation, location, month and year dates, then bullet points.
• Education: degree, institution, year, and result (CGPA or GPA) where it helps.
• Skills: the tools and skills the job asks for that you genuinely have.
• Training and Certifications, Projects, Languages: add when they are relevant.

Before and after: the same CV, made readable

Here is one section of an invented CV before and after. The new version uses a standard heading, a single column, month and year dates, bullets that start with action verbs, and real numbers the candidate can explain in an interview. It no longer uses 'I', and the unreadable skill bar is gone.

Bangladesh-specific points

• Leave out father's name, mother's name, religion, marital status, blood group, NID number, height and weight. They do not help software or recruiters judge your fit for the job. Bdjobs and government forms collect what they need separately.
• A photo is common on Bangladeshi CVs and many local employers still expect one. If you add it, keep it small and place it beside your name. Never put text inside the image.
• If you have one or more years of experience, replace 'Career Objective' with a professional summary of what you have done.
• Remove the line 'References available on request'. It adds nothing. Add referees only when the ad asks for them.
• Government circulars usually have their own application form, often through Teletalk. Follow that format exactly; ATS advice matters less there.

A five-minute check before every application

• Run the copy-paste test on your final PDF.
• Compare your CV with the job ad: does it use the ad's words for the skills you really have?
• Check that your title, employers and dates match your Bdjobs and LinkedIn profiles.
• Check that your phone number and email are correct and in the main body of the page.
• Read the first third of page one as a recruiter would. Is it clear what you do and why you fit this job?