Popular questions · updated 2026-11-04

How do I make my résumé pass ATS filters?

Short answer

Use a text-based PDF or Word file, standard section headings, and the job posting’s own words for skills you really have. There is no universal “ATS score”: each employer configures its own ranking, so the goal is a résumé that parses cleanly and matches the role honestly.

Make it readable

What the systems’ own documentation says.

  • Lever cannot parse image files such as JPG or PNG; if you cannot highlight the text, it cannot read it
  • Workday says parsing depends on format and word order and advises résumés without images
  • Greenhouse accepts DOC, DOCX, PDF, RTF and TXT
  • Workable takes PDF, DOC, DOCX, ODT and RTF up to 5 MB

Match the role

Mirror the job’s wording for skills and titles you have. Adding a technology you have not used gets you past a search, not an interview.

Tailor per role

Reorder bullets so the most relevant work is first. landed rewrites your résumé for every role it applies to, from your own experience, and shows each change it made.

A résumé tailored by landed with the changed phrases highlighted

landed applies. You interview.

Let landed find the roles and apply for you

10 free applications, no card. Answers written for every job, on the company’s own site.

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