The exact format Applicant Tracking Systems can parse cleanly — and recruiters can read in 6 seconds. Copy it manually, or generate a tailored version free.
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What an ATS-friendly resume template looks like
Single column. Standard headings. No tables, no images, no text-in-graphics. Here is the exact structure RankResume generates:
Your Full Name
City, State · email@example.com · (555) 555-0100 · linkedin.com/in/yourname
Professional Summary
Two to three lines about who you are, your years of experience, and the specific role you are targeting — using the exact job title from the job description.
Experience
Job Title — Company Name
Month Year – Month Year · City, State
Action verb + what you did + measurable result. Mirror keywords from the job description.
Action verb + what you did + measurable result.
Action verb + what you did + measurable result.
Previous Job Title — Company Name
Month Year – Month Year · City, State
Action verb + what you did + measurable result.
Action verb + what you did + measurable result.
Skills
Skill 1 · Skill 2 · Skill 3 · Skill 4 · Skill 5 · Skill 6 · Skill 7 · Skill 8 — pulled directly from the job description where you have genuine experience.
Education
Degree, Field of Study
University Name · Year
Certifications (optional)
Certification name · Issuing organization · Year
Why this works: every section header is standard English, the layout is single-column so parsers read top-to-bottom without confusion, and there is no formatting that can hide your content from the ATS.
Do
Single-column layout, top to bottom
Standard fonts (Arial, Calibri, Helvetica, Georgia)
Standard section names (Summary, Experience, Skills, Education)
Save and submit as PDF (unless DOC is required)
Mirror exact keyword phrases from the job description
Don't
Multi-column layouts (sidebars get dropped)
Tables for layout (parsers read them inconsistently)
Text inside images or graphics (invisible to ATS)
Information in headers or footers (often skipped)
Decorative fonts, icons, or emoji as bullets
Option 1 — Copy the template manually
Recreate the structure above in your editor of choice (Google Docs, Word, Pages). Free forever, but you do the keyword tailoring and ATS scoring yourself.
Upload your resume + paste a job description. The AI fills the ATS-friendly template with your real experience and tailors every keyword. 60 seconds. 1 free credit on signup.
A template gives you the right structure, but ATS systems also score on content — specifically how closely your resume keywords match the job description. Two candidates with the same template can have very different ATS scores depending on whether they mirrored the job posting's exact terms.
That is the part our free AI resume builder handles automatically — it reads the job description and rewrites your resume around it, inside this same ATS-friendly template.
Want to see role-specific examples first? Browse resume examples by job title to see which keywords matter for your role.
ATS resume template — FAQ
Quick answers about ATS-friendly resume templates.
What is an ATS-friendly resume template?
An ATS-friendly resume template uses a single-column layout, standard fonts, standard section headings (Contact, Summary, Experience, Skills, Education), and no tables, columns, images, headers, footers, or text-in-graphics. This lets Applicant Tracking Systems parse every section correctly without losing information.
Are ATS resume templates free?
Many companies sell “ATS templates” but the underlying format is just standard structural rules. RankResume offers the format free — you can copy the structure manually, or use the free AI resume builder to generate a fully tailored ATS-friendly resume in 60 seconds.
What makes a resume template not ATS-friendly?
Multi-column layouts, tables, text inside images or icons, decorative fonts, and information stored in headers or footers all confuse ATS parsers. They commonly drop entire sections — most often Skills or Contact — without warning.
Should I use a Word template or build the resume online?
Either works as long as the structure follows ATS rules. The advantage of using an AI builder like RankResume is that you also get keyword tailoring against a specific job description, which is the part that actually changes whether your resume gets seen.
How do I know my resume is actually ATS-friendly?
Run it through the free ATS resume checker — you paste your resume and a job description, and you see exactly how an ATS parses it and which keywords are matching or missing.
Does an ATS-friendly template hurt my chances with humans?
No. ATS-friendly does not mean ugly. The same single-column, well-structured layout that ATS systems prefer is also the easiest layout for a recruiter to scan in 6–8 seconds. Visual flair tends to slow human readers down, not speed them up.
