Text Fixer - Paste job postings in this site to identify most common key words - use them.

JobScan - Compare your resume to the job you want to get (free site - requires account creation).

Additional Considerations with ATS

Focus your documents on your hard skills/technical skills and strengths related to the job.
- Ex. Microsoft Excel, Oxy-Acetylene Welding, CDL Class A License, etc.
Avoid over-reliance on soft skills in your documents.
- "Works well independently, Strong communications skills" - some descriptive words and phrases are ok but keep the majority of the focus the bullet point above.
Be sure to have examples of your technical skills and soft skills on display ready to go when you get the interview!

Venn diagram explaining what job applicants should focus their resume and cover letter writing on.

Avoid issues with ATS:

Use simple, black font - Arial, Times New Roman, etc.
No tables in your document.
No text in header/footer; no images, graphics, borders, or logos on your document.*
Avoid underlining with letters that will touch the underline: g,j,p,q,y.
Avoid including lines that cross the entire page from margin to margin. Keep margins at or close to 1".
Switch up the language you use to describe your skills and experience to accrue more key words.
- Action verb ideas
- Transferable skills

Bottom line: create a resume and cover letter for online job applications with the assumption that the employer uses ATS.

*If you have a version of your cover letter or resume with images, graphics, borders, logos, or other visual formatting elements, consider bringing that version of your document(s) to the interview.

For more information on job application file formatting, visit this page.