Free ATS resume checker and converter

An ATS resume is an ordinary resume that applicant tracking system software can read correctly. An applicant tracking system (ATS) is the software employers use to collect applications, turn each resume into text fields such as name, jobs and skills, and let recruiters search and review them.

There is no special "ATS document". What matters is a layout and wording the software can read: one column, standard headings, real text and clear dates. Read the full guide, with sources.

ATS stands for applicant tracking system. When people call a resume "ATS friendly" or "ATS optimised", they mean the file is easy for that software to read and the wording matches what recruiters search for. You do not write "ATS" on the resume itself.

An ATS-friendly resume lowers the risk that software misreads it. In practice that means:

• One column, with no key content in tables or text boxes.
• Standard headings such as Experience, Education and Skills.
• Real, selectable text, not a picture or a scan.
• Your contact details in the main body, not only in the page header.
• Dates written the same way throughout.
• Plain bullets, and no icons or unusual symbols.
• The terms from the job post, where they are true for you.

Many systems now cope with simple layouts, so this reduces risk. It does not guarantee anything.

Use the checker at the top of this page. Upload your PDF or Word file, or paste the text. It shows the text that software extracts, in the order it extracts it, and flags tables, text boxes, columns, letter-spaced headings, special symbols, odd dates and missing sections.

A quick test of your own: select all in your file, copy, and paste into a plain text editor. If the order is mixed up or words are broken, software may see it the same way. No tool can see inside an employer's own system, so treat the result as a pointer.

1. Start from a single-column layout.
2. Use standard headings.
3. Type your text. Do not paste it as an image.
4. Put your email and phone in the main body.
5. Use month and year for dates, in one format.
6. Add the key terms from the job post where they are true.
7. Save as PDF or Word, whichever the job post asks for.

The checker's "Improve and download" step can build a clean version from your text, and the ATS resume template is a plain starting point.

Yes, in a limited way. After the check, "Improve and download" builds an ATS-ready version of your text: it tidies symbols, bullets and dates, removes details your target country does not use, and puts job-relevant skills first. You can then download it as a clean one-column PDF, Word file or plain text, in one of four looks.

It does not keep your original design, and it does not rewrite your sentences, because everything runs in your browser and there is no AI. Check the result once before you send it.

Employers do not see a standard ATS score, and every system works differently. A single score from any tool is that tool's own estimate. This checker does not give one. It shows how many checks passed, a list of fixes, and, if you add a job description, how many of its keywords your resume already uses.

Optimising means making your real experience easy to read and using the words the job post uses. Paste the job description into the checker. It ranks the terms you are missing and suggests where each could go, for example in the Skills section or in a bullet that shows how you used it. Add only what you have actually done. Stuffing keywords or hiding white text backfires, because a person reads the resume too.

There is no ATS standard or certificate, so a resume cannot be officially "compliant". People use the phrase for a resume that software reads without errors, which comes down to the points above.

Reverse-chronological and one column: contact details, a short summary, experience with the newest job first, education, then skills. Use standard headings, month-and-year dates and simple bullets. One to two pages is typical, and the right length and details vary by country. See the best practices guide and the formats by country.

Both usually work when the text is selectable. Follow the job post if it names a type. Avoid scanned PDFs, which are pictures. A .docx upload also lets this checker spot tables, text boxes and details hidden in the page header, while a PDF check is limited to the extracted text, scans and column-like layouts.

The popular claim that 75% of resumes are rejected by an ATS has no traceable source. Most systems store and rank applications for a person to review. Screening questions, such as work authorisation, can filter people out, and a parsing error can hide details recruiters search for. See common rejection reasons.

It is free and needs no sign-up. Everything runs in your browser tab: your file is read on your own computer and the text is not sent to a server. It is not any employer's real system, so the results are indications, not a guarantee.

Yes. The country setting flags details that do not fit that market, such as a date of birth in Canada or an NRIC number in Singapore. These are conventions, not official rules, except where an application sets its own format. See the country pages for Canada, Australia, Germany, the UK, the US, Singapore, the UAE and US federal jobs.