What parsing does
When you upload a resume, many employers' systems and recruiter databases read the file as text and try to sort it into fields: your name, your jobs, your dates, your education and your skills. If the text comes out in the wrong order, or the software cannot tell where one job ends and the next begins, those fields can end up wrong or empty. Systems differ, and we cannot see inside any employer's, so the advice below is what works in the widest range of cases, not a promise about any one system.
Use one column
Text set in two columns, or inside a table, can be read straight across the page instead of down each column, which mixes the lines of different jobs together. A single column reads in the same order a person reads it.
Use plain headings
- Call your work history Experience or Work Experience.
- Call your schooling Education and your tools and abilities Skills.
- Avoid creative headings such as "My journey". A software parser and a busy recruiter both look for the standard ones.
Give every job the same shape
Put the job title, the employer and the dates on one line, in the same order for every job, with the bullet points underneath. For example: Data Analyst, Northwind Ltd. Jan 2022 - Present. Use one date style everywhere. If one job says Jan 2022 and the next says 04/2019, a parser has to guess, and a person has to look twice.
Use real text, not pictures
- The text must be selectable. A resume saved as an image has no text for software to read.
- Don't put information in graphics, icons or skill bars. Write it out in words.
- Put your name and contact details in the main body of the page. Some systems skip the header and footer areas of a document.
Choose a safe file
Follow the posting's instructions if it names a file type. If it doesn't, a Word (.docx) file, or a PDF saved from a word processor, usually keeps its text. A scan or a photo of a printed page has no text for software to read.
Keep the bullets simple
Use ordinary round bullets and a few short lines for each job. Unusual symbols can copy as boxes or question marks.
Test it in two minutes
- Open your resume file, select everything and copy it.
- Paste it into a plain-text editor, such as Notepad.
- Read it from the top. Is your name first? Are the jobs in order, with the dates next to the titles and the bullets under the right job? Are there strange characters?
- Paste it into our free resume keyword checker, which checks for an email address, a phone number, standard headings, dates and characters that didn't copy cleanly.
What a clean format can't do
A clean format helps software read your resume. It does not make your resume a match for a job, and it does not tell you what any employer's system will do. For the match, read our guide to tailoring a resume to a job description truthfully.