ATS stands for Applicant Tracking System. It is software used by employers to collect, filter, and rank job applications before a recruiter reads them. It parses your CV into structured data: name, contact details, job titles, dates, skills. If it cannot read your formatting, your profile looks incomplete or broken.

Does every employer use ATS?

Most large employers do: councils, NHS, banks, supermarkets, logistics companies, and most companies using an online application portal. Small businesses and agencies that receive CVs by email often do not. If you are applying through a company career page that asks you to create an account or fill in form fields after uploading your CV, there is almost certainly an ATS in the middle.

What CV formats does ATS struggle with?

ATS systems struggle with tables, multi-column layouts, text boxes, headers and footers, graphics used in place of text (such as star ratings for skills), and PDFs saved as images rather than text. A single-column plain Word document or plain PDF is the safest format for ATS applications.

What is an ATS keyword match score?

Many ATS systems score your CV against the job description by counting how many of the required keywords appear in your document. A higher match score means the system ranks your application higher and is more likely to surface it to a recruiter. This is why tailoring your CV language to match the exact wording in the job description matters.

Should I use a different CV format for ATS applications?

Yes. For online portals use a clean, single-column format with no tables, text boxes, or graphics. For applications sent directly by email to a person, a styled CV is fine because there is no parser in the middle.

← Back to CVBetter

What is ATS, and why does your CV format matter?

Short answer: most big employers don't read your CV first. Software does.

June 2026 · 5 min read

The 30-second version

ATS stands for Applicant Tracking System. It is software that sits behind company career portals. When you apply through one of those portals, the ATS parses your CV into structured data: your name, contact details, job titles, dates, and skills. That structured data is what the recruiter actually sees in their inbox.

If the parser mangles your formatting, the recruiter sees a mangled candidate profile. Your CV might be excellent, but if the date fields are empty and the job titles are garbled, you look like a weak applicant.

Which employers use ATS?

Most large and mid-size employers, including councils, the NHS, banks, supermarkets, logistics companies, and most businesses with a dedicated career portal. The tell is simple: if applying involves creating an account, uploading a CV, and then re-typing your work history into form fields, there is an ATS reading your CV and attempting to pre-fill those fields.

Small businesses and most recruitment agencies that receive CVs directly by email usually do not use ATS. For those, you are going straight to a human.

Common ATS vendorsWorkday

Greenhouse

Lever

Taleo (Oracle)

iCIMS

SuccessFactors (SAP)

What trips an ATS up

The parser reads your CV top to bottom, left to right, as plain text. Anything that disrupts that flow causes problems:

Tables and multi-column layouts. The parser reads across columns, not down them. "Senior Data Analyst" in the left column ends up merged with "March 2021–Present" from the right, producing gibberish.
Text inside text boxes or shapes. Not part of the document flow. Invisible to most parsers.
Headers and footers. Many parsers skip them entirely. Never put your name, email, or phone number only in a header.
Graphics and icons. A row of star icons for skill ratings looks elegant. The ATS reads it as nothing.
PDFs saved as images. If your CV was exported from a design tool like Canva as a flattened image PDF, the ATS cannot extract any text at all. You effectively have no CV.
Unusual fonts or embedded objects. Some parsers strip anything that isn't standard body text.

What is a keyword match score?

Many ATS systems score your application by counting how many of the required skills and phrases from the job description appear in your CV. A higher score surfaces your application to the recruiter sooner. A low score can mean your CV is never opened at all.

This is why the exact wording matters. If the job description says "stakeholder management" and your CV says "working with senior leadership," the ATS may not connect the two. Using the job description's own language, where it accurately describes what you do, is not gaming the system. It is speaking the same language as the person who wrote the role. You can check your CV against a job advert for free and see which of the required keywords you already match and which are missing.

Important: Only use keywords that reflect your real experience. ATS systems score for match, but recruiters and hiring managers read for substance. A CV loaded with keywords you cannot back up in an interview is worse than a CV with lower keyword density.

ATS Plain vs styled formats

Pick an ATS plain format (clean Word or simple PDF) when you are applying through an online portal. No tables, no columns, no text boxes, no graphics. Standard section headers: Work Experience, Education, Skills. Dates written consistently.

Pick a styled format when you are emailing your CV directly to a recruiter or hiring manager. There is no parser in the middle, so visual polish is an advantage, not a liability.

When in doubt: plain is safe. Styled on top of a plain CV is optional. Styled-only risks the ATS eating it.

CVBetter gives you both.

Every tailored CV includes an ATS plain export and a styled version. The keyword match score tells you how well your CV fits the job description before you send.

Try it free →