ATS-friendly CV: how to pass UK screening software

Use a file format the ATS can actually parse

Save your CV as .docx (Microsoft Word). It is the most reliably parsed format in UK recruitment. A PDF exported from a desktop tool usually parses fine, but a PDF made from a scanned document, image, or some online builders does not — the ATS reads a picture, not words.

Never send a CV as a .png, .jpeg or an image inside a page.

One column, standard headings, no fancy layout

The single biggest cause of ATS rejection is layout software cannot un-pick. Two-column layouts, tables, text boxes, icons and graphics may look modern but the parser reads columns left-to-right, then top-to-bottom, and jumbles your experience into the wrong order.

• Use one column with a plain vertical flow
• Skip tables, text boxes, icons and graphics
• Keep headings as plain text: Profile, Skills, Work Experience, Education
• Use standard bullet characters — not symbols, emojis or custom fonts
• Avoid putting anything important in headers or footers; always in the body

Match the job description's keywords

The ATS scores your CV partly by how many terms from the job description appear in it. If the advert asks for 'budget forecasting', write 'budget forecasting' — not 'financial prediction'. Work through the spec and mirror its phrasing naturally in your bullet points, without keyword-stuffing nonsense lines.

Dates: month and year, always

Bare year ranges (2018–2020) break the parser's tenure calculation and look evasive to humans. Write 'Sep 2018 – Mar 2020'. Use the same format everywhere — mixing 'Sep 2018', 'September 2018' and '2018' is a classic accidental fail.

British English and UK conventions

UK software and recruiters expect British English: organise, analyse, colour, programme, licence. Call the document a CV, not a résumé, and follow UK structure rules — the two-page limit, no photo or date of birth, degree classification shown as '2:1'. All of these are checked by the free CV Room ATS scanner, which scores your file against UK hiring conventions and shows you the exact fixes, line by line.