ATS-Friendly CV Template

Last updated: · DrCV team · 8 min read

Short answer: An ATS-friendly CV template has one column, standard headings and no tables, text boxes or graphics. It has six sections in this order: contact details, a short summary, experience (most recent first), education, skills, and certifications and languages. Keep your contact details in the body of the page, not the header. Tailor the summary and skills to each job, then export a text-based PDF.

Need a CV template you can fill in and send today? This page gives you a plain, one-column template you can copy. It explains what goes in each section and when to change the order, with realistic examples. The layout is built so an applicant tracking system (ATS) can parse it cleanly and a recruiter can skim it quickly afterwards.

Which sections should a CV template include?

For most job applications, use six sections in this order:

Section What goes in it Suggested length
Contact details Name, target title, city, phone, email, LinkedIn Two lines
Summary Field, years of experience, top skills, one standout result 2–4 lines
Experience Job title, employer, dates, then achievement bullets 3–5 bullets per role
Education Degree, field, institution, graduation year One line each
Skills 6–10 skills that match the job ad One or two lines
Certifications & languages Certificate, issuer and year; level per language As needed

Harvard's career center recommends ordering headings by importance and listing items within each section in reverse chronological order, most recent first (Harvard). That's why recent graduates often put Education above Experience.

The copy-ready template

Paste this into Word or Google Docs and replace the brackets with your details:

[Full Name]: Target Job Title [City, Country] · [Phone] · [Email] · LinkedIn URL

Summary [Job title] with [number] years of experience in [field]. Specialised in [skill 1] and [skill 2]. One short result, with a number if you have one.

Experience [Job Title], [Employer], [City] | [Start year]–End year or Present - [Verb] + [what you did] + result - [Verb] + [what you did] + result - [Verb] + [what you did] + result

Education [Degree] in [Field], [Institution] | Graduation year

Skills [Skill] · [Skill] · [Skill] · [Tool] · [Tool] · Tool

Certifications [Certificate name], [Issuer] | Year

Languages English: [level] · Arabic: level

Why one column and no tables?

ATS software reads text in a fixed order, and designs that break that order can scramble your data. Greenhouse, a widely used ATS, documents these common causes of failed parsing: columned layouts, tables, headers and footers, contact details in a header or text box, and graphics or photos (Greenhouse). When parsing fails, your profile fields don't fill in automatically.

Those fields (education, skills and work history) are exactly what recruiters search later (Workday). A plain template isn't boring. It's the safe choice.

How do I write the summary?

The summary is read first and is the section you should tailor most. Keep it to two to four lines and open with the title you're applying for.

Example (accountant): Accountant with 4 years of experience in general accounting and financial reporting for retail businesses. Skilled in month-end close, bank reconciliations and ERP systems; standardised reconciliation templates to shorten the monthly close.

Example (marketing coordinator): Marketing coordinator with 3 years of experience running social media and email campaigns for consumer brands. Comfortable with analytics dashboards and content calendars; launched a newsletter that became the team's main owned channel.

Avoid filler like "Seeking a challenging role in a dynamic environment." It tells the reader nothing about you.

How do I write experience bullets?

For each role, write the full job title, then the employer, the dates and 3–5 bullets. Start every bullet with a verb and end with an outcome.

Instead of Write
Responsible for branch sales Hit the branch sales target three quarters in a row by following up with repeat customers
Worked in customer service Answered about 60 queries a day while keeping satisfaction scores high
Helped organise an event Coordinated logistics for a 300-person event with a team of 5 volunteers

The numbers above are illustrations; use your real ones. Harvard lists "not demonstrating results" among the top five resume mistakes. The others are spelling and grammar errors, missing contact details, passive language and poor organisation (Harvard).

How do I write the skills section?

  • Pick 6–10 skills and put the ones named in the job ad first.
  • Separate professional skills (project management) from tools (Excel, SAP, Figma).
  • Use the ad's wording. If it says "data analysis", don't just write "numbers".
  • Skip star ratings and progress bars. They're graphics a parser can't read and a recruiter can't interpret.

How should I adapt the template for my field?

The structure stays the same; what you emphasise changes.

Field Lead with in the summary Example skills and tools Useful kinds of results
Sales & customer service Product or sector, customer volume Negotiation, account management, CRM Targets hit, satisfaction, new accounts
Software & IT Stack and system types Languages, databases, cloud Performance, automation, fewer incidents
Finance & accounting Type of accounting, sector Month-end close, reconciliations, ERP Faster close, report accuracy, compliance
HR Recruiting, employee relations or L&D Hiring, payroll, HRIS Time to fill, training delivered
Healthcare Specialty and licence Clinical skills, health systems Quality of care, training, initiatives
Admin & operations Type of support Scheduling, correspondence, Office Process fixes, fewer errors, records

Treat this as a starting point and always go back to the ad itself; it's the most accurate guide to what the employer wants.

Is there a version for graduates?

Yes. The order changes, but the template stays simple. With limited experience, lead with education and add a projects section.

  1. Contact details
  2. Summary (two lines on your field and what you're looking for)
  3. Education (GPA if strong, relevant modules or capstone project)
  4. Internships
  5. Projects, activities and volunteering
  6. Skills, certifications and languages

Write projects and volunteering as achievements too: verb, what you did, result.

What should I leave off a CV?

  • ID or passport numbers. They aren't needed and put your data at risk.
  • References. Harvard advises against listing them (Harvard); share them on request.
  • Personal pronouns and long narrative. Write "Built a weekly report", not "I was responsible for building reports."
  • Unclear abbreviations. Write job titles in full; abbreviated titles are a documented parsing problem (Greenhouse).
  • Anything irrelevant to the role. Every line should earn its place.

How do I tailor the template in ten minutes?

You don't need to rewrite the whole CV for each job. Change three things:

  1. The title under your name. Match the ad's title if it honestly describes your work.
  2. The summary. Reorder it so it opens with the two skills the ad stresses most.
  3. The skills line. Put the required skills first and drop the irrelevant ones.

Then check the first two bullets of your latest role. Do they speak to this ad? If not, reorder them. Harvard's advice is to tailor your resume to the type of role, so it reflects the skills the employer values even if not every experience relates directly (Harvard).

How should I save and name the file?

  1. Write it in Word or Google Docs.
  2. Export as PDF (not "print to image") and confirm you can select and copy the text.
  3. Keep the file small, and under 2.5MB at most (Greenhouse).
  4. Name it clearly, for example "Sara-Ahmed-Accountant-CV.pdf".
  5. Open it on your phone to make sure it displays correctly.

Pre-send checklist

  • Name, phone and email in the page body, not the header
  • One column, with no tables, text boxes or icons
  • Standard headings: Summary, Experience, Education, Skills
  • Job titles written in full
  • Roles listed most recent first, with dates in one format
  • Every bullet starts with a verb, and most show a result
  • The ad's key terms appear in its own wording, honestly
  • No spelling mistakes (read it aloud or ask someone else to check)
  • A text-based PDF with a small file size and a clear name
  • Written in the language of the job ad

From template to a strong CV

The template gives you structure. Content and tailoring make the difference:

Then run a free ATS check on DrCV to see whether a parser reads your CV correctly and what's missing. If you'd like a ready PDF, it costs $13.99 for a general CV or $5.49 for one tailored to a specific job.

FAQ

Is it better to use a Word or a PDF template?

Write in Word or Google Docs so it's easy to edit, then export a text-based PDF unless the employer asks for Word. What matters is that the text can be selected and copied, rather than being an image.

Should a CV template include a photo?

It depends on the country. Harvard's career center advises against a photo on US resumes, while photos are common but optional in the Gulf. A photo adds nothing for a parser, and large images can push a file past upload limits.

What's the difference between a CV and a resume?

In much of the world, including the Gulf and the UK, 'CV' simply means the document you apply with. In the US, a resume is the short job-application document and a CV is a longer academic record. The template on this page works for job applications in either case.

Should I list references?

No. Harvard advises against listing references on a resume; provide them when asked.

What if I have no work experience?

Lead with education, then add projects, internships, volunteering and courses, written as achievements just like job bullets.

Sources

  1. Greenhouse Support: Unsuccessful resume parse — Layout elements that break parsing: columns, tables, headers, text boxes, images, files over 2.5MB
  2. Harvard Mignone Center for Career Success: Guide to Creating a Strong Resume — Section order, reverse chronological order, what not to include, top five mistakes
  3. Workday: What is an applicant tracking system? — Fields a parsing engine extracts: education, skills, work history
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