Formatting Rules That Work for ATS Systems

Why Formatting Matters for ATS

ATS systems extract text from your resume. The formatting choices you make affect how clean that extraction is and how well the machine can read every section.

This is not about design or looks. This is about making your resume readable to a machine. When you follow these formatting rules, the ATS extracts your information accurately and completely.

Font Choices

Fonts that work:

• Arial : clean, widely supported, reads well
• Calibri : modern, clear, standard on many systems
• Times New Roman : traditional, reliable with ATS
• Verdana : sans-serif, clear, readable
• Courier New : monospace, simple, completely readable

Font size:

• 10–12pt for body text : the standard. Smaller than 10pt is hard to read even for humans; larger than 12pt wastes space.
• Name (H1) can be larger : 14–16pt is fine for your name at the top
• Section headings can be slightly larger : 11–13pt helps the machine recognize them
• Keep consistency : use the same font size for all body text so spacing is uniform

What to avoid: Decorative fonts, script fonts, compressed fonts, or very thin/light font weights. These look fancy but are either unreadable or not available on systems that open your resume.

Spacing and Margins

Page margins:

• 0.5 to 1 inch on all sides : gives the resume room to breathe and ensures all text is readable
• Avoid very narrow margins : less than 0.5 inch can cause text to be cut off when the resume is printed or converted
• Avoid very wide margins : more than 1 inch wastes space and forces important content off the first page

Line spacing:

• 1.0 to 1.15 line spacing is ideal : text is readable without looking cramped or too spread out
• Avoid single-spacing : 1.0 or slightly higher is fine, but anything less looks crammed
• Avoid very loose spacing : 1.5 or higher wastes space without improving readability

Space between sections:

• 6–12pt between sections : creates visual separation so the ATS can identify section boundaries
• Use line breaks, not graphics : a blank line works; a decorative line or graphic does not

Text Formatting (Bold, Italic, Underline)

ATS systems can read bold, italic, and underline. Use these carefully:

Bold:

• Use bold for emphasis : job titles, company names, section headings
• Don't overuse : if everything is bold, nothing stands out

Italic:

• Italic works : but it's less common on resumes
• Use sparingly : only for job titles or company names if you want variety

Underline:

• Avoid underline : it can be confused with hyperlinks and makes text harder to read
• Use bold instead : achieve emphasis without confusing the reader

Bullets and Lists

Bullets help organize information. Make sure ATS can read them:

Use standard bullets:

• Simple bullets work best : a plain dot (•), dash (–), or asterisk (*)
• Avoid custom icons : stars, arrows, check marks, or decorative symbols may not copy correctly
• Use the built-in bullet function : in Word, use Format → Bullets and Numbering to create bullets, not spaces or dashes

Indentation for bullets:

• Indent bullet sub-points slightly : 0.25 to 0.5 inch : so the structure is clear
• Be consistent : all main bullets at the same level, all sub-bullets at the same level

Color and Special Characters

Color:

• Use black text only : ATS systems are optimized for black text on white background
• Colored text can disappear : some ATS systems strip color entirely during extraction

Special characters:

• Use standard punctuation : periods, commas, parentheses, hyphens all work fine
• Avoid symbols : ★, ©, ®, ™, €, £, and other special symbols may not extract correctly
• Use hyphens, not dashes : a hyphen (-) is safer than an en-dash (–) or em-dash (:)

What to Avoid

Layout elements that break ATS:

• Columns : ATS reads left-to-right, top-to-bottom; columns get scrambled
• Text boxes : information in boxes may be skipped
• Headers or footers : your name in the header gets lost
• Tables : if you use tables, keep them simple and let ATS read cell-by-cell
• Graphics or images : logos, icons, photos all disappear during extraction

Formatting choices that don't work:

• ALL CAPS section headings : harder to read; sentence case works better
• Excessive indentation : can confuse the extraction process
• Decorative lines or boxes : visual elements don't survive extraction
• Multiple fonts mixed throughout : looks inconsistent and can extract unpredictably

Quick Formatting Checklist

Before you submit, verify:

• ☐ Font is Arial, Calibri, Times New Roman, or Verdana
• ☐ Font size is 10–12pt for body text
• ☐ Margins are 0.5–1 inch on all sides
• ☐ Line spacing is 1.0–1.15
• ☐ All text is black
• ☐ No columns, text boxes, or graphics
• ☐ Section headings are clear and use standard names
• ☐ Bullets are simple (•, –, or *)
• ☐ No decorative elements or special symbols
• ☐ Contact info is at the top, not in the header

Start with ATS-Safe Formatting

The easiest way to ensure your resume follows all these rules: start with a template or builder that handles the formatting for you.

Build your resume with ATS-safe formatting from the start. The Builder applies all these rules automatically:single-column layout, standard fonts, correct spacing, readable structure:so you can focus on writing strong content.

Common Questions