How to get your CV past applicant tracking systems (ATS)
Before a person reads your CV, software usually does. These programs are called Applicant Tracking Systems, and most medium and large employers in the Gulf use them. The problem is that many good CVs are filtered out not because the candidate is weak, but because the file itself cannot be read by machine.
What the system does with your CV
When you submit a file, the system runs three steps in sequence:
- Extraction — it converts your PDF or Word file into raw text.
- Parsing — it tries to identify sections: experience, education, skills, contact details, and files each part into its place.
- Matching — it compares what it extracted against the job requirements and assigns a score.
An error in the first step ruins everything after it. A visually beautiful CV can come out of extraction as scattered text the system cannot understand.
The five most common reasons for rejection
1. Two-column layouts
Sidebars look good, but many extraction tools read the page as full horizontal lines, so a word from the sidebar sticks to a word from the main column and the result is meaningless. If you are applying to a large employer, send a single-column version.
2. Text inside images or tables
Logos, icons and graphics are not read. Worse: a CV designed as one full image — exported from a design tool — arrives completely empty. Test your own file: open it and try to select and copy the text. If you cannot, neither can the system.
3. Creative section headings
"My journey" and "What I do well" are charming, but the system looks for standard words: Work Experience, Education, Skills, Certifications. Be original in the content, not in the headings.
4. Contact details in the page header
If you put your email and phone number in a Word Header, extraction may skip them entirely and your CV arrives with no way to reach you. Put them in the first lines of the body.
5. Unusual fonts or a locked file
Decorative fonts can extract as symbols, and a password-protected file is rejected automatically.
Keywords: how to use them well
The system compares your CV with the job text. Read the posting carefully, pull out the technical terms and job titles, then use the same wording wherever it genuinely applies to you.
If the posting says "network administration", do not write only "working with routers" — write both. And if it mentions an abbreviation such as CCNA, write the abbreviation and the full name together the first time.
Warning: stuffing keywords in white text or in a tiny font is an old trick that modern systems detect. The result is immediate rejection and sometimes a ban from that employer. Do not do it.
Numbers make the difference
Systems measure, and people remember. Compare:
| Weak | Strong |
|---|---|
| Responsible for network maintenance | Ran a 12-access-point network serving 400 users and raised uptime to 99.5% |
| Helped improve performance | Cut system response time by 40% through query and cache tuning |
| Trained staff | Trained 25 employees on the new system within three weeks |
Start every bullet with a strong past-tense verb — led, cut, built, raised — and follow it with the measured effect. If you do not have an exact figure, give a reasonable estimate you can defend.
A quick checklist before you send
- One column, no tables and no text boxes.
- Standard, recognisable section headings.
- Contact details in the body, not in the page header.
- A clear standard font, no smaller than 10pt.
- A text-based PDF (you can select and copy the text).
- A clear file name:
Name_Job-Title.pdf - The posting's own terms, used honestly.
- A number in every achievement bullet where possible.
What about beautiful design?
It is not the enemy — it is for the second stage. The practical rule: a single-column ATS version for portals and systems, and a designed version you email directly or bring to the interview. This builder gives you both from the same data by switching template.
Put this into practice — the builder gives you a live ATS score as you edit.
Build your CV free