ATS-Friendly CV: the UK do/don't formatting guide
An ATS-friendly CV is a single-column document in reverse-chronological order, with standard section headings, standard fonts, and dates and contact details kept in the main body — never inside the page header, footer, a table, or a text box. Applicant tracking systems read your file as plain text from top to bottom, so any layout trick that helps a human eye tends to scramble or drop content when the software parses it.
The fix is deliberately boring: one column, headings the parser recognises ("Work Experience", "Education", "Skills"), a common font, and a clean .docx or text-based PDF. Get the structure right and a human reader still sees a tidy CV — you lose nothing by formatting for the machine first.
What "ATS-friendly" actually means
An applicant tracking system (ATS) is the software most medium and large UK employers use to collect, store and search job applications. When you upload your CV, the ATS doesn't "see" your nicely-designed page — it runs a parser that strips the file back to text and tries to sort that text into fields: name, contact details, work history, education, skills. A recruiter then searches and filters that database.
So "ATS-friendly" doesn't mean stuffing in keywords or using a special template. It means writing a CV the parser can read accurately, so the right text lands in the right field. Almost every parsing failure comes from layout that looks fine to a human but confuses the software: content hidden in headers and footers, multi-column designs, tables and text boxes used for positioning, decorative fonts and icons, and graphics. Fix the structure and the same CV still reads well to the person who opens it afterwards.
The do / don't rules of ATS formatting
The rules below are the concrete, repeatable decisions that make the difference. None of them cost you anything in how the CV looks to a human — they just stop the parser dropping or scrambling your content.
- Layout: one single column, top to bottom. No side-by-side columns, no sidebars.
- Contact details: in the main body at the top of page one — never in the document's page header or footer, which parsers frequently ignore.
- Tables and text boxes: don't use them for layout. Write skills and history as plain paragraphs and bullet lists instead.
- Bullets: use your editor's real bullet button; avoid hand-typed symbols, arrows or emoji as list markers.
- Fonts: one standard font (Arial, Calibri, Helvetica, Georgia, Times New Roman) at 10–12pt. No icon fonts, no decorative typefaces.
- Graphics: no logos, photos, skill-rating bars, charts or images. Text the parser can't extract is text it doesn't have.
- Headings: use literal standard names — "Work Experience", "Education", "Skills" — so each section maps to the right field.
- Dates: be consistent. Month + year (e.g. "March 2021 – June 2024") is clean and unambiguous; keep the same format across every entry.
- File: a text-based PDF or .docx where the text is selectable. Never a scan, screenshot or image-only export.
Get the structure right, then keep it readable for humans
Formatting for the parser and writing for a person aren't in tension — once the structure is clean, you optimise the content. Order your CV in the way UK recruiters expect: contact details, a short personal statement, work experience in reverse-chronological order (most recent first), then education and skills. For each role, lead with achievements and include numbers where you can.
Keep it to two pages — the UK norm — and leave out a photo, date of birth, age, marital status and nationality. Then mirror the language of the job description for genuine skills you hold, because recruiters search the parsed database by those exact terms. The sequence matters: structure first so the text is readable, keywords second so it's findable. A CV checker is useful here precisely because it shows you what the parser extracted, not just what you intended.
| CV element | Do | Don't (breaks parsing) |
|---|---|---|
| Layout | Single column, top to bottom | Two or more columns / sidebars |
| Contact details | In the main body at the top | In the page header or footer |
| Section headings | Standard names: Work Experience, Education, Skills | Creative labels the parser can't map |
| Skills & layout blocks | Plain paragraphs and bullet lists | Tables or text boxes used for layout |
| Fonts | Arial, Calibri, Helvetica, Georgia, Times (10–12pt) | Decorative or icon fonts, tiny sizes |
| Graphics | None — text only | Photos, logos, charts, skill-rating bars |
| Dates | Consistent month + year, e.g. Mar 2021 – Jun 2024 | Mixed or ambiguous formats |
| File type | Text-based PDF or .docx (selectable text) | Scanned / image-only PDF, screenshots |
of Fortune 500 companies use a detectable applicant tracking system (489 of 500), per Jobscan's 2025 ATS Usage Report — so most CVs are parsed by software before a person reads them.
Frequently asked questions
Does an ATS reject my CV automatically if the formatting is wrong?
Not usually in one click. The more common outcome is silent damage: the parser drops your phone number because it sat in a header, or merges two columns into nonsense, so a recruiter searching for a skill never finds you. The CV technically arrives but ranks poorly or shows blank fields. That is why clean structure matters as much as keywords — a perfectly worded CV the parser can't read is still invisible.
Should I send a .docx or a PDF for ATS?
Follow the employer's instruction first. If none is given, a clean text-based PDF (one exported from Word or Google Docs, not a scan or image) parses reliably on modern systems and looks identical to the human reader afterwards. .docx is the safest fallback for older or recruitment-agency systems. Avoid anything image-based: a scanned or designed PDF where the text isn't selectable is unreadable to most parsers.
Can I use two columns to fit more on the page?
Avoid it. Most parsers read straight across the page, so a two-column layout gets read left-to-right across both columns and mashes unrelated lines together. Use a single column running top to bottom. If you're short on space, cut content or tighten bullet points rather than splitting into columns.
Are tables and text boxes really a problem?
Yes, when used for layout. Many parsers either skip the contents of tables and text boxes or read the cells in the wrong order. Plain paragraphs and simple bullet points (using your editor's real bullet button, not symbols typed by hand) are the safest way to structure information. A simple one- or two-column reference table inside the body is riskier than plain text — when in doubt, write it as a list.
What fonts and headings are safe?
Stick to widely-installed fonts such as Arial, Calibri, Helvetica, Georgia or Times New Roman at 10–12pt. For headings, use the literal standard names a parser expects: "Work Experience" or "Employment History", "Education", "Skills". Creative labels like "Where I've Made an Impact" may not map to the right field, so the system can't categorise that section.
Should my UK CV include a photo, date of birth, or age?
No. UK CVs leave out photos, date of birth, age, marital status and nationality (beyond your right to work). These aren't needed for fair recruitment, can introduce bias, and photos in particular cause parsing problems. Keep it to your name, phone, email, location and a LinkedIn or portfolio URL — all in the main body, not the page header.