Built to be parsed
ATS-Friendly Resume Builder — Built to Be Read by Software and People
An ATS resume builder has one job: produce a file that screening software reads the way you wrote it. Many large employers run every application through an applicant tracking system (that is what ATS stands for) before a person sees it, so everything ApplyRaft produces is real, selectable text under standard headings.
What an ATS actually does
An applicant tracking system stores every application an employer receives and lets a recruiter search it. To do that it has to pull your name, dates, job titles and skills out of your file and into fields. Unusual formatting breaks that step: text locked inside an image cannot be extracted at all, nested tables scramble the reading order, and invented section headings land in the wrong place.
None of this is about beating a robot. It is about making sure the document says the same thing however it is opened.
Six things that keep a CV readable
- Simple structure
- No text boxes or nested tables. One clear reading order down the page.
- Ordinary headings
- Work experience, Education, Skills. Not "My journey so far".
- Standard fonts
- Common typefaces that extract cleanly rather than as symbols.
- Words from the advert
- If the job asks for a named tool, name it in your skills or experience.
- No text inside images
- Logos, icons and graphics carry nothing a parser can read.
- A proper text-layer PDF
- Ours are generated as text, so anyone can select and copy from them.
Choosing between our templates
Every template page carries an ATS rating and a one-line explanation of what it means for your application. If you are applying somewhere with heavy automated screening, start with a simple single-column layout. If a person will read your CV first, a sidebar design is a reasonable trade — just know which trade you are making.
Keep exploring
- Browse all CV templates Every template in one gallery.
- How to choose a CV template Pick a layout that reads cleanly to people and software.
- Free CV builder with no watermark No sign-up, no card, PDF and Word download.
- Resume builder Build a job-ready resume online.
- CV maker Create your CV in a single sitting.
- CV tips on the blog Practical, no-fluff career advice.
Build one that reads properly
Free to download, in PDF or Word, with no account and no watermark.