What Is ATS? How to Build an ATS-Friendly English CV for Job Applications

Vũ Khôi

Author at Wotech Electronics Blog

What Is ATS? How to Build an ATS-Friendly English CV for Job Applications

What is ATS? What's the difference between ATS and an ATS CV?

In Vietnam, ATS CVs rarely get much attention — most people design their own resume or use a ready-made template and then apply to whatever business or company they want. Small businesses may screen and manage candidates with a spreadsheet. Larger companies, however, receive far too many candidates per hiring round for a spreadsheet to cope, and they have no choice but to turn to technology.

ATS (Applicant Tracking System) — the system for managing candidate applications — was created to make recruitment smoother and easier. According to Capterra, 75% of recruiters use a recruiting or applicant tracking system during the hiring process, and data from Jobscan shows that over 98% of Fortune 500 companies use ATS software when hiring new employees.

On the other hand, a short survey run by Glints on Facebook and Instagram in Vietnam found that only 33% of respondents knew what ATS was, while the remaining 63% had never heard of it. This shows that ATS is not yet familiar to most of us and could become a barrier if you want to apply to larger companies.

Let's explore with Kinobi what ATS — the Applicant Tracking System — is and how to build an ATS-friendly CV!

What is ATS? What advantages does ATS have over spreadsheets?

ATS stands for Applicant Tracking System, a system for managing candidate applications designed for businesses of every model and size. Thanks to advances in technology, ATS has steadily matured and can now support recruitment across the whole pipeline: collecting applications, screening and ranking resumes, communicating with candidates, reporting on effectiveness, and producing hiring analytics and forecasts.

While spreadsheets are extremely familiar software that costs nothing, in practice they simply can't manage candidates as well as ATS software. A spreadsheet cannot import data automatically, and as we all know, manual data entry is time-consuming and prone to errors. In particular, a spreadsheet's storage capacity is more limited than ATS's, since ATS allows unlimited storage along with optimal information security.

ATS was created to support businesses in general — and recruitment teams in particular — with the hiring process, complementing the work of personnel file management. It helps you manage, store, and organize applications while saving time and money compared with working on paper or with an email inbox full of job applications. Best of all, recruiters only deal with applications that have been screened to their requirements, instead of reading every single one themselves.

How does an Applicant Tracking System work?

The candidate management system works in 4 basic steps:

• The job requisition is added to the ATS software. It includes information about the position such as the job title, desired skills, and required experience.

• The ATS uses this information to create an ideal candidate profile.

• When a CV/resume arrives, the ATS analyzes, sorts, and ranks the applications based on how well they match the ideal profile from the previous step.

• Recruiters can then quickly identify the most qualified candidates and move them to the next stage of the hiring process.

Recruiters select candidates by searching for keywords related to job titles and required skills.

Example: If they are hiring for a Business Development position, the first thing they will search is "Business Development" — if your CV/resume doesn't display it, you will definitely be filtered out, no matter how well qualified you are for the role.

What are the steps for building an ATS-friendly CV?

What is an ATS-friendly CV?

An ATS-friendly CV is one specifically designed with an easily readable format — no tables or images — and includes keywords from the JD (Job Description) to get past candidate management systems.

4 steps to create an ATS-friendly CV

1. What is the standard ATS format?

An ATS CV template includes: personal information, work experience, education, skills, and certificates/achievements.

The ATS reads CVs in up-to-date order (newest to oldest), so make sure your work experience section is laid out exactly that way.

2. Choose relevant keywords and skills to add to your CV

Recruiters don't just type in job titles when searching for candidates — they also enter specific skill-related keywords. And you can find these right in the JD.

When reading the JD, any word or phrase that appears repeatedly is likely a keyword. However, don't stuff in too many keywords — just include enough, and only what genuinely fits you. Two types to look for: relevant skills and action verbs for your accomplishments.

Relevant skills such as data analysis, problem-solving, and so on.

Action verbs for accomplishments: created, optimized, maximized, etc.

Because each position requires different experience and skills, you need to tailor your CV to the role you're applying for. Don't send one CV to many positions.

3. Design the CV so the ATS can scan it

• Use simple, clear sentences so that both the ATS and human readers can grasp the information quickly.

• No special characters

• Common fonts such as Times New Roman, Arial, etc.

• Use 11–12pt for body text and 14–16pt for headings.

• Margins should be about 1 inch on all sides of the CV.

• Always check and proofread your CV.

4. Choose the right file format for downloading

The PDF file format is the most common and widely used, so the ATS can read it. What's more, using PDF preserves your CV's design and formatting.

How to build an ATS-friendly English CV for job applications

These days, you don't need to spend a lot of time designing your own ATS-friendly CV. All you need to do is take a little time to fill in your details in a ready-made English CV template.

Conclusion

Through this article, you now know what ATS software is, how it supports businesses, the steps for building an ATS-friendly CV, and the tools that can help you create one. Thanks for reading — see you in the upcoming articles!

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