Using the built-in ATS check – Page 2

Yes. Even when a person reads your resume first, the check helps make sure it is complete and clearly structured. Some employers also add emailed resumes to their own system later.

The same things matter to a human reader:

• Clear headings so they can find sections quickly.
• Complete contact details.
• Specific bullets under each role.

For email applications you can be slightly more flexible with design, but completeness and clarity still count. The job-description comparison is useful in either case.

Because the score measures structure and completeness, not whether your experience matches the jobs or how convincing your content is. Many other factors affect interview invitations.

Things to review:

• Are you applying for roles where you meet the main requirements?
• Does the top third of your resume show fit for each job within a quick glance?
• Do your bullets show results, or only duties?
• Are you answering screening questions fully?
• Are you applying early enough and following each application's instructions?

Ask someone in your target field to review your resume against a real advert. Their feedback on content is often more valuable than any score. It also helps to track your applications, so you can see whether certain types of roles respond better than others and adjust your focus.

You can write your resume in several languages in ResumeBuilder.ae, including Arabic, French, Spanish, German, Hindi and Malayalam, and the check is available in the builder. How the job-description comparison handles different languages is not something to rely on blindly, so review the results with care.

Tips for non-English resumes:

• Paste a job description written in the same language as your resume.
• Check that key terms in the advert appear in your resume in the same form.
• Keep technical terms or tool names in the form employers use, even if they are in English.

Whatever the language, check that your sections are complete and your contact details are clear.

Only if the sections are relevant and filled with real content. Empty or padded sections do not make your resume better and may count against completeness.

When an extra section helps:

• Certifications that the role values.
• Projects that show skills your jobs do not.
• Languages, when the job involves customers or colleagues who speak them.

When to leave it out:

• You have nothing meaningful to put in it.
• The content repeats what is already in your work history.

Check the rules in the tool to see how sections are treated, and prioritise what a hiring manager would want to read.

Yes. Standard headings such as Work Experience, Education, Skills and Certifications are easy for both software and people to recognise. Creative headings like "My Journey" or "What I Bring" can be confusing.

In ResumeBuilder.ae, the built-in sections already use standard headings, and the exported PDF has standard headings. If you need something not covered, the Custom Section lets you choose your own heading. When you do, keep it clear and conventional.

Examples of clear custom headings:

• "Licences"
• "Conference Presentations"
• "Technical Tools"

Yes, by importing it into the builder first. ResumeBuilder.ae can import an existing resume in PDF or Word (.docx) format, up to 5 MB. The file is read in your browser, not uploaded, and you then check each imported section.

Steps:

• Import your existing file.
• Review every section and fix anything that landed in the wrong place.
• Run the ATS-readiness check and the job-description comparison.

Password-protected files cannot be imported, and scanned image-only PDFs have no text to read. If an import struggles to read your file, that is useful information in itself: some employers' systems may have similar trouble with it.

No. It is ResumeBuilder.ae's own rule-based estimate, not a copy of any employer's software. Different applicant tracking systems read and store resumes in different ways, and employers configure them differently.

What you can reasonably rely on:

• A complete, clearly structured resume is easier for most software and people to handle.
• Text-based PDFs with standard headings, like the builder's export, can have their text selected and copied.
• Single-column layouts keep reading order simple.

What you cannot know from any outside tool is how one particular employer's system ranks or filters applications. Follow each application's instructions and keep your content relevant.

Do a copy-and-paste test. Open the PDF, select all the text, copy it and paste it into a plain text editor. If the text comes out in a sensible order with your headings, names and dates intact, software can usually read it too.

What to look for:

• Words jumbled together or in the wrong order.
• Contact details missing or split oddly.
• Strange symbols where special characters should be.

ResumeBuilder.ae's PDF is text-based, so the text can be selected and copied, with standard headings. Two-column layouts are more likely to paste in a mixed order, which is one reason single-column templates are the safest default.

There is no fixed number. What matters is whether the missing terms are core requirements you actually meet. Missing a few general or minor terms is normal; missing several key skills you have is worth fixing.

Sort the missing terms into three groups:

• Skills you have but did not mention: add them where true.
• Skills you do not have: leave them out.
• General words that are not skills: ignore them.

If many core requirements fall into the second group, the role may be a stretch. That is fine to apply for, but make your strongest matching evidence very visible.

It can. Some software and some recruiters search for the exact phrase, and a word-frequency comparison may treat different forms as different terms. Where it reads naturally, use the advert's form.

Example: change "Managed budgets for three departments" to "Handled budget management for three departments, covering staff and equipment costs."

You do not need to match every word form perfectly. Focus on the core terms of the role, especially skills, tools and qualifications, and use the advert's wording where it is accurate and sounds natural.

Both, ideally. A skills list makes key terms easy to spot, and bullets prove you used them. A term that appears only in the skills list is a claim without evidence.

A good pattern:

• Skills: "Inventory control, SAP MM, cycle counting"
• Bullet: "Ran weekly cycle counting in SAP MM, keeping stock records accurate across two warehouses."

The summary can also carry one or two of the most important terms. Spread them naturally rather than repeating the same word in every section.

Yes, when a suggestion does not fit your situation or would force you to add content that is not true. The rules are general, and your resume is specific to you.

Reasonable times to ignore a suggestion:

• It asks for a section you have no genuine content for.
• It conflicts with a specific instruction in the job advert.
• Meeting it would make the resume less clear for a human reader.

Do not ignore suggestions about missing contact details, leftover sample text or [bracketed] prompts, though. Those are real errors that a reader will notice.

Yes, include one to three of the most important terms for the role, written naturally. The summary is read first, so it is a good place to show you match the core requirement.

Example: for a role asking for "IFRS reporting" and "month-end close", a summary could read: "Chartered accountant with six years of month-end close and IFRS reporting experience in manufacturing groups."

Avoid turning the summary into a keyword list. If it reads like a string of terms without meaning, a recruiter will skip it. Two clear sentences with a few key terms work better.

Length itself is not what software reads; content and structure are. A clear one- or two-page resume is usually easier for both people and systems than a very long one, but cutting real, relevant content to reach a number is not helpful.

What matters more than length:

• Complete sections with dates and descriptions.
• Relevant content near the top.
• No padding or repetition.

Check the rules listed in the ATS tool to see what it looks at. Then decide length based on your experience level and what is common for the country and role.

No. Photos are not supported in the ResumeBuilder.ae PDF, which keeps the text easy for ATS software to read. A photo would not add skills or content to a resume in any case.

If an employer specifically asks for a photo, follow their instructions separately, for example by uploading one to their application portal where requested. For most online applications, a text-only resume is the safer choice.

Spend the effort on content instead: a clear summary, specific achievements and the right skills.

It may give you a complete-looking structure quickly, but a resume full of example text is not ready to send. ResumeBuilder.ae offers starters for 42 job roles; they are examples to edit so they are true for you.

Before you trust any score:

• Replace every [bracketed] prompt with your own details.
• Rewrite example bullets so they describe your actual work.
• Remove example skills you do not have.

The checklist before payment flags leftover sample text and [bracketed] prompts. Sending a resume with obvious sample text is far more harmful than a slightly lower score.

It means a resume that applicant tracking systems can read and store accurately, so a recruiter searching or reviewing it sees the right information in the right places. It is about readability, not about tricking software.

Typical features:

• Text-based file, not a scanned image.
• Simple, mostly single-column layout.
• Standard section headings.
• Clear dates, job titles and employer names.
• No essential information inside images, icons or decorative elements.

"ATS-friendly" is not the same as "guaranteed to pass". Employers' systems and settings differ, and people still make the decisions.

Some can. Unusual symbols or characters may not display or copy correctly in every system. ResumeBuilder.ae's checklist before payment flags characters the PDF cannot print, and the builder warns before payment if any character cannot be included.

Safer choices:

• Use plain hyphens or simple bullets rather than decorative symbols.
• Avoid emojis and icon characters in text.
• Write "and" instead of unusual ampersand styles if one shows oddly.

Accented names and characters in supported languages are fine; just check the preview and the warning list before you download.

Not necessarily. A score about structure and completeness rewards a well-organised resume, and a graduate resume can be complete without much work history. Fill the sections that suit you instead.

Sections that help graduates:

• Education with degree, institution and dates.
• Projects with what you did and what tools you used.
• Internships, part-time work or volunteer work.
• Skills, languages and certifications.

Do not add filler to raise the number. Recruiters reading graduate resumes expect less experience; they want clear evidence of skills and effort.

You can, but the content is what the check mainly reflects, and template choice is better judged by layout. Single-column templates such as ATS Classic or ATS Professional are the safest default, and the builder labels two-column layouts as more complex.

A practical comparison:

• Switch templates and preview each one.
• Run the check on both and see if any rule changes.
• Do the copy-and-paste test on a sample, if you can, to see the reading order.
• Pick the one that is clear, readable and suits your industry.

Every template is free to preview, so trying both costs nothing.

It can. Clear, consistent dates are easier for software and people to read. Use the same format for every entry.

Good formats:

• "Mar 2021 – Jun 2024"
• "03/2021 – 06/2024"
• "2021 – 2024" for older roles, if you use it consistently.

Avoid:

• Mixing formats in one resume.
• Seasons such as "Summer 2022" for jobs.
• Leaving dates off some jobs.

For your current job, write "Present" for the end date. Check the preview to make sure dates line up neatly in your chosen template.

It cannot see anything outside your resume or how a specific employer will judge it. It checks your resume's structure and completeness by its listed rules.

Things outside its view:

• The employer's own system settings and filters.
• Screening questions on the application form.
• Your cover letter and how well it matches the role.
• How many other people applied and how strong they are.
• Whether your experience and claims are accurate.

Use the check for what it is good at, then handle the rest yourself: read each application carefully, answer questions honestly and tailor your resume and letter.

The ATS-readiness check is about your resume. You can write a matching cover letter in the builder, but you should review it yourself against the job advert.

Cover letter checks to do yourself:

• It names the role you are applying for.
• It mentions two or three requirements and how you meet them.
• It uses the same facts and job titles as your resume.
• It contains no leftover names from another application.

Some employers read the cover letter, some do not. Make it short and specific so it helps when it is read.

Use the advert's terms where they accurately describe your work, and keep your industry's terms where they add clarity. Writing both once can cover different readers.

Example: an advert for "client success" when your company called it "account management". You might write: "Account management (client success) for 35 corporate clients, handling renewals and escalations."

This is especially useful when changing industries, where job titles and jargon differ. Translate your experience into the employer's language, without changing what you actually did.

Put them in plain text at the top, each item clearly separated, and include your phone number with the country code. ResumeBuilder.ae's personal details include fields for name, professional title, email, phone (with country code), city, region and country, and links.

Tips:

• Use a simple, professional email address.
• Write the phone with a plus sign and country code. Example: "+971 50 123 4567".
• Give city and country rather than a full street address.
• Avoid putting contact details only inside images or icons.

The checklist before payment flags missing contact details, so you will be reminded if something is empty.