What Is an Applicant Tracking System (ATS)?
Up to 75% of resumes are rejected by software before a human ever reads them. Understanding how ATS works is the first step to getting your resume seen.
How ATS Software Works
An Applicant Tracking System (ATS) is software used by employers and recruitment agencies to manage the hiring process. When you submit your resume online — whether through Seek, Indeed, LinkedIn, or a company's own careers page — it almost always passes through an ATS before anyone reads it.
The software scans your resume, extracts information (name, contact details, work history, skills, qualifications), and scores it against the job description. Resumes that don't meet the criteria — or that the system can't read properly — are filtered out automatically.
In Australia, the majority of medium-to-large employers use ATS software. Government departments, mining companies, healthcare organisations, and corporate firms all rely on these systems to handle the volume of applications they receive.
1. Parsing
The ATS reads your resume file, extracting text from sections like work experience, education, and skills. Modern systems handle professional PDFs well; image-only scans or odd layouts can still cause parsing problems.
2. Keyword Matching
Your resume is compared against the job description. The system looks for matching keywords — job titles, technical skills, qualifications, and industry terminology.
3. Ranking
Candidates are scored and ranked. Only the top-scoring resumes are forwarded to the hiring manager or recruiter for human review.
Common ATS Software Used in Australia
Different employers use different platforms, but the screening principles are the same. Some of the most widely used ATS platforms in Australia include:
Why Most Resumes Get Rejected by ATS
It's rarely about your qualifications. Most rejections happen because of how the resume is formatted or written, not what's in it.
Complex Formatting
Tables, text boxes, columns, headers/footers, and graphics can confuse ATS parsers. The system may skip entire sections or jumble your content.
Missing Keywords
If your resume doesn't include the specific terms from the job description — even if you have the skills — the ATS won't match you to the role.
Wrong File Format
Some systems struggle with PDFs, especially those created from design tools. Word (.docx) is the safest format for most ATS platforms.
Non-Standard Section Headings
Creative headings like "My Journey" or "What I Bring" confuse the system. Use standard labels: Work Experience, Education, Skills, Summary.
How to Make Your Resume ATS-Friendly
What ATS Sees vs What a Recruiter Sees
Non-ATS-Friendly Resume
- • Creative design with columns and graphics
- • Skills hidden in infographic bars
- • Key details in headers/footers (invisible to ATS)
- • Job titles don't match industry terms
- Result: ATS reads garbled text, scores 20%, auto-rejected
ATS-Optimised Resume
- • Clean layout with standard formatting
- • Keywords naturally woven into experience
- • All content in the main body, fully parseable
- • Job titles and skills match the job description
- Result: ATS reads everything, scores 85%+, forwarded to recruiter
The Numbers Behind ATS Screening
of resumes rejected before human review
of Fortune 500 companies use ATS
average time a recruiter reads a resume
applications per corporate job posting
Get an ATS-Optimised Resume That Actually Gets Read
Every resume we write is built to pass ATS screening and impress the recruiter on the other side. With 18+ years of experience, we know exactly what the systems — and the humans — are looking for.
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