ATS Friendly Resume Template (Engineer-Approved + Free Download)

What "Engineer-Approved" Means for ATS Resumes

ATS systems do not "like" pretty resumes. They reward structured, predictable documents with clear field mapping. In practical terms, that means your resume should be easy for a parser to split into known entities: name, contact data, experience, skills, education, certifications, and chronology.

Our template is engineered around three ATS-safe constraints:

• Single-column reading order so parsers do not scramble content
• Standard section labels so fields map correctly in ATS databases
• Keyword context matching so skills appear in believable work evidence, not just a keyword dump

Free ATS Friendly Resume Template Download

This is the exact template layout. Download the editable Word file and customize it for each job.

Replace every section with your own information (summary, skills, experience, projects, education, certifications, etc). Remove any sections that do not apply to your background.

Download ATS-Approved-Template.docx

Why This Template Works in Real ATS Pipelines

1. Field Extraction Reliability

Standard labels like "Professional Experience" and "Education" improve extraction consistency across Workday, Taleo, Greenhouse, and iCIMS workflows.

2. Chronology Integrity

Date and job-title patterns are consistent, so ATS can calculate tenure, recency, and progression without errors.

3. Skill-to-Evidence Matching

Skills appear in both a dedicated section and bullet evidence under real roles, which boosts semantic relevance during ranking.

4. Human Review Speed

The same structure that helps ATS also helps recruiters scan fast: title, scope, impact, metrics.

Checklist Before You Submit

• Use .docx format unless PDF is explicitly requested
• Use a standard font like Calibri, Arial, or Times New Roman
• Match job-description vocabulary without keyword stuffing
• Quantify impact in at least 60% of experience bullets
• Avoid headers/footers for critical contact information
• Test parse output before sending final applications

Common ATS Template Mistakes That Kill Match Scores

• Two-column layouts: parsing order becomes unpredictable
• Icons replacing labels: parsers ignore visual symbols
• Over-designed PDFs: embedded layers disrupt extraction
• Generic bullet points: weak relevance and low ranking confidence
• Missing role keywords: no alignment with target job taxonomy