ATS-friendly CV: templates and how to write one

An ATS-friendly CV is one an ATS can read: real text, familiar headings and a single reading order. Below are five templates grouped by how an ATS reads them, and under them a step-by-step guide to writing your resume.

In short

ATS-friendly means readable, not plain: every detail as selectable text, in one reading order.
Name your sections what everyone names them: Work Experience, Education, Skills.
Test your file before you send it. What the ATS sees is the plain text you can copy out of the PDF.

ATS-friendly CV templates

All five are drawn with the same sample CV, and switching template keeps the content as it is. Downloading is free with every template, with no account and no watermark. Both the PDF and the Word file carry real, selectable text.

Sample CV · Deniz Kaya

ATS FriendlyOne column, every detail in real text. The safest choice for sites that make you upload a file.

Deniz Kaya
Digital Marketing Specialist
İstanbul • deniz@example.com
Summary
I have 4 years of digital marketing experience. I manage advertising campaigns, prepare reports and work with the marketing team.
Work Experience
Digital Marketing Specialist, Example E-commerce, İstanbul
2023 — present
•
Managed Google Ads and Meta Ads campaigns and reported results using GA4.
•
Reduced customer acquisition cost by 18% through A/B testing.
Marketing Assistant, Example Agency
2022 — 2023
•
Prepared weekly campaign reports and maintained the content calendar.
Education
Istanbul University, Bachelor’s degree, Business Administration
2018 — 2022
Skills
Google Ads, Meta Ads, GA4, Campaign management, A/B testing
Classic
A clean single-column layout — the safe default for maximum ATS compatibility.
Deniz Kaya
Digital Marketing Specialist
İstanbul • deniz@example.com
SUMMARY
I have 4 years of digital marketing experience. I manage advertising campaigns, prepare reports and work with the marketing team.
WORK EXPERIENCE
Example E-commerce
İstanbul
Digital Marketing Specialist
2023 — present
Managed Google Ads and Meta Ads campaigns and reported results using GA4.
Reduced customer acquisition cost by 18% through A/B testing.
Example Agency
Marketing Assistant
2022 — 2023
Prepared weekly campaign reports and maintained the content calendar.
EDUCATION
Istanbul University
Bachelor’s degree, Business Administration
2018 — 2022
SKILLS
Google AdsMeta AdsGA4Campaign managementA/B testing
Accent
Centred caps header, two-line entries — employer and city on top, role and dates below.
Deniz Kaya
Digital Marketing Specialist
İstanbul • deniz@example.com
SUMMARY
I have 4 years of digital marketing experience. I manage advertising campaigns, prepare reports and work with the marketing team.
WORK EXPERIENCE
Example E-commerce
İstanbul
Digital Marketing Specialist
2023 — present
•
Managed Google Ads and Meta Ads campaigns and reported results using GA4.
•
Reduced customer acquisition cost by 18% through A/B testing.
Example Agency
Marketing Assistant
2022 — 2023
•
Prepared weekly campaign reports and maintained the content calendar.
EDUCATION
Istanbul University
Bachelor’s degree, Business Administration
2018 — 2022
SKILLS
Google Ads, Meta Ads, GA4, Campaign management, A/B testing
Plain
Monochrome, dense, all-serif — half-inch margins and a 10pt body. The most content per page, arguing for nothing.

Partial ATSA side column or a photo panel. Most systems read them, but check the text before you send.

Deniz Kaya
Digital Marketing Specialist
İstanbul • deniz@example.com
SUMMARY
I have 4 years of digital marketing experience. I manage advertising campaigns, prepare reports and work with the marketing team.
WORK EXPERIENCE
Digital Marketing Specialist
2023 — present
Example E-commerce · İstanbul
Managed Google Ads and Meta Ads campaigns and reported results using GA4.
Reduced customer acquisition cost by 18% through A/B testing.
Marketing Assistant
2022 — 2023
Example Agency
Prepared weekly campaign reports and maintained the content calendar.
EDUCATION
Istanbul University · Bachelor’s degree, Business Administration
2018 — 2022
SKILLS
Google AdsMeta AdsGA4Campaign managementA/B testing
Two column
A modern layout that balances dense content; skills live in the side column.
Deniz Kaya
Digital Marketing Specialist
SUMMARY
I have 4 years of digital marketing experience. I manage advertising campaigns, prepare reports and work with the marketing team.
WORK EXPERIENCE
Digital Marketing Specialist · Example E-commerce · İstanbul
2023 — present
Managed Google Ads and Meta Ads campaigns and reported results using GA4.
Reduced customer acquisition cost by 18% through A/B testing.
Marketing Assistant · Example Agency
2022 — 2023
Prepared weekly campaign reports and maintained the content calendar.
EDUCATION
Istanbul University · Bachelor’s degree, Business Administration
2018 — 2022
DK
CONTACT
İstanbul
deniz@example.com
SKILLS
Google AdsMeta AdsGA4Campaign managementA/B testing
Photo
A header with a photo area, matching the common norm in Türkiye.

Start with the template: why one column is still the safest

A parser reads the page in the order the text was written into the file. In a one-column CV that order matches the one your eye follows. In two columns, the skills in the side column can end up in the middle of a job entry.

That does not make two-column templates forbidden. A CV emailed straight to a person can look however you like. But for a file you upload to a job board or a company's application form, one column carries the least risk. If you are unsure, keep both versions.

Section headings: familiar, not creative

An ATS recognises a section by its heading. Common names such as Work Experience, Education, Skills, Certifications and Languages land in the right place in every system. "My journey" or "What I've built" may read warmly to a person, but the parser may not recognise the section at all.

The same goes for contact details. Keep your name, phone, email and city in the body of the page as plain text. Some systems never read what sits in a document's header or footer area.

Dates, job titles and abbreviations

Use one date format for every entry: "03/2021 – 05/2024" or "Mar 2021 – May 2024". Writing only the year, or mixing formats, makes it harder for the system to work out how many years of experience you have.

Write your job title the way your employer did, and add the common equivalent in brackets if it helps: "Growth Specialist (Performance Marketing)". Spell out an abbreviation at least once as well: "Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP)".

Keywords: the posting's words, your own work

If you really used the skills and tools a posting names, put them on your CV the way the posting spells them. If the ad says "Excel" and you wrote "MS Office", a person reads the same thing, but a search does not.

Doing this by hand for every posting is tiring, because every posting uses slightly different words. Letterin reads the posting and proposes a rewrite of your CV text for it. You decide what changes, and no skill or figure that is not already on your CV gets added.

File format and a last check

A PDF with a real text layer is safe in every current system. Some job boards and recruiters still ask for .docx, so keep both ready. Never send a scanned PDF or one exported as an image.

For a last check, copy all the text out of your PDF and paste it into a plain text editor. If the letters, dates and order come out right, that is what the ATS sees too. Letterin's /roast page runs this check for free: it shows your file's ATS score and what to fix.

Questions

Can an ATS-friendly CV have a photo?

A photo does not break an ATS on its own; the parser does not read it and moves on. The trouble is the text boxes and side panels squeezed in beside it. Whether to include a photo at all depends on the market: expected in some countries, avoided in others such as the US and the UK. If you use one, keep a one-column copy for sites that make you upload a file.

Can a colourful CV be ATS-friendly?

Yes. Colour, typefaces and thin rules do not affect the parser; what it reads is the text. The trouble is information given only as a graphic: a five-dot language level, skill bars, an icon standing in for a phone number. If the information matters, put it beside the graphic as real text too: "English · C1".

Are the ATS-friendly resume templates free?

On Letterin, yes. You can build your CV with any of the five templates without an account and download it as a PDF or Word file, with no watermark. An account is only needed when you want AI to tailor your CV to a job posting.

Upload your resume once, pick a template, see your ATS score and download it. An account is only needed to tailor it to a posting.

Try it free