How Do You Write a CV That Gets Past AI Screening Tools?

ATS Tracking is Widely Used in Recruitment

What nobody is telling job seekers, and why your CV might be disappearing into a black hole

You've spent hours on your CV. You've tailored it carefully. You've applied for roles you're genuinely qualified for. And then nothing. No response, no feedback, just silence.

If this sounds familiar, there's a good chance your CV isn't reaching a human being at all.

The Hidden Filter Most Job Seekers Don't Know About

Most large organisations and many medium sized ones now use Applicant Tracking Systems, known as ATS, to manage recruitment. These are software platforms that receive, store and filter job applications before a human recruiter ever sees them.

When you apply for a role online, in the majority of cases your CV is first read not by a person but by an algorithm. That algorithm is looking for specific things. If it doesn't find them, your application is filtered out automatically, regardless of how strong your experience is, how well you'd do the job or how much effort you put into your application.

Studies suggest that as many as 75% of CVs are rejected by ATS before a human sees them. Let that sink in for a moment. Three quarters of applicants, potentially including people who are perfectly qualified for the role, never even get considered.

And it's getting more sophisticated. Newer AI powered recruitment tools go beyond simple keyword matching. They analyse writing style, assess the structure and coherence of your experience, score your application against the job description and in some cases make predictive assessments about your likely performance and retention. The technology is imperfect and frankly raises some serious ethical questions, but it's here, it's widely used and pretending it doesn't exist won't help you.

Why Your CV Might Be Getting Filtered Out

There are several common reasons a strong CV fails to get through ATS screening and most of them are entirely fixable.

The wrong keywords 

ATS systems are largely keyword driven. They're looking for the specific words and phrases used in the job description. If the job description says "stakeholder management" and your CV says "managing relationships with key partners," the system may not connect the two, even though they mean essentially the same thing. This is one of the most common and most easily fixed reasons for ATS rejection.

Unusual formatting 

Many CV designs that look impressive to a human eye are genuinely difficult for ATS software to read. Graphics, tables, text boxes, columns, headers and footers, logos and unusual fonts can all cause parsing errors where the system either misreads your information or fails to extract it altogether. A CV that looks beautiful on screen can appear as garbled nonsense to an ATS.

Missing section headings 

ATS systems are looking for recognisable structure. They expect to find sections labelled with familiar terms like Work Experience, Education, Skills and Professional Development. Clever or creative section headings, however appealing they might seem, can confuse the system and cause information to be miscategorised or missed entirely.

The wrong file format 

PDF files, while widely used, are not always ATS-friendly depending on how they were created. A Word document in .docx format is generally the safest choice unless the application specifically requests a PDF.

Gaps or inconsistencies that flag the system 

Some ATS tools are programmed to flag unexplained employment gaps, very short tenures or inconsistencies between dates. This doesn't mean gaps are fatal, but they benefit from being addressed clearly rather than left for an algorithm to interpret negatively.

How to Write a CV That Works for Both AI and Humans

The goal is not to game the system at the expense of authenticity. It's to make sure your genuine experience and value are presented in a way that both the algorithm and the human recruiter can read clearly and respond to positively.

Start with the job description 

Read it carefully and note the specific language used. The words and phrases that appear repeatedly or are emphasised are your keywords. Your CV should reflect this language naturally, woven into genuine descriptions of your experience rather than mentioned awkwardly into a keywords section.

Use a clean, simple format 

Resist the temptation to make your CV visually distinctive through design. Use a standard font like Calibri, Arial or Georgia. Use clear section headings. Avoid columns, text boxes, tables and graphics. The visual simplicity that works best for ATS also tends to read more clearly and professionally to human recruiters.

Lead with a strong personal profile 

The opening paragraph of your CV is your best opportunity to set context, establish your value and mirror the language of the role you're applying for. Keep it to three or four sentences, make it specific rather than generic and make sure it speaks directly to the role rather than being a ‘one size fits all’ statement you copy across every application.

Be specific about achievements, not just responsibilities

ATS systems and human recruiters both respond better to evidence of impact than lists of duties. Rather than "responsible for managing a team," write "managed a team of eight people through a period of significant organisational change, maintaining team performance and reducing attrition." Specific, evidenced and human.

Tailor every application 

This is the single most important thing you can do and the thing most people resist because it takes time. A generic CV sent to multiple roles will perform poorly with ATS because it won't reflect the specific language of each job description. Even small, targeted adjustments to your personal profile and key skills section make a significant difference to how the system scores your application.

Include a skills section with relevant keywords

 A clearly labelled Skills section gives you an opportunity to include relevant keywords in a natural, scannable way. Keep it relevant and honest. This is not the place for vague claims about being a good communicator. It's the place for specific, relevant competencies that match the role.

Spell out acronyms 

Don't assume the ATS recognises industry abbreviations. If your experience includes relevant certifications or qualifications, write them out in full as well as in their abbreviated form. "Prince2 (Projects in Controlled Environments)" gives the system more to work with than "Prince2" alone.

Check your dates and consistency Make sure your employment dates are consistent, clearly formatted and in the same style throughout. Month and year is generally clearer than year alone. Any gaps should be addressed briefly and honestly rather than obscured.

The Ethical Elephant in the Room

It would be dishonest to write about AI recruitment tools without acknowledging that they are genuinely controversial.

Research has identified significant bias issues in some AI recruitment systems, with tools showing bias against certain names, educational backgrounds and demographic characteristics. The use of AI to make or influence hiring decisions raises serious questions about fairness, transparency and accountability that the recruitment industry has not yet fully resolved.

As a job seeker, knowing this matters for two reasons. First, if you're not getting responses despite being well qualified, it may genuinely not be about you. The system has real limitations and real flaws. Second, when you do get in front of a human recruiter, the human element remains enormously important and no amount of ATS optimisation replaces the work of being genuinely compelling in an interview.

What This Means in Practice

Getting your CV past AI screening is not about tricks or manipulation. It's about communication. Making sure the genuine value you bring is expressed clearly enough that both a machine and a human being can see it.

The frustrating reality for many talented, experienced people is that they are underselling themselves without realising it. Their CV doesn't reflect what they've actually achieved, doesn't use the language the system is looking for or is formatted in a way that obscures rather than reveals their experience.

That's not a reflection of their ability. It's a communication problem, and communication problems are solvable.

I've created a free guide that walks you through exactly how to use AI tools to work in your favour throughout the entire application process. From checking your suitability for a role, to getting past ATS screening, writing a CV that actually reflects your value, preparing for interviews and tracking what's working.

Eight steps. Ready to use prompts. Honest, ethical and built to help you present yourself clearly, credibly and with confidence. If you’d like a copy, please fill out the contact form with your email address and I’ll forward it to you.