ATSPrep field notes
What resume software can actually read, what formatting quietly breaks it, and how to make a claim stronger without gaming a score nobody will show you.
Original research on ATS resume format: 12 formatting patterns tested across 108 resume PDFs, measuring what survives text extraction and what does not.
Read the guideLibrary
A practical way to inspect the text layer, reading order, and missing fields in a resume PDF before you submit it.
Read the guideLearn why visual reading order and machine extraction order can diverge in resumes built with columns, tables, and floating text boxes.
Read the guideTurn responsibilities into specific, defensible resume evidence using scope, frequency, outcomes, and honest estimates.
Read the guideA careful comparison of PDF and DOCX resume files, when to use each format, and how to test the final document.
Read the guideUse these 12 practical tips for creating a good resume, from choosing relevant evidence and writing stronger bullets to checking the final PDF.
Read the guideA repeatable interview preparation plan for researching the role, choosing examples, practicing answers, asking questions, and following up.
Read the guideAre two-column resumes ATS safe? We tested 9 profiles: words survived at 97.9%, but 30.5% of lines fused. Reading order is the risk, not word loss.
Read the guideTable grids welded 24.1% of lines versus 30.5% for two columns, and the welds joined related cells rather than unrelated content.
Read the guideMargin contact details scored 100% recovery but 93.7% order. Phone and email landed at the end of the extracted resume text.
Read the guideOur extraction study shows letter-spaced headings break into single characters, destroying the section labels ATS software needs most.
Read the guideWe tested symbol-font bullets against plain text extraction. Decorative bullets caused zero measurable damage, contradicting common advice.
Read the guideA resume PDF stores positioned glyph runs, not sentences. ATS text extraction rebuilds words and lines from geometry. Here is how that process works.
Read the guideA scanned resume PDF has no text layer. Our extraction test recovered zero words, zero contact details and zero structure from one.
Read the guideDoes line spacing affect ATS parsing? We tested cramped two-point leading against a single-column control. Recovery, order and welding were identical.
Read the guideWe tested common ATS resume format advice in a controlled extraction study. Some fears were justified; several were not. See what we measured.
Read the guideSkip the guesswork
The X-Ray extracts your final PDF locally and shows the recovered text and reading order. It is free and your resume file is never uploaded.