Four ATS myths that are quietly costing you interviews
Applicant tracking systems do not reject your CV. Humans do — but the way you format for the system decides which humans ever see it.
PLACEHOLDER CONTENT — replace with the final editorial piece. There is a persistent belief that an algorithm scores your CV and bins it. In reality most tracking systems parse, index and rank; a recruiter still makes the call.
The first myth is that keyword stuffing works. It does not. Recruiters search for a handful of terms and then read; a CV crammed with unnatural phrasing reads as noise the moment a human opens it.
The second is that creative formatting is fatal. Multi-column layouts, text boxes and header-embedded contact details do genuinely break parsing — but a clean single-column CV with standard section headings solves that in an afternoon.
The third is that one CV can serve every role. The fourth is that a cover letter no longer matters. Both are wrong for the same reason: relevance is the only thing being assessed, and relevance has to be demonstrated per role.
Key takeaways
- Single column, standard headings, contact details in the body
- Mirror the language of the advert, naturally, not mechanically
- Tailor per role — a generic CV signals a generic candidate
Want results like this?
Tell us where you are and where you want to be — our team will map the fastest route and apply on your behalf.