FAQsFrequently asked questions
What is an Applicant Tracking System (ATS)?
An Applicant Tracking System (ATS) is software employers use to collect, scan, and rank job applications before a human ever sees them. When you apply online, your resume is usually parsed by an ATS first — it extracts your contact details, work history, skills, and education into a structured profile, then surfaces the candidates that best match the job. If an ATS can't read your resume cleanly, your application can be filtered out before reaching a recruiter.
What makes a resume ATS-friendly?
An ATS-friendly resume uses a clean, single-column layout with standard section headings (Summary, Experience, Education, Skills), a common font, and no text trapped inside images, tables, headers, footers, or columns that parsers struggle with. It includes the keywords and skills from the job description in plain text, lists clear job titles and dates, and is saved as a text-readable PDF. The goal is for the ATS to extract every detail accurately so your real qualifications are what get scored.
How does ResumeShortlisted optimize my resume for ATS?
ResumeShortlisted builds your resume in ATS-safe templates, then uses AI to strengthen the content the way ATS and recruiters reward. It generates a focused professional summary, rewrites experience into impact-driven bullet points with action verbs and quantified results, and matches your skills against the job description you paste in. It also gives you a real-time ATS compatibility score with specific suggestions, so you can see and fix gaps before you apply.
Do I need to create an account to use ResumeShortlisted?
No. ResumeShortlisted requires no signup — you can start building an ATS-friendly resume immediately. On the Free plan your resume is stored only in your browser for the current session, so nothing is kept on our servers. You only provide an email if you choose a paid plan and want your edit link sent to you.
How much does ResumeShortlisted cost?
You can build and download an ATS-friendly resume for free, with a watermark. To remove the watermark and unlock premium templates, the full ATS score, and unlimited edits and downloads, the Pro plan is ₹49 for 24 hours of access. The AI Premium plan adds AI rewrites of your summary and bullet points plus AI ATS suggestions for ₹99 with 72 hours of access. Prices may be shown in your local currency at checkout.
Should an ATS resume be a PDF or a Word document?
A text-readable PDF is the safest choice for most modern Applicant Tracking Systems — it preserves your formatting and is parsed reliably, which is why ResumeShortlisted generates a clean PDF. The one exception is when a job posting explicitly asks for a .doc or .docx file; in that case, follow the instructions. Avoid scanned or image-based PDFs, because an ATS cannot read text inside an image.