AI-assisted resume screening doesn't reject candidates outright — it ranks and surfaces them for a recruiter to review. But a poorly formatted resume can get mis-parsed badly enough that your actual experience never shows up correctly in that ranking.
Avoid tables, columns and text boxes for core content
Multi-column layouts and tables look clean visually but frequently scramble the reading order when parsed, merging job titles with company names incorrectly or dropping dates entirely.
Use standard section headings
"Experience", "Education", "Skills" parse reliably. Creative headings like "My Journey" or "What I Bring" often don't map to any expected field, which can push relevant content out of the structured data a recruiter sees.
- Use standard date formats (Jan 2023 – Present) rather than abbreviations that vary by region
- List skills as plain text, not icons or graphics
- Keep contact information as plain text, not embedded in a header/footer graphic
Match language to the role, honestly
Mirroring language from the job description helps matching — but only where it's true. Padding a resume with keywords for skills you don't actually have creates a mismatch that shows up quickly in the interview, and damages trust with the recruiter.
Upload your resume through our Job Seekers section and our recruiters will flag formatting issues as part of the review — before it ever reaches an employer.