ATS CV: how to write one that hiring systems can read

A hiring system (ATS) such as Workday, Oracle or SuccessFactors pulls the text out of your CV and puts it into fields: name, experience, education, skills. A CV that reads correctly has clear text, standard headings and a simple layout, without complex tables or text inside images.

Hiring systems read text, not design. If you cannot copy the words out of your CV file, the system probably cannot read them either.

What does the system read?

• Contact details: name, mobile, email and city, at the top as plain text.
• Experience: title, company, dates (month and year), and short bullet points for each job.
• Education: degree, major, university, graduation year.
• Skills: clear words that match the job posting, such as software names or professional certificates.

After you upload your CV, many systems fill the application fields from it and ask you to check them. If the fields come out empty or wrong, the system did not read the file well.

PDF or Word?

Each system sets its own accepted file types. Either way, the text must be real text, not an image. What matters:

• Do not export your CV as an image or a scanned PDF.
• If the posting or the system asks for a file type, use it.
• Give the file a clear name, such as your name and the word CV.

Arabic or English?

Many large companies in Saudi Arabia write their postings in English. Match the language of the posting: if the posting is in Arabic, or the employer is a government or local entity, prepare an Arabic version. Best is to keep two versions with the same content and upload the one that matches the language of the posting.

Photo and nationality

• Photo: many systems ignore it, and it takes space. If the posting does not ask for it, you can leave it out.
• Nationality and ID: some systems ask for these in the application fields, so you do not need to repeat them in the CV unless they matter for the job.

Mistakes that make a CV unreadable

• Tables and multiple columns that mix up the order of the text.
• Unusual headings instead of "Experience" and "Education".
• Contact details only in the header or footer.
• Icons instead of words (a phone icon instead of a written number).

Your CV on Badali

Badali uploads the CV in your profile with each application on the company's hiring system, such as Workday, Oracle and SuccessFactors. So a clear CV that reads correctly helps every application you make. You start with 3 applications and 5 emails free, no card.