Which Resume Templates Pass an ATS? We Tested 8 Layouts
We saved the same resume in 8 common layouts, exported each as a PDF and read it with a standard PDF text extractor, the same reader our free checker uses. Below is exactly what came out of each file, and what it means for an applicant tracking system (ATS).
The results
| Layout | Text read | Name on top | Bullets intact, under the right job | Skills read | Standard headings |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Single column, standard headings | Yes | Yes | Yes | 8/8 | 4/4 |
| Two columns with a sidebar | Yes | No | Yes | 8/8 | 4/4 |
| Table-based layout | Yes | No | Yes | 8/8 | 4/4 |
| Design-tool layout (floating boxes) | Yes | Yes | No | 8/8 | 2/4 |
| Creative section headings | Yes | Yes | Yes | 8/8 | 0/4 |
| Headings as images, skill bars | Yes | Yes | Yes | 2/8 | 0/4 |
| Scanned or image-only PDF | No | No | No | 0/8 | 0/4 |
| ATS Perfect template | Yes | Yes | Yes | 8/8 | 4/4 |
How we tested
- One resume, eight layouts. The same sample resume (a made-up customer service representative) with the same words in every version: two jobs, five bullets, eight skills, education.
- Saved as PDF by Chrome, the engine behind many resume builders and design tools' exports.
- Read with a standard PDF text extractor (pdf.js), the same reader our free checker uses.
- Measured the same way for each: was any text read; is the name the first line; is every bullet read as one sentence, under its own job; how many of the 8 skills were found as text; how many standard headings (Summary, Experience, Skills, Education) came out as their own lines.
What this test isn't: every ATS uses its own parser, so no test can tell you how one particular employer's system will read your file. This shows where layouts commonly break when software turns a PDF into text.
Each layout, and what the reader got
Single column, standard headings
What the reader got (first lines)
Alex Morgan Customer Service Representative alex.morgan@email.com · (416) 555-0123 · Toronto, ON SUMMARY Customer service representative with 4 years in software and retail support. Resolve chat, email and phone requests in Zendesk, calm upset customers and keep satisfaction scores high. EXPERIENCE Fernwood SoftwareMay 2022 – Present Customer Support Specialist Resolved 60 chat and email tickets a day in Zendesk while keeping CSAT at 96%. Met first-response targets on 98% of tickets across chat and email. Wrote 25 help-centre articles that cut repeat questions about billing. FreshCoJune 2019 – April 2022 Cashier
Everything came out in reading order: name, contact details, each heading, each job with its own bullets, then skills and education. This is what a parser wants.
Two columns with a sidebar
What the reader got (first lines)
CONTACT alex.morgan@email.com (416) 555-0123 Toronto, ON SKILLS Zendesk Live chat support De-escalation Salesforce Service Cloud Help-centre writing CSAT Microsoft Excel Bilingual: English and French EDUCATION
Every word was read, but the sidebar came first: contact details, skills and education before the name and the summary. Some ATS take the first line as the name, or file the sidebar under the wrong section.
Table-based layout
What the reader got (first lines)
CONTACT alex.morgan@email.com (416) 555-0123 Toronto, ON SKILLS Zendesk Live chat support De-escalation Salesforce Service Cloud Help-centre writing CSAT Microsoft Excel Bilingual: English and French EDUCATION
It looks the same as the two-column version, but it's built as a table. The reader got the same order: the left cell (contact, skills, education) before the name. Older systems and some Word parsers handle tables worse.
Design-tool layout (floating boxes)
What the reader got (first lines)
Alex Morgan Customer Service Representative · alex.morgan@email.com · (416) 555-0123 · Toronto, ON SKILLS EXPERIENCE Zendesk Fernwood Software May 2022 – Present Live chat support Customer Support Specialist De-escalation Resolved 60 chat and email tickets a day in Zendesk while keeping CSAT Salesforce Service Cloud at 96%. Help-centre writing Met first-response targets on 98% of tickets across chat and email. CSAT Wrote 25 help-centre articles that cut repeat questions about billing. Microsoft Excel FreshCo June 2019 – April 2022 Bilingual: English and French
Floating text boxes, common in design tools, came out mixed together: skills were spliced between job lines, one bullet was broken in two, and the summary came last. A parser can't tell which line belongs where.
Creative section headings
What the reader got (first lines)
Alex Morgan Customer Service Representative alex.morgan@email.com · (416) 555-0123 · Toronto, ON HELLO THERE Customer service representative with 4 years in software and retail support. Resolve chat, email and phone requests in Zendesk, calm upset customers and keep satisfaction scores high. WHERE I'VE MADE AN IMPACT Fernwood SoftwareMay 2022 – Present Customer Support Specialist Resolved 60 chat and email tickets a day in Zendesk while keeping CSAT at 96%. Met first-response targets on 98% of tickets across chat and email. Wrote 25 help-centre articles that cut repeat questions about billing. FreshCoJune 2019 – April 2022 Cashier
All the text was read in order, but none of the headings were standard. "Where I've made an impact" isn't mapped to Experience, so a parser may not know which section is which.
Headings as images, skill bars
What the reader got (first lines)
Alex Morgan Customer Service Representative alex.morgan@email.com · (416) 555-0123 · Toronto, ON Customer service representative with 4 years in software and retail support. Resolve chat, email and phone requests in Zendesk, calm upset customers and keep satisfaction scores high. Fernwood SoftwareMay 2022 – Present Customer Support Specialist Resolved 60 chat and email tickets a day in Zendesk while keeping CSAT at 96%. Met first-response targets on 98% of tickets across chat and email. Wrote 25 help-centre articles that cut repeat questions about billing. FreshCoJune 2019 – April 2022 Cashier Served 200 customers a shift at the till and the service desk. Balanced the cash drawer with no shortages for 18 months.
Headings drawn as pictures and skills shown as rating bars carry no text. The reader found none of the headings and only the 2 skills that also appear in sentences elsewhere.
Scanned or image-only PDF
What the reader got (first lines)
(no text: the reader got nothing)
A scanned or image-only PDF has no text layer. The reader got nothing at all: to most ATS this resume is blank.
ATS Perfect template
What the reader got (first lines)
Alex Morgan alex.morgan@email.com (416) 555-0123 Toronto, ON PROFESSIONAL SUMMARY Customer service representative with 4 years in software and retail support. Resolve chat, email and phone requests in Zendesk, calm upset customers and keep satisfaction scores high. SKILLS • Zendesk • Live chat support • De-escalation • Salesforce Service Cloud • Help-centre writing • CSAT • Microsoft Excel • Bilingual: English and French WORK EXPERIENCE Fernwood Software May 2022 – Present Customer Support Specialist • Resolved 60 chat and email tickets a day in Zendesk while keeping CSAT at 96%.
Same result as the plain single column: name first, standard headings, every bullet under its own job, all 8 skills. Every ATS Perfect template is built this way.
What this means for your resume
- Use one column, read top to bottom. Put your name and contact details as plain text at the top.
- Use standard headings: Summary, Experience, Skills, Education (or close variants like Work Experience).
- Write skills as words, not rating bars or icons.
- Avoid floating text boxes and layout tables, even when they look tidy.
- Never send a scan. Export a text PDF from a document or builder.
- Test before you apply: copy all the text from your PDF into a plain text editor and check it reads in order.
See what an ATS reads from your resume
Upload your resume to the free ATS checker. It shows the fields it read, runs 14 checks and tells you what to fix. No account needed.
Check my resume free →Frequently asked questions
Do two-column resumes pass an ATS?
Often the words are read, but not in the right order. In our test the sidebar came out before the name and summary. Some systems handle that; some take the wrong line as your name or put skills under the wrong section. A single column avoids the risk.
Are tables bad for an ATS?
Simple tables are read by many modern systems, but the order can still be wrong, and older systems and some Word parsers skip or scramble table cells. If a table only exists for layout, a single column is safer.
Can an ATS read a Canva resume?
It depends on how it's built. Designs made of floating text boxes, like our design-tool test, can come out in mixed order, and text placed in images isn't read at all. Export a text PDF and run a copy-paste test before you send it.
Is this how every ATS reads resumes?
No. Each ATS uses its own parser. We used a standard PDF text extractor, the kind many systems rely on, so this shows the common failure points rather than any one system's exact result.
How can I test my own resume?
Copy all the text from your PDF and paste it into a plain text editor: if it comes out in order, a parser has a good start. Or upload it to the free ATS checker, which shows the fields it read and runs 14 checks.
Related: How to make an ATS-friendly resume · PDF vs Word for ATS · ATS resume checklist · ATS-friendly templates