Is My Resume ATS-Friendly? How to Check (Free)
'ATS-friendly' gets used loosely, so here's the practical version: can the system read your resume cleanly, and does it contain the terms a recruiter will search for? Two different things, and you need both.
What breaks ATS parsing
Multi-column layouts, text inside tables, important text in headers or footers, text saved as an image, and unusual fonts or icons can all parse badly. When a system can't read a section, it can't rank you on it.
The formatting checklist
Single column. Standard section headings (Experience, Education, Skills). Real text, not images. A common font. A .docx or text-based PDF, not a scan. Dates in a consistent format.
The part most people miss: keywords
Clean formatting gets you parsed; matching the posting's language gets you found. Recruiters search within the system for specific skills, so a readable resume that doesn't use the posting's terms still won't surface.
Check yours free
RoleLight checks both at once: paste a posting and your resume, and it shows your match score and the exact terms you're missing, with no signup. Fixing those gaps is the difference between parsed and ranked.