The ATS & Resume Glossary

An Applicant Tracking System (ATS) is the software employers use to collect, parse, search, and rank job applications before a human reviews them. Most large enterprises use one. Contrary to the widely repeated 75% auto-rejection myth, most systems rank and surface resumes for recruiters rather than silently deleting them.

Resume parsing is the step where an ATS reads your uploaded PDF or DOCX and extracts structured fields (name, contact, employers, job titles, dates, skills, education) into a database record. Parsing errors, not keyword gaps, are the most common reason a qualified resume gets mis-ranked, which is why a simple layout matters.

Resume screening is the process of filtering applications against a job's requirements. In an ATS it combines automated signals (keyword matches, knockout questions, years of experience) with recruiter review. Screening decides who advances to a phone screen, so aligning your resume to the job description directly affects whether a human ever sees it.

Keyword matching is how an ATS scores your resume against a job description: it compares the skills, tools, and phrases in the posting to the language on your resume. Matches raise your ranking in the recruiter's search results. Use the exact terms from the posting, including both the acronym and the spelled-out phrase.

An ATS score, or match rate, estimates how closely your resume aligns with a specific job description, usually as a percentage. In ResumeAdapter pipeline data the median resume scores 48 out of 100 before optimization and is missing 52% of the job's keywords. A higher match rate improves your position in recruiter searches.

Boolean search is how recruiters query an ATS database using operators like AND, OR, and NOT to combine keywords (for example, Python AND (AWS OR Azure) NOT intern). Your resume surfaces only if it contains the exact terms recruiters search for, which is why mirroring the job description's vocabulary matters.

Knockout questions are the pre-screening questions on an application (work authorization, years of experience, required certifications, location). A disqualifying answer can auto-reject you before your resume is read, regardless of qualifications. Answer them accurately, and make sure your resume corroborates the thresholds you claim.

A requisition, or req, is the internal job opening a recruiter is hiring for, each with its own ID, budget, and approval. One public posting can map to several reqs, and reqs open and close quickly, which is part of why applying early and tailoring to the specific posting improves your odds.

An ATS-friendly resume is formatted so parsing software reads every section correctly: standard headings, a single-column layout, no text trapped in images, tables, or headers and footers, and a common font. The content still has to match the job. ATS-friendly means machine-readable first, then keyword-aligned.

The reverse-chronological format lists your work history from most recent to oldest. It is the most ATS-safe layout because parsers expect dated job entries in that order and can map titles, employers, and dates cleanly. Functional, skills-only resumes often confuse parsers and hide the timeline recruiters look for.

Standard section headings are the conventional labels an ATS is trained to recognize: Work Experience, Education, Skills, Certifications. Creative headings like Where I Made Impact can cause a parser to miss an entire section. Use plain headings, then be creative in the bullet content underneath.

File format is whether you submit a PDF or a Word DOCX. Most modern systems parse text-based PDFs reliably, but DOCX is the safest universal choice and some older systems still prefer it. Never submit a scanned image or a flattened PDF, which contains no selectable text for the parser to read.

Multi-column layouts, tables, and text boxes are the most common parsing traps. Many systems read a page left to right, top to bottom, so a two-column design can interleave unrelated text or drop a sidebar entirely. Keep the layout single-column so content is extracted in the intended order.

The header and footer are the document margins above and below the body. Some systems ignore them entirely, so contact details or key information placed there can be lost during parsing. Keep your name, email, and phone in the main body of the resume, not in the header or footer region.

ATS-safe fonts are standard, widely-installed typefaces (Arial, Calibri, Georgia, Times New Roman) that parsers and PDF readers render as selectable text. Decorative or uncommon fonts can be misread as symbols or converted to images. Font choice affects readability, not ranking, but an unreadable font can corrupt the parsed text.

Keyword stuffing is cramming a resume with repeated keywords to game the match score. Modern systems and recruiters detect unnatural repetition, and stuffed resumes read poorly to the human who makes the decision. Use each important keyword where it is genuinely true and in context, not in hidden lists or repeated filler.

White fonting is hiding keywords in white text on a white background to inflate an ATS match without a human seeing them. It is a discredited tactic: systems read the underlying text regardless of color, and recruiters who select-all or paste your resume will see the hidden words, which reads as dishonest.

Resume keywords are the specific skills, tools, certifications, and job-title terms employers search for in an ATS. They come straight from the job description. Include both hard skills (SQL, GAAP) and role terms, and write each as it appears in the posting, including the acronym and its spelled-out form.

Keyword density is how often a term appears relative to total words. For resumes there is no magic percentage: include each relevant keyword naturally where it is true, ideally two to three times across the summary, skills, and experience. Chasing a density target produces stuffed, low-quality copy that hurts the human read.

Hard skills are teachable, measurable abilities: programming languages, tools, certifications, machinery. They are the keywords an ATS matches most literally, so list them explicitly in a skills section and prove them in your bullets. Hard skills get you past the keyword filter; soft skills help you win the interview.

Soft skills are interpersonal and behavioral traits like communication, leadership, and problem-solving. An ATS rarely ranks on them, and listing them as bare adjectives adds little. Demonstrate soft skills through quantified accomplishments (led a team of 6, resolved 40+ tickets weekly) rather than claiming them outright.

A job description is the posting that lists a role's responsibilities, required skills, and qualifications. It is the single source of truth for tailoring: the keywords, tools, and phrasing an ATS scores against come directly from it. Mirror the posting's exact language for the requirements you genuinely meet.

Resume tailoring is customizing your resume for each job by aligning your summary, skills, and bullets to that posting's keywords and priorities. Generic resumes score low on match rate because they cover none of a role's specifics well. Tailoring is the highest-leverage step for passing ATS screening.

Action verbs are strong, specific verbs that open resume bullets (led, built, reduced, launched, negotiated). They make accomplishments concrete and scannable for both the ATS and the recruiter. Pair each action verb with a quantified result to turn a duty into evidence of impact.

Quantified achievements are accomplishments expressed with numbers: percentages, dollars, time saved, volume handled (cut processing time 30%, managed a 2M dollar budget). Numbers give recruiters proof of impact and make bullets memorable. Every role should carry at least one or two quantified results rather than a list of responsibilities.

The skills section is a dedicated block listing your hard skills and tools, and it is one of the first places an ATS looks for keyword matches. Group by category (languages, frameworks, tools), keep it to genuine competencies, and mirror the job description's terms. It complements, not replaces, evidence in your experience bullets.

Workday Recruiting is one of the most common enterprise ATS, used by large employers across finance, defense, and tech. It favors a text-based upload with a clean single-column layout and often asks you to re-enter your work history into its profile fields. Companies on Workday include Boeing, RTX, PwC, and Capital One.

Oracle Recruiting Cloud is Oracle's enterprise hiring platform and the successor to Oracle Taleo, a legacy ATS many employers have migrated off. It is common in banking. Job seekers still search Taleo, but most Oracle-based employers now run Oracle Recruiting Cloud. Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan Chase use Oracle Recruiting Cloud.

Greenhouse is a structured-hiring ATS popular with tech companies and high-growth startups. It parses standard resumes well and emphasizes consistent, structured interview processes. Because Greenhouse roles often move fast, tailoring to the posting and applying early both help. SpaceX uses Greenhouse for its hiring.

Lever is a modern ATS and CRM used mainly by startups and mid-size tech companies. It handles common resume formats reliably and is built around candidate relationships and sourcing. Standard single-column formatting and job-specific keywords are the safe approach. Palantir uses Lever, explicitly not Greenhouse or Workday.

iCIMS is a widely used enterprise ATS common across mid-market and large employers in retail, healthcare, and services. Like most systems it parses text-based single-column resumes best and matches on job-description keywords. If a posting routes to an iCIMS portal, expect a profile form in addition to your resume upload.

Avature is a highly configurable enterprise ATS and CRM favored by professional-services and consulting firms for its custom workflows. It parses standard resumes well, and its strength is relationship-based recruiting and talent pipelines. Deloitte, KPMG, and Bain use Avature for their hiring.

SAP SuccessFactors is SAP's cloud HR and recruiting suite used by large global enterprises. Its recruiting module handles applications and often requires candidates to create a profile alongside the resume upload. Standard formatting and job-description-aligned keywords apply. EY (Ernst & Young) uses SAP SuccessFactors.

IBM Kenexa BrassRing is a long-established enterprise ATS still used in defense and large institutions, typically at sjobs.brassring.com. It is a legacy system that rewards simple, single-column, text-based resumes with exact keyword matches. Lockheed Martin uses IBM BrassRing, not Workday.

Eightfold AI is an AI matching layer that sits alongside an ATS, using machine learning to score and surface candidates by inferred skills rather than exact keywords alone. It still reads your resume text, so clarity and relevant skills matter. Microsoft, BCG, and Netflix use Eightfold AI.