Many applications go through software before they reach a recruiter. These are called ATS, for applicant tracking systems. They read your CV, sort it into sections, and let recruiters search for applications that contain the job ad's words.
The trap is that a CV can look great on screen and be poorly read by that software. And you never find out: your application simply doesn't come back.
What the software sees is not what you see
You see a page: columns, icons, colours. The software only sees the text the file contains, in the order it is stored. Anything that isn't text, or is stored in an unexpected order, can get lost.
At Prizm, every CV template goes through a check that opens the finished file the way one of these systems would. It checks three things, and they are the three you can check yourself.
1. Every piece of information is there
Your name, email address, phone number, each role, each qualification must exist as text in the file. What makes them disappear:
- text inside an image: a designed headline, a CV exported as an image, a scan;
- icons instead of words: a small phone symbol before a number reads fine, a number replaced by a clickable icon doesn't;
- headers and footers in some Word files, which not every system reads.
2. The information reads in the right order
A two-column CV can be read line by line, straight across both columns. Your date of birth ends up stuck to your first job, your skills in the middle of a role. Tables and text boxes placed freely on the page have the same effect.
That is why Prizm's templates use a single column: the reading order can't get mixed up.
3. Nothing gets damaged along the way
Accents, apostrophes and some special characters can come out garbled from a badly exported file. A word turns into a string of symbols and no longer matches anything the recruiter is searching for. Unusual fonts and some PDF exports are often the cause.
How to check your CV in two minutes
- Open your PDF and select all the text, then paste it into a blank document. If parts are missing, the software can't see them either.
- Read the order of what you pasted. If it jumps from one column to the other, your CV may be sorted wrongly.
- Check accents and apostrophes in the pasted text.
- Keep simple section headings: "Experience", "Education", "Skills". A creative heading looks nice, but the software doesn't always know where to file it.
What to keep in mind
Not all screening software is equal: some handle complex layouts very well, others have their own limits, such as a maximum file size. And you never know which one will read your CV. A simple structure reduces reading problems, without guaranteeing compatibility with every system. It is the most prudent choice, especially when you apply to many roles.