ATS = Applicant Tracking System. Software like Workday, Lever, Greenhouse, Taleo. When you submit a resume online, an ATS parses it into structured fields (name, work history, skills) and matches it against the JD before any human looks at it. If the parser can't read your resume properly, it's filtered out before your story even gets a chance.

ATS readiness is about how well the system can parse your file, not how it looks to a human. Two-column layouts, headers/footers, photos, tables for skills, and unusual fonts all look fine to your eye but break ATS parsing. The score reflects parser-friendliness against your target JD's keywords.

No. ATS readiness gets you past the first filter — that's it. After that it's a recruiter, the JD-fit, your background, and luck. We don't promise outcomes; we promise your file won't be auto-rejected for parsing reasons.

Probably not. Most "designer" resume templates use two-column layouts, sidebars, infographic skills bars, and decorative fonts. They look great in your portfolio but typically score 40-60 on ATS readiness. If you've got one of those, the safest move is to re-render the same content in a clean single-column template (we have a Resume Builder for this).

Once per resume version. After you fix the flagged issues, click Re-audit a fixed version to upload the new file and see how the score moved. Don't audit every JD — Hirely's JD-keyword coverage check already adapts per JD without re-uploading the resume.

Both are fine if they're text-based. The dangerous one is a PDF that's actually a scanned image (text is in pixels, not as readable text). If our parser flags "Image-only PDF" as critical, re-export from Word as text PDF and re-audit. If you have a choice, modern ATS tend to handle both Word and PDF equally; pick whichever the application portal asks for.