\documentclass[10pt,a4paper]{article}

% Packages
\usepackage{fancyhdr}           % For header and footer
\usepackage{multicol}           % Allows multicols in tables
\usepackage{tabularx}           % Intelligent column widths
\usepackage{tabulary}           % Used in header and footer
\usepackage{hhline}             % Border under tables
\usepackage{graphicx}           % For images
\usepackage{xcolor}             % For hex colours
%\usepackage[utf8x]{inputenc}    % For unicode character support
\usepackage[T1]{fontenc}        % Without this we get weird character replacements
\usepackage{colortbl}           % For coloured tables
\usepackage{setspace}           % For line height
\usepackage{lastpage}           % Needed for total page number
\usepackage{seqsplit}           % Splits long words.
%\usepackage{opensans}          % Can't make this work so far. Shame. Would be lovely.
\usepackage[normalem]{ulem}     % For underlining links
% Most of the following are not required for the majority
% of cheat sheets but are needed for some symbol support.
\usepackage{amsmath}            % Symbols
\usepackage{MnSymbol}           % Symbols
\usepackage{wasysym}            % Symbols
%\usepackage[english,german,french,spanish,italian]{babel}              % Languages

% Document Info
\author{SuperLede}
\pdfinfo{
  /Title (ats-friendly-resume-formatting.pdf)
  /Creator (Cheatography)
  /Author (SuperLede)
  /Subject (ATS-Friendly Resume Formatting Cheat Sheet)
}

% Lengths and widths
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\addtolength{\hoffset}{-3cm}
\addtolength{\voffset}{-2cm}
\setlength{\tabcolsep}{0.2cm} % Space between columns
\setlength{\headsep}{-12pt} % Reduce space between header and content
\setlength{\headheight}{85pt} % If less, LaTeX automatically increases it
\renewcommand{\footrulewidth}{0pt} % Remove footer line
\renewcommand{\headrulewidth}{0pt} % Remove header line
\renewcommand{\seqinsert}{\ifmmode\allowbreak\else\-\fi} % Hyphens in seqsplit
% This two commands together give roughly
% the right line height in the tables
\renewcommand{\arraystretch}{1.3}
\onehalfspacing

% Commands
\newcommand{\SetRowColor}[1]{\noalign{\gdef\RowColorName{#1}}\rowcolor{\RowColorName}} % Shortcut for row colour
\newcommand{\mymulticolumn}[3]{\multicolumn{#1}{>{\columncolor{\RowColorName}}#2}{#3}} % For coloured multi-cols
\newcolumntype{x}[1]{>{\raggedright}p{#1}} % New column types for ragged-right paragraph columns
\newcommand{\tn}{\tabularnewline} % Required as custom column type in use

% Font and Colours
\definecolor{HeadBackground}{HTML}{333333}
\definecolor{FootBackground}{HTML}{666666}
\definecolor{TextColor}{HTML}{333333}
\definecolor{DarkBackground}{HTML}{A3A3A3}
\definecolor{LightBackground}{HTML}{F3F3F3}
\renewcommand{\familydefault}{\sfdefault}
\color{TextColor}

% Header and Footer
\pagestyle{fancy}
\fancyhead{} % Set header to blank
\fancyfoot{} % Set footer to blank
\fancyhead[L]{
\noindent
\begin{multicols}{3}
\begin{tabulary}{5.8cm}{C}
    \SetRowColor{DarkBackground}
    \vspace{-7pt}
    {\parbox{\dimexpr\textwidth-2\fboxsep\relax}{\noindent
        \hspace*{-6pt}\includegraphics[width=5.8cm]{/web/www.cheatography.com/public/images/cheatography_logo.pdf}}
    }
\end{tabulary}
\columnbreak
\begin{tabulary}{11cm}{L}
    \vspace{-2pt}\large{\bf{\textcolor{DarkBackground}{\textrm{ATS-Friendly Resume Formatting Cheat Sheet}}}} \\
    \normalsize{by \textcolor{DarkBackground}{SuperLede} via \textcolor{DarkBackground}{\uline{cheatography.com/219377/cs/48581/}}}
\end{tabulary}
\end{multicols}}

\fancyfoot[L]{ \footnotesize
\noindent
\begin{multicols}{3}
\begin{tabulary}{5.8cm}{LL}
  \SetRowColor{FootBackground}
  \mymulticolumn{2}{p{5.377cm}}{\bf\textcolor{white}{Cheatographer}}  \\
  \vspace{-2pt}SuperLede \\
  \uline{cheatography.com/superlede} \\
  \end{tabulary}
\vfill
\columnbreak
\begin{tabulary}{5.8cm}{L}
  \SetRowColor{FootBackground}
  \mymulticolumn{1}{p{5.377cm}}{\bf\textcolor{white}{Cheat Sheet}}  \\
   \vspace{-2pt}Published 8th November, 2026.\\
   Updated 8th November, 2026.\\
   Page {\thepage} of \pageref{LastPage}.
\end{tabulary}
\vfill
\columnbreak
\begin{tabulary}{5.8cm}{L}
  \SetRowColor{FootBackground}
  \mymulticolumn{1}{p{5.377cm}}{\bf\textcolor{white}{Sponsor}}  \\
  \SetRowColor{white}
  \vspace{-5pt}
  %\includegraphics[width=48px,height=48px]{dave.jpeg}
  Measure your website readability!\\
  www.readability-score.com
\end{tabulary}
\end{multicols}}




\begin{document}
\raggedright
\raggedcolumns

% Set font size to small. Switch to any value
% from this page to resize cheat sheet text:
% www.emerson.emory.edu/services/latex/latex_169.html
\footnotesize % Small font.

\begin{multicols*}{3}

\begin{tabularx}{5.377cm}{X}
\SetRowColor{DarkBackground}
\mymulticolumn{1}{x{5.377cm}}{\bf\textcolor{white}{About these notes}}  \tn
\SetRowColor{white}
\mymulticolumn{1}{x{5.377cm}}{Numbers come from tests by ReadableResume (I run it): one sample resume with 46 fields, built in Google Docs, downloaded as a PDF and read by OpenResume, an open-source resume parser. 10 layouts and 32 fonts were tested, changing one thing at a time.\{\{nl\}\}\{\{nl\}\}It's one parser. Workday, Greenhouse, iCIMS and other hiring systems may behave differently, and a misread field is not the same as a rejection.% Row Count 9 (+ 9)
} \tn 
\hhline{>{\arrayrulecolor{DarkBackground}}-}
\end{tabularx}
\par\addvspace{1.3em}

\begin{tabularx}{5.377cm}{x{2.43873 cm} x{2.53827 cm} }
\SetRowColor{DarkBackground}
\mymulticolumn{2}{x{5.377cm}}{\bf\textcolor{white}{Layout}}  \tn
% Row 0
\SetRowColor{LightBackground}
One column & 46/46 fields read \tn 
% Row Count 1 (+ 1)
% Row 1
\SetRowColor{white}
Photo next to the name & 46/46 \tn 
% Row Count 3 (+ 2)
% Row 2
\SetRowColor{LightBackground}
Icons in the contact line & 46/46 \tn 
% Row Count 5 (+ 2)
% Row 3
\SetRowColor{white}
Skill rating bars & 46/46 \tn 
% Row Count 6 (+ 1)
% Row 4
\SetRowColor{LightBackground}
Contact details in the page header & 46/46 from the Google Docs PDF \tn 
% Row Count 8 (+ 2)
% Row 5
\SetRowColor{white}
Two columns (table or Format \textgreater{} Columns) & 42/46. Lines that wrapped in the narrow column were cut or misread \tn 
% Row Count 12 (+ 4)
% Row 6
\SetRowColor{LightBackground}
Name and contact in a text box & 34/46. Exported as a picture \tn 
% Row Count 14 (+ 2)
% Row 7
\SetRowColor{white}
\mymulticolumn{2}{x{5.377cm}}{Photos and skill bars didn't lower the score in this test. Check they leave room for dates and degree titles to stay on one line.} \tn 
% Row Count 17 (+ 3)
\hhline{>{\arrayrulecolor{DarkBackground}}--}
\end{tabularx}
\par\addvspace{1.3em}

\begin{tabularx}{5.377cm}{X}
\SetRowColor{DarkBackground}
\mymulticolumn{1}{x{5.377cm}}{\bf\textcolor{white}{Fonts that parsed cleanly}}  \tn
\SetRowColor{white}
\mymulticolumn{1}{x{5.377cm}}{9 of 32 fonts kept every character and read 46/46 after a Google Docs PDF export:\{\{nl\}\}\{\{nl\}\}Arial · Book Antiqua · Calibri · Cambria · EB Garamond · Garamond · Georgia · Times New Roman · Trebuchet MS% Row Count 5 (+ 5)
} \tn 
\hhline{>{\arrayrulecolor{DarkBackground}}-}
\end{tabularx}
\par\addvspace{1.3em}

\begin{tabularx}{5.377cm}{x{1.89126 cm} x{3.08574 cm} }
\SetRowColor{DarkBackground}
\mymulticolumn{2}{x{5.377cm}}{\bf\textcolor{white}{Fonts to watch}}  \tn
% Row 0
\SetRowColor{LightBackground}
Letter pairs (ligatures) & 16 fonts, including Roboto, Lato and Open Sans, stored pairs such as "fi" and "fl" as one character \tn 
% Row Count 5 (+ 5)
% Row 1
\SetRowColor{white}
Lost spaces & In 15 of those, the parser dropped the space before the word: `checks first` → `checksfirst` \tn 
% Row Count 9 (+ 4)
% Row 2
\SetRowColor{LightBackground}
Aptos & Google Docs drew it in Arial. The company name was read onto the date line (36/46) \tn 
% Row Count 13 (+ 4)
% Row 3
\SetRowColor{white}
Helvetica & Google Docs drew it in Helvetica Neue \tn 
% Row Count 15 (+ 2)
% Row 4
\SetRowColor{LightBackground}
Inter & Brackets and hyphen in the phone number saved as private-use characters; phone field empty \tn 
% Row Count 19 (+ 4)
% Row 5
\SetRowColor{white}
Tahoma, Roboto Slab & Company name read onto the date line \tn 
% Row Count 21 (+ 2)
% Row 6
\SetRowColor{LightBackground}
Courier New & Words run together, 10/46 \tn 
% Row Count 23 (+ 2)
% Row 7
\SetRowColor{white}
Page length & 15 fonts pushed the one-page sample onto two pages at the same sizes \tn 
% Row Count 26 (+ 3)
\hhline{>{\arrayrulecolor{DarkBackground}}--}
\end{tabularx}
\par\addvspace{1.3em}

\begin{tabularx}{5.377cm}{x{2.43873 cm} x{2.53827 cm} }
\SetRowColor{DarkBackground}
\mymulticolumn{2}{x{5.377cm}}{\bf\textcolor{white}{Sizes}}  \tn
% Row 0
\SetRowColor{LightBackground}
Body text & 10.5–11 pt \tn 
% Row Count 1 (+ 1)
% Row 1
\SetRowColor{white}
Section headings & 11–12 pt, bold \tn 
% Row Count 2 (+ 1)
% Row 2
\SetRowColor{LightBackground}
Your name & 18–22 pt, bold \tn 
% Row Count 3 (+ 1)
% Row 3
\SetRowColor{white}
Never below 10 pt & Cut a line instead \tn 
% Row Count 4 (+ 1)
% Row 4
\SetRowColor{LightBackground}
\mymulticolumn{2}{x{5.377cm}}{One font for the whole page. Use size and bold for hierarchy.} \tn 
% Row Count 6 (+ 2)
\hhline{>{\arrayrulecolor{DarkBackground}}--}
\end{tabularx}
\par\addvspace{1.3em}

\begin{tabularx}{5.377cm}{X}
\SetRowColor{DarkBackground}
\mymulticolumn{1}{x{5.377cm}}{\bf\textcolor{white}{Text boxes}}  \tn
% Row 0
\SetRowColor{LightBackground}
\mymulticolumn{1}{x{5.377cm}}{Google Docs exported the text box as a {\bf{picture}}. The words were visible but not in the PDF's text.} \tn 
% Row Count 3 (+ 3)
% Row 1
\SetRowColor{white}
\mymulticolumn{1}{x{5.377cm}}{The parser found no name, email, phone or links, and took the heading `EDUCATION` as the name.} \tn 
% Row Count 5 (+ 2)
% Row 2
\SetRowColor{LightBackground}
\mymulticolumn{1}{x{5.377cm}}{The .docx download of the same document still held the text, inside the text box.} \tn 
% Row Count 7 (+ 2)
% Row 3
\SetRowColor{white}
\mymulticolumn{1}{x{5.377cm}}{{\bf{Fix:}} move contact details into the body of the document.} \tn 
% Row Count 9 (+ 2)
\hhline{>{\arrayrulecolor{DarkBackground}}-}
\end{tabularx}
\par\addvspace{1.3em}

\begin{tabularx}{5.377cm}{x{2.04057 cm} x{2.93643 cm} }
\SetRowColor{DarkBackground}
\mymulticolumn{2}{x{5.377cm}}{\bf\textcolor{white}{Dates}}  \tn
% Row 0
\SetRowColor{LightBackground}
Dates in a wide table column & 46/46 \tn 
% Row Count 2 (+ 2)
% Row 1
\SetRowColor{white}
Same column, too narrow & Dates wrapped; the year on line 2 was read as the company (`2025`). 40/46 \tn 
% Row Count 6 (+ 4)
% Row 2
\SetRowColor{LightBackground}
Rule of thumb & Keep each date range on one line \tn 
% Row Count 8 (+ 2)
% Row 3
\SetRowColor{white}
Short months (Jan, Aug) & OpenResume doesn't treat them as months, but the year carried the date and it still read correctly \tn 
% Row Count 13 (+ 5)
\hhline{>{\arrayrulecolor{DarkBackground}}--}
\end{tabularx}
\par\addvspace{1.3em}

\begin{tabularx}{5.377cm}{x{1.84149 cm} x{3.13551 cm} }
\SetRowColor{DarkBackground}
\mymulticolumn{2}{x{5.377cm}}{\bf\textcolor{white}{Export from Google Docs}}  \tn
% Row 0
\SetRowColor{LightBackground}
PDF & File \textgreater{} Download \textgreater{} PDF Document \tn 
% Row Count 2 (+ 2)
% Row 1
\SetRowColor{white}
Print to PDF & Turn off {\bf{Headers and footers}} under More settings, or the date and doc URL get printed \tn 
% Row Count 6 (+ 4)
% Row 2
\SetRowColor{LightBackground}
Word & File \textgreater{} Download \textgreater{} Microsoft Word (.docx) \tn 
% Row Count 8 (+ 2)
% Row 3
\SetRowColor{white}
Don't & Convert a PDF to Word. Converters rebuild lines as text boxes and tables \tn 
% Row Count 11 (+ 3)
% Row 4
\SetRowColor{LightBackground}
Don't & Send a screenshot or image \tn 
% Row Count 13 (+ 2)
% Row 5
\SetRowColor{white}
Header contact in .docx & Fine in the PDF, but in the .docx the name and contact sit in the header part, outside the main body \tn 
% Row Count 17 (+ 4)
% Row 6
\SetRowColor{LightBackground}
File name & \seqsplit{`Firstname-Lastname-Resume}.pdf` \tn 
% Row Count 19 (+ 2)
\hhline{>{\arrayrulecolor{DarkBackground}}--}
\end{tabularx}
\par\addvspace{1.3em}

\begin{tabularx}{5.377cm}{X}
\SetRowColor{DarkBackground}
\mymulticolumn{1}{x{5.377cm}}{\bf\textcolor{white}{Parser limits worth knowing}}  \tn
% Row 0
\SetRowColor{LightBackground}
\mymulticolumn{1}{x{5.377cm}}{Phone numbers: only US style, e.g. (555) 555-5555. +44 7700 900123 was not recognised.} \tn 
% Row Count 2 (+ 2)
% Row 1
\SetRowColor{white}
\mymulticolumn{1}{x{5.377cm}}{Locations: expects "City, ST". "Manchester, England" was not recognised.} \tn 
% Row Count 4 (+ 2)
% Row 2
\SetRowColor{LightBackground}
\mymulticolumn{1}{x{5.377cm}}{Links: only one is kept. A second link stays in the text, not the link field.} \tn 
% Row Count 6 (+ 2)
% Row 3
\SetRowColor{white}
\mymulticolumn{1}{x{5.377cm}}{Headings: English section headings only.} \tn 
% Row Count 7 (+ 1)
% Row 4
\SetRowColor{LightBackground}
\mymulticolumn{1}{x{5.377cm}}{Two pages: the last line of page 1 is joined to the first line of page 2. Harmless between bullets; breaks the entry between jobs.} \tn 
% Row Count 10 (+ 3)
% Row 5
\SetRowColor{white}
\mymulticolumn{1}{x{5.377cm}}{Names: José Álvarez and Иван Петров read correctly; 王小明 left the name field empty.} \tn 
% Row Count 12 (+ 2)
\hhline{>{\arrayrulecolor{DarkBackground}}-}
\end{tabularx}
\par\addvspace{1.3em}

\begin{tabularx}{5.377cm}{X}
\SetRowColor{DarkBackground}
\mymulticolumn{1}{x{5.377cm}}{\bf\textcolor{white}{Self-check before you apply}}  \tn
% Row 0
\SetRowColor{LightBackground}
\mymulticolumn{1}{x{5.377cm}}{{\bf{1.}} Open the PDF, select all, paste into a plain text editor.} \tn 
% Row Count 2 (+ 2)
% Row 1
\SetRowColor{white}
\mymulticolumn{1}{x{5.377cm}}{{\bf{2.}} Name, email and phone at the top? If not, look for a text box or image.} \tn 
% Row Count 4 (+ 2)
% Row 2
\SetRowColor{LightBackground}
\mymulticolumn{1}{x{5.377cm}}{{\bf{3.}} Each date range on one line?} \tn 
% Row Count 5 (+ 1)
% Row 3
\SetRowColor{white}
\mymulticolumn{1}{x{5.377cm}}{{\bf{4.}} Any words joined together, or bullets turned into boxes? Change the font.} \tn 
% Row Count 7 (+ 2)
% Row 4
\SetRowColor{LightBackground}
\mymulticolumn{1}{x{5.377cm}}{{\bf{5.}} Same page count as in Google Docs?} \tn 
% Row Count 8 (+ 1)
% Row 5
\SetRowColor{white}
\mymulticolumn{1}{x{5.377cm}}{{\bf{6.}} Run the PDF through a parser to \{\{link="https://readableresume.com/ats-resume-checker"\}\}see what an ATS parser reads from your resume\{\{/link\}\}. It runs OpenResume in the browser; the file isn't uploaded.} \tn 
% Row Count 13 (+ 5)
\hhline{>{\arrayrulecolor{DarkBackground}}-}
\end{tabularx}
\par\addvspace{1.3em}


% That's all folks
\end{multicols*}

\end{document}