When you hit “apply” on a job posting, it’s tempting to imagine a recruiter sitting down to read your CV right away. In reality, most resumes never go directly to human eyes. They pass through an invisible filter first: the Applicant Tracking System (ATS).
An ATS is software designed to collect, store, and scan job applications before they ever reach a recruiter. It looks for keywords, skills, and qualifications that match the job description and rejects resumes that don’t meet its criteria. While ATS makes hiring more efficient for companies, it also has major implications for job seekers who may never realise their resume was discarded automatically.
What is an Applicant Tracking System?
At its core, an ATS is a digital hiring assistant. It helps recruiters manage large volumes of applications by:
- Collecting resumes from job portals and career sites.
- Scanning them for relevant keywords and qualifications.
- Ranking or scoring candidates based on fit.
- Organising interviews and tracking applicants through the hiring pipeline.
Think of it as a database crossed with an algorithm. Employers rely on it to cut through the flood of applications, while candidates need to learn how to “speak ATS” if they want their resume to reach human eyes.
A Short History of ATS
The Applicant Tracking System (ATS) has been shaping recruitment for decades, evolving from a simple digital filing system into a powerful, AI-driven platform.
- 1970s–1980s: The first ATS platforms emerged as simple databases. Their only job was to store and retrieve candidate information, replacing filing cabinets full of paper resumes.
- 1990s: With the rise of the internet and job boards like Monster and CareerBuilder, ATS became more sophisticated. Features like resume parsing and keyword search were introduced, allowing employers to filter applicants faster.
- 2000s–2010s: Cloud-based ATS systems became the norm. They began integrating with job sites, emails, and HR tools, offering recruiters a complete ecosystem for hiring.
- 2020s: Today’s ATS platforms use AI and machine learning. They don’t just scan resumes, they predict cultural fit, automate scheduling, and even analyse video interviews.
This evolution explains why ATS has become unavoidable: nearly 99% of Fortune 500 companies now use some form of ATS to manage applications.
How Applicant Tracking System Impacts Job Seekers
For job seekers, the ATS experience is mixed. It creates efficiency but also new hurdles.
The Numbers Game
Most recruiters receive hundreds of applications per role. ATS systems act as filters, discarding a large portion before a recruiter ever sees them. Studies suggest that up to 75% of resumes are never read by a human because they are filtered out at this stage.
Efficiency vs. Frustration
From the candidate’s perspective, applying online often means repeatedly uploading CVs, creating new logins, and filling out the same details across different platforms. One software engineer described applying to 250 jobs and having to create 83 separate accounts on different ATS portals, a process he called “soul-crushing” (Wired).
Bias Risks
While automation saves time, it also risks excluding qualified candidates. AI-driven ATS systems may reinforce bias because they are trained on existing hiring data, which is often flawed. In Australia, a study found that AI-powered interview tools were at risk of discriminating against non-native speakers, with speech recognition error rates as high as 22%.
Why Employers Use ATS
Employers aren’t trying to frustrate candidates, they are trying to survive the flood of resumes. For popular roles, especially in tech or finance, recruiters may get hundreds or even thousands of applications. Manually reading them all is nearly impossible.
ATS platforms help by:
- Filtering out candidates without required skills or experience.
- Ranking the most relevant applicants.
- Automating communication (emails, interview scheduling, updates).
- Reducing time-to-hire and overall recruitment costs.
A 2021 study found that over 90% of large employers in the U.S., U.K., and Germany use ATS to filter resumes, which highlights just how dominant this technology has become.
The problem is when efficiency overrides fairness. If recruiters rely too heavily on rigid filters, they risk losing out on excellent candidates who simply didn’t phrase their experience in the right way.
How to Optimise Your Resume for ATS
Since ATS screens resumes before recruiters do, tailoring your CV is essential. Here are proven strategies to improve your chances:
- Use Keywords from the Job Description
ATS systems scan resumes for words that match the job ad. If the role asks for “project management” or “data analysis,” include those terms naturally in your CV. - Keep Formatting Simple
Fancy templates with graphics, tables, or unusual fonts often confuse ATS parsers. Stick to clean layouts with clear headings. - Submit the Right File Type
Most systems prefer .docx or PDF files. Avoid image-based resumes, which cannot be read by parsing software. - Avoid Keyword Stuffing
Using the same phrase repeatedly can hurt readability and may even flag your resume as spammy. Instead, use variations where possible. - Highlight Hard Skills Clearly
Skills like “SQL,” “SEO,” or “Python” should be easy to spot. ATS software often ranks candidates higher when technical skills are spelled out.
Applying these tactics improves your odds of making it past the digital gatekeeper and into the recruiter’s shortlist.
Common ATS Platforms Recruiters Use
Today’s job seekers may unknowingly encounter several of the most widely used ATS tools, including:
- Workday – Popular with large corporations, integrates deeply with HR systems.
- Taleo (by Oracle) – One of the oldest and most widely used ATS platforms.
- Greenhouse – Favoured by tech companies for its user-friendly interface.
- Lever – Known for collaborative hiring workflows.
- iCIMS – A major player with strong reporting and compliance tools.
Knowing which ATS a company uses can sometimes help candidates prepare, since some systems are stricter about resume formatting than others.
Pros and Cons of ATS
Benefits for Employers
- Saves time by automating manual screening.
- Keeps hiring organised in one system.
- Reduces recruitment costs.
- Offers analytics for better decision-making.
Downsides for Candidates
- Risk of rejection before human review.
- Bias in AI-driven filters.
- Repetitive and frustrating application processes.
- Lack of transparency, candidates often never know why they were rejected.
In other words, what employers gain in efficiency, candidates often lose in control.
The Future of ATS
The ATS is no longer just about scanning resumes. The next generation of systems is expanding into:
- Video Analysis: AI tools claim to detect tone, confidence, and word choice in interviews.
- Predictive Analytics: Some platforms attempt to predict a candidate’s long-term performance or cultural fit.
- Bias Monitoring: Developers are introducing tools to detect and reduce discrimination in algorithms, though effectiveness varies.
While these innovations may make hiring faster, they also raise ethical questions. For instance, should an algorithm judge someone’s body language or speech patterns? And how do we ensure fairness when AI is trained on biased data sets?
What’s clear is that ATS technology isn’t going anywhere. It will continue to evolve, and job seekers will need to keep adapting to stay competitive in a system where software plays a critical role in shaping career opportunities.
The Bottom Line
Applicant Tracking Systems started as simple databases in the 1970s but have become powerful gatekeepers of opportunity in the modern job market. They save employers time and money, but they also mean that many resumes never get seen by human eyes.
For job seekers, the best strategy is understanding how ATS works and tailoring resumes to get past the filter. Success in the hiring process today is not only about your skills and experience, but also about making sure your application is understood by both the machines and the humans behind the recruitment process.
FAQs about Applicant Tracking Systems (ATS)
Do recruiters still read resumes after Applicant Tracking System?
Yes. Applicant Tracking System filters and ranks applications, but recruiters review the shortlisted candidates.
Can ATS reject a good resume?
Unfortunately, yes. If your CV isn’t formatted correctly or doesn’t include the right keywords, the system may filter it out before a human sees it.
Is every company using ATS?
Most large organisations do, and adoption is growing among smaller businesses too — though some still rely on direct recruiter reviews.
How do I make sure my resume gets past ATS?
Keep formatting simple, use job description keywords naturally, and save your file in .docx or PDF format.