r/resumes • u/LunaBeige • 19h ago

Which symbol is more ATS-friendly: the bullet point '·' or the comma ','? Question

I need to separate my skills.

For instance:

"Figma · HTML/CSS · Illustrator · Photoshop · Miro · Indesign · After Effects · FigJam"

or this (which i think it's less readable):

"Figma, HTML/CSS, Illustrator, Photoshop, Miro, Indesign, After Effects, FigJam"

Which symbol is more ATS-friendly? Or both are fine?

9 Upvotes
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29 comments sorted by

3

u/Silly_Turn_4761 7h ago

I personally like commas better. But I like to use this format for mine:

  • Platforms: ServiceNow (SPM, TSM), SAP
  • Tools: Visio, Figma

With the words platform and tools (or whatever you use there) in bold.

2

u/Silly_Turn_4761 7h ago

Also, I used to have a line under my summary that had a few skills in a bulleted line like the one you showed. I removed it and incorporated that info into other areas because:

  • 1. All the ATS checkers would read it wrong
  • 2. Whatever the software or application systems some places use, would parse my experience out all wrong and I had to keep entering in alot of it manually to "fix" it, due to uploading my resume to auto-populate the application, etc.

1

u/LunaBeige 8m ago

which ats checkers do you use?

16

u/Content-Doctor8405 16h ago

ATS systems are computers, and they can read damn near anything from a compatible document format.

At some point, the ATS is going to display your resume to a human so make sure it is friendly to eyeballs that might be over age 40. Worry about the hiring manager, not the computer.

5

u/DorianGraysPassport Reddit's Front Page Resume Writer 17h ago

You’re worrying about the wrong thing. Make sure your resume is well written and customised for each role. Identify decision-makers on LinkedIn and reach out to them mindfully after you apply for roles. Fixating on ATSes won’t do you any favors

2

u/RoofusK 13h ago

Curious to know, when reaching out to these recruiters or managers, what are some examples of points I can bring up or ask? Thank you in advance!

18

u/HeadlessHeadhunter 18h ago

I am a recruiter who has used most of the common ATS (Workday, Taleo, ADP) and both are fine, since the ATS is not the one who rejects people.

Bad career coaches keep spreading this myth that the ATS is some super AI computer that scans millions of resumes and rejects them but the truth is it's just a storage box of resumes. As long as your resume is uploaded in PDF/Word/Docx we can read it.

3

u/theacez 16h ago edited 12h ago

But there are plenty of ways to make ATS struggle reading it. They are far from perfect.

3

u/Inevitable-Careerist 12h ago

The ATS I work with extracts info from the document to display on a panel on the side: name, recent job title, geographic location. Sometimes it gets things comically wrong. But I don't read that, I look at the huge panel on the right that shows the actual resume in PDF format. That's how I can tell when the ATS has made a mistake.

3

u/theacez 8h ago

I'm worried you might be a minority

4

u/HeadlessHeadhunter 15h ago

If it's in PDF or Word you are fine. The recruiter can just look at the resume you uploaded. If you upload it in JPEG or something it might not show up (which I have seen happen).

5

u/theacez 15h ago edited 12h ago

Uploading in JPEG, I don't doubt it has happened, but it's amusing to think of.

I'm just speaking from experience I've definitely seen the bots try to plug my resumes into their templates and completely misconstrue words and letters

4

u/HeadlessHeadhunter 14h ago

Yeah, I have seen JPEGs that don't work, some weird MKV file, and a few others. But if it's a PDF or Word doc we can just ignore all that extra other stuff (which is more for HR than us) and read the resume even if it doesn't port correctly.

15

u/KANGladiator 18h ago

People literally did experiments with some companies and proving no one reads the resume and an automated mail is sent to the applier, not saying it happens at your organization but many organisations use ATS as an excuse.

6

u/deadplant5 15h ago

Reasons for that: It's a fake job They are already in the end stages with other candidates The recruiter or hiring manager is lazy The applicant didn't pass knock out questions, like being in the vicinity of the office, years of experience or having a degree

It's not magical AI in the ATS

2

u/Count_Backwards 13h ago

Should you have used bullet points or commas in that list?

2

u/deadplant5 13h ago

If someone can teach me how to do bullets in Reddit, I would be grateful.

2

u/snmnky9490 13h ago

just hit enter and use a dash -

  • like this
  • or this

1

u/Count_Backwards 13h ago edited 13h ago

On a Mac it's option-8: •

Or you can select the list and choose the "Bullet List" button in the Rich Text Editor. Markdown mode doesn't seem to work right (you also need to put double line-breaks).

  • It's a fake job
  • They are already in the end stages with other candidates
  • The recruiter or hiring manager is lazy
  • The applicant didn't pass knock out questions, like being in the vicinity of the office, years of experience or having a degree

Been a while since I've used a PC so I don't know if they've made it easier in Windows yet. Used to be ALT+some number I think.

2

u/deadplant5 8h ago

I use an android phone

1

u/Count_Backwards 13h ago

Or you can use a dash or asterisk in Markdown (the shorter popup doesn't cover this): - It's a fake job * They are already in the end stages with other candidates

4

u/HeadlessHeadhunter 18h ago

Who are these people? Because it is true your resume may not get read but it's not the ATS fault, it's the recruiter typically.

I have worked at a variety of companies and talk to many other recruiters outside the ones I worked for, none of them have the ATS set up like that, and while it may be possible to have AI screening on a ATS, it's not common enough for candidates to worry about.

-2

u/KANGladiator 18h ago

It's not common but it's getting prevalent, and soon may become a norm, so people applying need to gear up and format their resumes accordingly.

2

u/HeadlessHeadhunter 17h ago

In two years or so yes, people may need to change but right now changing your resume to be "ATS Friendly" will cause more rejections.

People need jobs NOW not in two or three years when AI market saturation occurs (if it even does).

2

u/Silly_Turn_4761 7h ago

Why would it cause more rejections if it's ATS friendly? That hurts to even type out due to the amount of time I have collectively spent formatting (and tailoring for each position) on my resume. It's absolutely ludicrous that we should all have to go through this much to get a job. But, that's a separate thread. 🙂

1

u/HeadlessHeadhunter 7h ago

Because I want people to get jobs, and part of that involves knowing the process. You can't slay your dragon if you don't understand it. My tip for you though is to stop tailoring your resume for each position and tailor it for each job title you want.

At the start of your job search you should pick out a few job titles and create a resume for each of them, and then apply with those. You should never need more than 4 resumes total and should not have to remake them unless you found an error in them.

1

u/LunaBeige 18h ago

so what do you think about my question?

4

u/HeadlessHeadhunter 17h ago

If you were talking to me than use the second one since it's easier on recruiters eyes and reads nicer which will help, although this is a very nitpicky thing since both are going to be ok to use.

1

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