Beat the ATS: tailor your resume to each posting

Most mid-to-large employers screen resumes with software — an applicant tracking system, or ATS — before a human ever reads them. If your resume does not clearly match the posting, it can be filtered out regardless of how qualified you are.

Mirror the posting, do not stuff keywords

The goal is not to cram in every keyword. It is to describe the experience you actually have using the same language the posting uses. If they say "customer success" and you wrote "client relations," align them. If they list a specific tool, name it explicitly where it is true for you.

A few rules that consistently help

• Lead each section with the requirements the role emphasizes most.
• Use standard section headings (Experience, Education, Skills) — creative labels confuse parsers.
• Keep formatting simple: single column, real text, standard fonts. Tables, columns, and graphics often get mangled on the way in.
• Match job titles where honest — a "Growth Marketer" posting may skip your "Demand Gen Lead" title if nothing bridges them.

Doing this by hand for every application is slow, which is exactly why Landably rewrites and ATS-scores a tailored version per posting. But the principle holds anywhere you apply.