Beating Applicant Tracking Systems and ATS anxiety in 2026
March 26, 2026
Share this post:
Ever since OpenAI opened the doors to artificial intelligence in 2022 with the public launch of ChatGPT, employers have been looking for ways to maximize its efficiency. This has had different effects across industries, with some predicting that AI will take over jobs, but that has yet to materialize in most.
But what if we told you there is an industry that’s been completely put on its head and is affecting all others? Well, it’s none other than recruiting.
An applicant tracking system is an AI tool that scans applicants’ resumes for keywords that match the job description and highlights the candidates who best fit the role. Employers use them because they save them a lot of time, especially in an era when applications can be submitted quickly, and job posts receive hundreds of applications.
Given the high number of applications LinkedIn and other job posting platforms receive, recruiters often feel overwhelmed when trying to find the right candidate. This has gotten to the point that LinkedIn has set a 50-application limit on its Easy Apply feature.
ATS systems have a clear use in the recruiting work, as they are supposed to:
1) Classify resumes, schedule interviews, and send emails.
2) Filter through keywords for the best match.
3) Centralize information in a database.
4) Have job board integrations for convenience.
5) Follow up on candidates’ processes.
6) Better the candidate experience.
7) Reduce biases and assumptions from the final decision.
All in all, they are meant to look at resumes and candidate profiles completely objectively, according to the makers. This can be hard for recruiters, given the sheer number of resumes they have to read in a day to fill one job.
ATS works similarly to a text editor, meaning that it can only read so much. This has some candidates at a disadvantage, as creative resumes or CVs that once used odd formatting, such as tables or charts, to catch the recruiter or hiring authority’s attention.
As such, the best way to ensure that the system can read anything is to keep the file as close to a plain-text, simple-formatted document as possible.
Keywords are the terms used that the AI is looking for. For example, an SEO (search engine optimization) researcher should have an SEO certification on their resume. AI is trained to look for the term SEO and search engine optimization, so both terms should be explicitly present in the text.
If your resume doesn’t include these terms, even if you know how to optimize SEO, your profile might be passed over because it doesn’t match the keywords it’s looking for.
ATS anxiety is the fear that a candidate’s resume never reaches the hiring authority’s eyes because of AI. As candidates are not only competing with each other but also fighting to get past ATS, they wonder how exactly one can get ahead. Only 6% of candidates believe that their resumes are being read thoroughly, according to PR Newswire.
ATS anxiety could be considered a subset of AI anxiety, the worry that some knowledge workers have about being replaced by generative AI. In this case, it’s not so much the fear of being replaced, but of being unemployable because of the undefined whims of some algorithm that nobody knows the rules to.
This has led 77% of interviewees in Monster’s 2026 State of Resumes Report to express anxiety about their resumes being filtered out.
A recent New York Times article chronicled some of the latest problems that ATS and AI companies are facing. Several lawsuits are moving forward that argue AI tools have become “algorithmic gatekeepers” for many applicants.
The real answer: possibly. Even if the main draw of AI is its being unbiased, it is biased, according to Business Insider’s conversation with Rod Samra, a US Department of Labor investigator, and the New York Times report. The problem is that AI reproduces the biases of those who trained it, so it shouldn’t be left unchecked.
This has become a problem for AI companies, as nobody really knows how to use this tool effectively, leading to AI slop in the workplace. But once hiring comes into view, as many lawsuits argue, this particular problem intensifies, as it can amplify issues that different laws and governing bodies have tried to curb for years, only to go unchecked by new technology.
For many candidates, the big aim is to get past ATS to prove their experience to hiring authorities. So, to avoid your CV falling through the cracks, use these strategies and our checklist whenever you’re working on a resume for a job application.
Creative resumes might’ve been a good way to demonstrate your skills in some industries, but currently, keeping everything simple is better to ensure that the ATS knows where to look.
42% of resumes are discarded because they lack the required skills outlined in the job description, and 32% because they fail to meet the basic job requirements, according to Forbes.
The quickest way to avoid this is to mirror the job description so that all the keywords there meet the checklist, and to have a manager review it.
Avoid using columns, or fonts that are too hard to read, graphs, tables, charts, or some other unique formatting, as these can confuse the ATS.
Keyword stuffing is usually discouraged, but ensuring that the ATS understands your skills, certifications, and other qualifications is essential. As such, include the full term and its acronym.
Remember that your ultimate goal is to reach human eyes. Bolding, keeping the resume under two pages, and ensuring that your CV is grammatically correct are some of the basics to ensure that the ATS and hiring authority are impressed by your attention to detail.
Incorporating details with quantifiable information will give you an edge, helping the ATS assign you a higher validity tier. Similarly, using concise language, such as action verbs, is better to avoid confusing the ATS, as it does not understand idioms, metaphors, or puns.
Use .doc, .rtf, or .txt to help ATS scan your resume faster. According to Indeed, using Microsoft Word or another text editor is better, as PDFs might be scanned as single images rather than the varied text files they are.
As you might see, the best way to ensure that your resume matches the keywords that the AI is looking for is to actively mirror the job description in each application. Using AI prompts can help you shorten the process, but you have to be careful not to have any AI slop or clichés on your resume, as these can also get you disqualified.
Before you submit your resume to an ATS, check the following:
Yes, an ATS can reject qualified candidates if their CV or resume doesn’t match the keywords the system is trained to look for. As a result, many candidates have tailored their resumes for each application, which takes more effort but could have a higher chance of a callback.
The best formats are .doc, .rtf, or .txt. Text editor formats are easier for the ATS to scan, as the system might read PDFs as images. Only use PDFs if the website where you’re submitting your resume says that it’s a valid or preferred format.
No, not all companies use ATS. Still, since the use is on the rise and there is no way to know which companies are using it and which aren’t, knowing about applicant tracking systems and how to get past them is now a common job hack.
There are certain free online services where you can test your resume. Another option is to turn it into a plain-text document and ensure that the information hasn’t been moved around, that all your information is there and readable.
The cause of ATS anxiety is the idea that a recruiter or hiring manager won’t see a candidate’s resume. According to new reports, only 43% of candidates believe that their CV is being skimmed, and 6% believe that their resume is being read thoroughly.
WHAT DO YOU NEED TO FIND?
