How to Build an ATS-Friendly Resume in 2026

How to Build an ATS-Friendly Resume in 2026: Complete Guide for India and South Asia
A strong resume is not simply a list of your education and previous jobs. It is a focused marketing document that shows an employer:

What you can do
What results you have achieved
Why your experience matches the position
Why the recruiter should contact you

In 2026, many employers receive hundreds or thousands of applications for a single position. Some companies use applicant tracking systems, commonly called ATS, to organise applications and identify relevant qualifications and keywords.

That means your resume must satisfy two audiences:

The software that reads and organises your application
The recruiter or hiring manager who decides whether to interview you

ATS-friendly resumes generally use clear headings, conventional formatting, relevant keywords, and simple layouts. Complex graphics, charts, unusual columns, and decorative elements may make some resumes harder for screening systems to interpret.

This guide explains how to create a professional resume for jobs in India and across South Asia, whether you are:

A student or recent graduate
An experienced professional
Returning to work after a career break
Applying for your first job
Changing industries
Applying for remote or international positions

What should a good resume include?

Most professional resumes should contain the following sections:

Name and contact information
Professional summary or career objective
Work experience
Education
Skills
Projects, internships, or achievements
Certifications
Optional additional information

The order of these sections depends on your experience.

Recommended order for experienced professionals
Contact information
Professional summary
Core skills
Work experience
Education
Certifications
Projects or achievements

Recommended order for freshers
Contact information
Career objective or professional profile
Education
Skills
Internships
Academic or personal projects
Certifications
Achievements and activities

For fresh graduates, keep the resume concise and emphasise relevant skills, internships, projects, and measurable contributions.

Choose the correct resume format

The three most common formats are chronological, functional, and combination resumes.

Reverse-chronological resumeThis format lists your most recent experience first.

It is usually the safest choice because recruiters can quickly understand your career progression, and ATS platforms can more easily identify employers, job titles, and employment dates.

Use it when:

You have continuous employment history
Your previous roles relate to the target job
You want to demonstrate career progression

Functional resumeThis format focuses more heavily on skills than employment history.

Use it cautiously when:

You have a long employment gap
You are changing industries
Your work was primarily freelance or project-based

Some recruiters prefer clear employment dates, so do not hide your history. Explain gaps honestly and briefly.

Combination resumeThis structure combines a strong skills section with reverse-chronological work experience.

It works well for:

Career changers
Technical professionals
Consultants
Freelancers
Candidates with transferable skills

For most ResumeChamak users, a clean reverse-chronological or combination template will be the best starting point.

Try it: Browse ATS-friendly resume templates

Write a professional resume header

Your header should contain only information that helps the employer contact or evaluate you.

Include:

Full name
Professional headline
Mobile number
Professional email address
City and state or province
LinkedIn profile
Portfolio, GitHub, or professional website when relevant

ExampleAnanya Sharma
Data Analyst | SQL, Python and Power BI
Bengaluru, Karnataka
+91 90000 00000
ananya.sharma@example.com
linkedin.com/in/ananya-sharma

Avoid including unnecessary personal informationUnless an employer specifically requests it, avoid adding:

Religion
Caste
Marital status
Parents’ names
Aadhaar or national identification number
Passport number
Full residential address
Political information
Salary history

A city and region are normally sufficient. There is rarely a need to publish your complete home address on a resume submitted online.

Add a professional summary or career objective

This is the first important content a recruiter sees.

Professional summary for experienced candidatesA professional summary should explain:

Your professional identity
Your years of experience
Your strongest expertise
One or two measurable achievements
The type of role or value you can offer

Weak summary
Hardworking and motivated professional looking for a challenging position where I can use my skills and grow with the company.

This statement could describe almost anyone.

Strong summary
Operations manager with seven years of experience in e-commerce fulfilment and last-mile delivery. Managed teams of more than 60 employees, reduced order-processing time by 24%, and improved on-time delivery from 88% to 96%. Experienced in workforce planning, vendor management, KPI reporting, and process improvement.

The stronger version gives the employer specific evidence.

Career objective for freshersFreshers can use a short objective focused on skills, education, projects, and career direction.

Example
Computer science graduate with practical experience in Java, SQL, React, and REST APIs through academic and internship projects. Built a campus-placement portal used by more than 300 students and completed a three-month software engineering internship. Seeking an entry-level developer role where I can contribute to reliable, user-focused applications.

Avoid writing that your only goal is to “gain experience.” Employers also want to understand what you can contribute.

Describe your work experience using achievements

Do not write only a list of duties.

Recruiters are more interested in:

What problem you solved
What action you took
What result you produced
How large the project, team, or responsibility was

A useful structure is:

Action verb + task or challenge + method + measurable result

Weak bullet
Responsible for social media marketing.

Strong bullet
Planned and executed LinkedIn and Instagram campaigns that increased qualified website leads by 38% in six months while reducing cost per lead by 17%.

Weak bullet
Managed customer service staff.

Strong bullet
Supervised a 22-member customer-service team, introduced weekly quality coaching, and improved first-contact resolution from 71% to 86%.

Weak bullet
Worked on inventory management.

Strong bullet
Implemented cycle-counting and reorder controls across 3,500 SKUs, reducing stock discrepancies by 31% and emergency purchases by ₹12 lakh annually.

Useful action verbs include:

Achieved
Automated
Built
Coordinated
Created
Delivered
Designed
Developed
Improved
Increased
Launched
Led
Negotiated
Optimised
Reduced
Resolved
Streamlined
Trained

Do not invent percentages or financial figures. When exact numbers are unavailable, use honest indicators such as:

Number of customers supported
Number of employees managed
Number of projects completed
Geographic coverage
Turnaround time
Monthly transaction volume
Frequency of reporting
Size of budget
Number of stakeholders
Quality or satisfaction rating

Recruiters and interviewers may ask what you personally contributed, rather than what the wider team accomplished.

Tailor the resume to the job description

Sending the same resume to every employer is one of the most common job-search mistakes.

Before applying, review the job description and identify:

Required technical skills
Required software or tools
Industry terminology
Education requirements
Years of experience
Leadership responsibilities
Certifications
Main business outcomes

Use the employer’s terminology when it accurately describes your experience.

For example, a job advertisement may use the phrase:

Customer relationship management

Your resume may currently say:

Managed customer database

When accurate, changing it to:

Managed customer relationship management records in Salesforce

can make the connection clearer to both the recruiter and the ATS.

Do not copy the entire job advertisement or repeat keywords unnaturally. ATS optimisation should still produce a clear, credible document written for a human reader.

ResumeChamak tip: Save a separate resume version for each important job instead of repeatedly overwriting one general resume.

Build a focused skills section

Your skills should reflect the target position.

Technical skillsExamples:

Python
Java
SQL
Power BI
Tableau
AutoCAD
SAP
Tally
Salesforce
Google Analytics
Financial modelling
Laboratory techniques
Clinical research
Project management

Functional skillsExamples:

Budget planning
Vendor management
Recruitment
Quality assurance
Supply-chain planning
Market research
Stakeholder management
Business development
Customer success
Regulatory compliance

Soft skillsAvoid listing only generic terms such as:

Hardworking
Team player
Honest
Punctual
Good communication

Demonstrate these qualities through experience.

Instead of writing “leadership,” show:

Led a cross-functional team of eight employees to launch a new customer-onboarding process three weeks ahead of schedule.

Present education correctly

Education is especially important for freshers and early-career applicants in South Asia.

Include:

Degree or qualification
Subject or specialisation
Institution
City or country when helpful
Graduation year
CGPA or percentage when strong or requested

ExampleBachelor of Technology in Computer Science
Anna University, Chennai
2025 | CGPA: 8.4/10

For freshers, you may also include Class 12 and Class 10 information when relevant to the employer or application form.

Experienced professionals generally do not need extensive school-level information unless:

The employer requests it
The qualification is directly relevant
You have limited higher education
You are applying through a campus or government recruitment process

Do not allow the education section to occupy half of an experienced professional’s resume.

Add internships, projects, and certifications

Candidates without extensive work experience can prove their ability through projects and internships.

Internship exampleMarketing Intern — BrightWave Digital
January 2025–April 2025

Analysed campaign performance across Google Ads and Meta Ads
Built a weekly dashboard covering reach, conversion, and cost per lead
Helped improve landing-page conversion by 12% through headline testing
Prepared competitor research for three client campaigns

Academic project exampleSmart Attendance System

Developed a facial-recognition attendance prototype using Python and OpenCV
Created an SQL database for student and attendance records
Reduced manual attendance-recording time in testing by approximately 70%
Presented the project to a faculty evaluation panel

Certification exampleInclude:

Certification name
Issuing organisation
Completion year
Credential link when applicable

Do not list every webinar you have attended. Prioritise certifications that support your target role.

Make the resume ATS-friendly

An ATS-friendly resume should normally use:

Standard section headings
Readable fonts
Clear employment dates
Consistent formatting
Relevant keywords
Simple bullet points
A conventional page structure

Recommended headings include:

Professional Summary
Work Experience
Education
Skills
Projects
Certifications
Awards
Publications

Avoid placing essential information inside:

Decorative charts
Skill-rating bars
Complex tables
Icons without text labels
Headers or footers that may not parse correctly
Background images
Infographics

Should you use a photograph?For most ATS-based corporate applications, particularly international or technology-sector applications, a photograph is usually unnecessary and may complicate parsing.

Use a photo resume only when:

The employer requests one
It is customary for the particular local market or industry
The role involves modelling, acting, presenting, or another appearance-related function
You are sending the resume directly rather than through an ATS portal

ResumeChamak should label its templates clearly:

ATS-friendly
Modern professional
Creative
Photo resume
Academic CV

Keep the resume at the correct length

Freshers and early-career candidatesOne A4 page is usually sufficient.

Experienced professionalsOne or two pages may be appropriate.

Use two pages when:

You have substantial relevant experience
You have held several important roles
You work in research, medicine, engineering, academia, or senior management
Your projects, publications, or certifications are essential

Do not reduce the font until the resume becomes uncomfortable to read merely to force everything onto one page.

Remove old, irrelevant, and repetitive information instead.

Use AI without losing credibility

AI can help you:

Rewrite unclear sentences
Suggest action verbs
Improve grammar
Convert duties into achievement-focused bullets
Identify missing keywords
Draft a professional summary
Generate interview questions
Create a first draft of a cover letter

However, you must review every AI-generated statement.

Never allow AI to invent:

Employers
Job titles
Degrees
Skills
Certifications
Revenue figures
Percentages
Team sizes
Awards
Projects

A recruiter may ask you to explain any claim included on the resume. False or exaggerated information can damage your credibility.

ResumeChamak is designed to help users organise, edit, format, and tailor their actual experience—not manufacture experience they do not have.

Proofread before downloading

Before submitting your resume, confirm:

Contact information
Phone number is correct
Email address is professional
LinkedIn link works
Location is current

Content
Dates are consistent
Job titles are accurate
Employer names are spelled correctly
Results are credible
Skills match your actual ability
There are no unexplained contradictions

Formatting
Headings are consistent
Bullet spacing is even
Font is readable
Page breaks are clean
Important information is not cut off
The downloaded PDF opens correctly

Final testAsk yourself:

Can a recruiter understand my profession, experience, strongest skills, and most important achievement within the first section of the resume?

When the answer is no, revise the summary, headline, and first few experience bullets.

Common resume mistakes

in India and South Asia1. Using the same career objective for every jobGeneric objectives do not show why you fit the position.

2. Listing responsibilities without results“Responsible for sales” is weaker than evidence showing territory, revenue, customers, or growth.

3. Adding excessive personal detailsA professional resume is not a complete personal biography.

4. Using an unprofessional email addressCreate a simple email using your name.

5. Adding every course and workshopInclude only qualifications that strengthen the application.

6. Using progress bars for skillsA recruiter cannot interpret what “80% Excel” means.

7. Claiming expertise without evidenceConnect skills to projects and accomplishments.

8. Using complicated design for an ATS applicationA beautiful resume is not useful when the system cannot read it.

9. Sending a PDF without checking itAlways download and open the final document before applying.

10. Including spelling and grammar mistakesErrors create doubt about attention to detail and communication ability.

Resume example for a fresherPriya Das
Junior Data Analyst
Kolkata, West BengalProfessional profile

Statistics graduate with experience using Excel, SQL, Python and Power BI through academic projects and a data-analysis internship. Built an interactive sales dashboard using more than 50,000 transaction records and automated weekly reporting tasks. Seeking an entry-level data analyst role focused on business reporting and decision support.

Skills

SQL, Python, Excel, Power BI, data cleaning, dashboard development, descriptive statistics

Education

B.Sc. Statistics
University of Calcutta
2025 | 82%

Project

Retail Sales Performance Dashboard

Cleaned and analysed more than 50,000 sales records
Created Power BI dashboards for revenue, region, category and salesperson performance
Identified three product categories with declining repeat-purchase rates
Presented recommendations to a four-member faculty panel

Resume example for an experienced professionalArjun Mehta
Regional Sales Manager
Ahmedabad, GujaratProfessional summary

Regional sales manager with nine years of experience in consumer products and distributor-led sales. Managed operations across Gujarat and Rajasthan, led a team of 28 sales employees, and increased regional revenue from ₹42 crore to ₹58 crore in two years. Experienced in distributor development, forecasting, trade marketing and sales-force performance.

Selected achievement

Expanded distribution into 14 new districts and added 120 active retail accounts
Increased regional revenue by 38% over two years
Improved forecast accuracy from 74% to 91%
Reduced distributor payment delays by 22%
Promoted four sales executives into territory-management positions

Frequently asked questions

What is the difference between a resume and a CV?A resume is usually a concise, job-specific summary of skills, education, and experience.

A CV is often longer and may include publications, research, presentations, teaching, awards, and complete academic history.

In South Asia, employers sometimes use “CV” and “resume” interchangeably. Read the job instructions and submit the document most appropriate for the role.

Should freshers include a declaration?A declaration is not normally required for most private-sector applications unless the employer, institution, or application process specifically requests it.

Use that space for skills, projects, or internships instead.

Should I include current and expected salary?Do not place salary information on the resume unless the employer requests it.

Salary details are better provided in the application form or during recruiter communication.

Should I mention a career break?Yes, but keep the explanation brief and factual.

You may write:

Career break for family caregiving, 2023–2024. Completed certifications in Power BI and advanced Excel before returning to full-time employment.

Can I use the same resume for LinkedIn and Naukri?The core information can remain consistent, but each platform has different profile fields. Tailor your headline, skills, and job preferences to each platform and keep dates consistent everywhere.

Is PDF or Word better?Follow the employer’s instructions.

PDF usually preserves formatting better, while some employers or older systems may request DOCX. Export both versions and check them before submitting.

Build your resume with ResumeChamakCreating a professional resume should not require hours of fighting with margins, page breaks, and inconsistent formatting.

With ResumeChamak, you can:

Upload an existing PDF or Word resume
Edit your information section by section
Start from a professional template
Switch layouts without rewriting your content
Create job-specific resume versions
Generate a matching cover letter
Prepare role-specific interview questions
Download a job-ready PDF

Build my resume

Already have a resume?

Upload and improve my existing resume

Preparing for an application?

Create a cover letter
Practise interview questions
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Your resume does not need to contain your entire life story. It needs to make your relevant value clear.

Start with your real experience, present it professionally, and tailor it to the opportunity you want.