You didn't get rejected by a person. You got rejected by software.
Around 75% of resumes are filtered by an ATS (Applicant Tracking System) before any human sees them.
The bot doesn't read your potential.
It scans for matches.
Beat the scan, reach the human. Here's exactly how.
Why the bot
rejects you
It's not about how good you are. The ATS rejects on four things, in this order.
01 · Missing keywords
The exact skills and titles from the job description aren't on your page.
02 · Unreadable formatting
Columns, tables, graphics, headers and text boxes. The parser chokes.
03 · Wrong file type
It can't open what you sent, so it scores you zero.
04 · Mismatched title
Your headline doesn't match the role you applied for.
None of these are about how good you are. All of them are fixable in one pass.
The 5-minute
keyword match
Do this for every single application. It is the highest-leverage 5 minutes in your job search.
- Copy the job description into a blank doc.
- Highlight every hard skill, tool, and exact job title it names.
- Circle the words that repeat. Those are the ones the bot weights most.
- Open your resume. Make sure the top third contains those exact words, written truthfully.
- Match their language, not yours. If they say "customer success," don't write "client happiness."
Truth first. Always. You're mirroring their words, not inventing experience.
The format the
bot can read
Use this. Nothing fancy.
- One column. No tables, text boxes, or graphics.
- Standard section headers: Experience. Skills. Education.
- A normal font. 10.5–12pt.
- Your name and contact in the body, never in the header/footer. Bots skip those.
- Save and submit as a .docx unless they specifically ask for PDF.
- Use the exact job title from their posting as your headline, when it's honest.
The template
YOUR NAME City, Country · email · LinkedIn URL · phone TARGET TITLE (matched to the job posting) SUMMARY 2 lines. The result you create + the exact keywords from the posting. EXPERIENCE Company — Title — Dates · Verb + what you did + the number it moved. · Verb + what you did + the number it moved. (Numbers beat words. "Grew signups 40%" beats "responsible for growth.") SKILLS The exact tools and skills the posting named, that you honestly have. EDUCATION Degree — School — Year
The move
most people miss
The bot gets you seen. A human gets you hired.
After you apply, find the hiring manager or a team member on LinkedIn.
Send one honest line:
"I just applied for [role]. I built [relevant thing] and I'd love for it to reach you directly."
That single message beats 50 silent applications.
You've been rejected by a machine long enough
Bring your resume to a free hot-seat session and we'll fix it live. Ask anything. Pay nothing. Free forever.