ATS vs Recruiter: How your CV gets scanned (and judged)

Ever wondered why your perfectly written CV doesn’t get replies but someone else’s basic, two-page Word document does?

The truth is, your CV probably went through two very different types of readers:
- the ATS (Applicant Tracking System) — a software that scans your CV before any human sees it, and
- the recruiter — who reads it differently, focusing on what a real person actually cares about.

In this article, we’ll break down how each one “reads” your CV — and what you can do to impress both.

What is an ATS and how it reads your CV

An Applicant Tracking System (ATS) is used by most companies to handle large volumes of applications. It’s not a recruiter’s enemy, it’s their filtering assistant.

When you apply for a role, your CV is first uploaded to the ATS, which:

1. Parses your text (extracts info like your name, roles, and education)

2. Indexes your keywords (skills, tools, experience)

3. Scores your match against the job description

Basically, it’s a robot looking for text patterns that match a specific job profile.

The catch? It doesn’t “understand” context, tone, or design — only data.

The ATS focuses on:

• Keywords and skills matching the job description

• Standard section names (Experience, Education, Skills)

• Consistent formatting and readable text

• File type (it can’t read images or scanned PDFs)

• Simple layout — one column, no graphics or tables

What the ATS ignores or misreads:

• Icons, emojis, graphics

• Text in headers or footers

• Multi-column CVs

• Fancy templates or custom fonts

• Missing or misspelled keywords

So if your CV looks like a modern art poster, the ATS might not “see” most of it.

How recruiters actually read your CV

Once your CV passes the ATS filter, it lands in front of a human, finally.

But now, the reading style changes completely. Recruiters don’t scan for keywords — they scan for stories, logic, and relevance.

Most recruiters spend 6–10 seconds on a first impression, then dive deeper if you catch their attention.

Recruiters focus on:

• The career story — does your path make sense?

• Results and impact — not just duties, but achievements

• Relevance — how your experience fits this specific job

• Consistency — no random gaps, clear progression

• Professional vibe — formatting, tone, and clarity

Recruiters love to see:

Clear job titles and company names
Achievements in bullet points (“Increased sales by 25%”)
Easy-to-read structure
A short, confident summary
Personality and motivation (in tone or LinkedIn link)

Unlike ATS, humans appreciate nuance, they notice storytelling, tone, and small details that reflect effort and emotional intelligence.

How to optimize for both ATS and recruiters

You don’t need two separate CVs, just a smartly structured one.

Here’s how:

1. Start with an ATS-friendly base

Use standard headings like Work Experience, Education, Skills.
Keep everything in one column.
Avoid images, tables, and design-heavy elements.

2. Use job description keywords naturally

Instead of keyword stuffing, blend them into your experience:

“Led recruitment using LinkedIn Recruiter and Greenhouse ATS”
works better than
“Recruitment, LinkedIn, ATS, Greenhouse.”

3. Write for humans too

After passing the software, your CV needs to feel alive.
Add a short professional summary that tells your story in 3–4 lines.
Use action verbs (“led,” “built,” “managed,” “designed”) and quantify your results.

4. Test your CV before sending

Even small formatting issues can break parsing.
You can upload your CV to Mafiro’s free ATS CV checker to instantly see:

• Your ATS compatibility score

• How your CV is parsed

• Which keywords you’re missing

• How to download an optimized DOCX version

This ensures your CV looks great to both the robot and the recruiter.

Final thoughts

An ATS decides whether your CV gets seen.
A recruiter decides whether you get hired.

Your goal is to make both happy, clean formatting for the machine, clear storytelling for the human.

With tools like Mafiro’s ATS CV Template, you can strike that balance automatically: upload your CV, get an ATS-friendly version, and customize it to highlight your best achievements.

So before you apply to your next dream job, run your CV through an ATS check, and give it the best chance to be read by someone who can actually say “you’re hired.”