Aug 21, 20269 min read
The 8 Things That Break a Resume in an ATS Parser
We build the parser that reads resumes on Creatzi. These are the eight structural problems it is written to detect, why each one happens, and how to fix it.
Author
Founder, Creatzi
I build Creatzi: the resume builder, the cover letter studio, the ATS checker, and the parsing engine underneath all of them.
That last part is why this blog exists. Most resume advice on the internet is written by people guessing at how applicant tracking systems behave. I write about it from the other side: I maintain the code that reads a PDF resume, works out where the sections are, and reports what it could not understand. When a two-column layout scrambles someone's job titles, I see the failure in a test fixture before anyone sees it in a rejection email.
So the posts here lead with what the software actually does: the real hazard codes our parser emits, the real weights our scorer uses, the real keyword sets behind our 119 role pages. Where a claim comes from outside research, it is linked so you can check it yourself. Where we do not know something, the post says so.
We build the parser that reads resumes on Creatzi. These are the eight structural problems it is written to detect, why each one happens, and how to fix it.
We published the exact scoring weights behind Creatzi's ATS scorer, all 100 points of it, plus an honest account of the things no score can tell you.
Bullet point examples built from the keyword sets behind our 119 role pages, with the pattern that makes each one work and the vocabulary screeners look for.
AI is resolving the oldest tension in resume design, which is writing for a parser and for a person at the same time. Here is what actually changed, and what did not.
Most cover letters fail in the first sentence. Here is the structure that works, with before-and-after openings you can measure your own against.