ATS Optimization Per Company: Tailoring for Different Systems

Not All ATS Are Created Equal

While the core principles of ATS optimization apply universally, different ATS platforms have different parsing capabilities, scoring mechanisms, and quirks. Understanding the most popular systems helps you make informed optimization decisions.

Taleo (Oracle)

Taleo is one of the oldest and most widely used ATS platforms, especially among Fortune 500 companies. It uses keyword matching with limited semantic understanding. Best practices: use exact keywords from the job posting, keep formatting extremely simple, avoid headers and footers completely, and stick to standard section names. Taleo tends to struggle more with complex PDFs than newer systems.

Workday

Workday has become increasingly popular, especially in tech and finance. It has better parsing capabilities than Taleo and handles PDFs well. However, its scoring algorithm weighs recent and relevant experience heavily. Best practices: ensure your most recent, relevant experience is prominently featured, use clear date formatting, and include both acronyms and full terms for technical skills.

Greenhouse

Greenhouse is the ATS of choice for many startups and mid-size tech companies. It features more advanced NLP capabilities that can understand context and synonyms to some degree. It also allows recruiters to manually search and filter candidates. Best practices: while Greenhouse is more forgiving of formatting variations, maintaining ATS best practices still helps. Focus on relevant, keyword-rich content.

Lever

Lever combines ATS with CRM functionality, making it more relationship-focused. It parses resumes well and also pulls in candidate information from LinkedIn and other sources. Best practices: ensure your resume and LinkedIn are consistent, as recruiters using Lever often cross-reference both.

iCIMS

iCIMS is popular in healthcare, retail, and large service organizations. Its parsing is reliable for standard formats and it has a strong keyword matching engine. Best practices: use straightforward formatting, clear section headings, and ensure your skills section contains relevant technical terms.

Universal Optimization Tips

Regardless of which ATS a company uses:

1. Use a clean, single-column layout
2. Stick to standard section headings
3. Include exact keywords from the job description
4. Submit as a text-based PDF (unless DOCX is requested)
5. Place all critical information in the main document body
6. Use standard, widely supported fonts

How to Know Which ATS a Company Uses

You can often identify a company's ATS by looking at the career page URL. Taleo pages usually contain "taleo.net," Greenhouse uses "boards.greenhouse.io," Lever uses "jobs.lever.co," and Workday uses "myworkdayjobs.com." Knowing the system helps you prioritize your optimization efforts.

Test Across Systems

Our ATS resume checker tests your resume against common ATS parsing standards that apply across platforms. Combined with the platform-specific tips above and a resume built with our free resume builder, you will have the best possible chance of passing any ATS screening.