Do two-column resumes work with applicant tracking systems?
By the FreeCVWriter team · · 2 min read
Often, yes — but not always. Many applicant tracking systems read a two-column resume correctly, one column after the other. Some older or simpler parsers read straight across the page instead, mixing a line from the sidebar with a line from your experience. A single column avoids the question entirely.
Why columns can cause trouble
A PDF doesn’t store “this is the sidebar”. It stores pieces of text at positions on a page. A parser has to work out the reading order, and when two columns sit side by side, some parsers get it right and some go line by line across the whole width. The result can be a skills list threaded through your job history.
Test your own PDF
- 1.Open the exported PDF and select all the text.
- 2.Paste it into a plain text editor (Notepad, TextEdit in plain text mode).
- 3.Read it top to bottom. If each section comes out whole — the sidebar together, the experience together — most parsers will cope.
- 4.If lines from the two columns alternate, choose a one-column template for applications that go through a portal.
When to choose one column
- Large employers and public-sector jobs that use an online application portal.
- Recruitment agencies that load CVs into their own database.
- Any advert that asks for a “simple” or “plain” format.
- When you’ll be asked to paste your CV into a form anyway.
When two columns are fine
- Emailing a CV directly to a person, or bringing it to an interview.
- Smaller companies that read every application themselves.
- Creative roles, where presentation is part of what’s being judged.
- A networking contact who asked you to send it over.
Keeping two versions costs little: the same content in a designed template for people and an ATS-safe template for portals. In FreeCVWriter you can switch templates without retyping anything.