What ATS Actually Does (And Doesn't Do)

Applicant Tracking Systems get a lot of blame in the veteran job search community, and most of it is based on myths. The internet is full of claims that "75% of resumes are rejected by ATS before a human sees them" — that's not how it works. ATS is a database and ranking tool, not a gatekeeper that rejects resumes. Understanding the difference is critical to building a resume that actually gets seen.

Here's what ATS actually does: it parses your resume into structured data fields (name, contact info, work history, education, skills), stores that data in a searchable database, and ranks applicants based on how well their resume matches the job posting's keywords and requirements. When a recruiter or hiring manager opens the applicant pool, they see candidates ranked from strongest match to weakest. Your resume doesn't get "rejected" — it gets ranked. A poorly optimized resume sinks to the bottom of the list where no one scrolls. A well-optimized resume surfaces to the top where it gets human attention.

For veterans, the ATS challenge is specific: military language doesn't match civilian keyword databases. If the ATS is looking for "project management" and your resume says "operations planning," you have the right experience but the wrong vocabulary. Your resume ranks lower — not because you're unqualified, but because the system can't match your military terms to the civilian job requirements. This is a solvable problem, and solving it is what this guide is about.

Why Veteran Resumes Rank Lower (And How to Fix It)

Military resumes have three specific issues that cause them to rank poorly in ATS:

1. Military acronyms and jargon. ATS systems match keywords from the job posting to keywords on your resume. If the job posting says "logistics coordinator" and your resume says "92Y (Unit Supply Specialist)," the system sees zero keyword match for that requirement. Fix: write out the civilian equivalent alongside the military term. "Unit Supply Specialist (Logistics Coordinator)" gives the ATS both terms to match against.

2. Unfamiliar job titles. "Platoon Sergeant" and "First Sergeant" don't appear in any civilian job taxonomy. The ATS has no way to know that a Platoon Sergeant is equivalent to an Operations Supervisor or that a First Sergeant is equivalent to a Chief of Staff. Fix: use civilian-equivalent titles on your resume, with the military title in parentheses for context. "Operations Supervisor (Platoon Sergeant, E-7)" tells both the ATS and the human reader exactly what level of responsibility you held.

3. Missing industry-standard keywords. Civilian job postings use specific terminology that maps to industry standards. A logistics job might require "SAP experience," "Lean Six Sigma," "supply chain optimization," or "vendor management." Your military experience may include all of these concepts under different names — but if the exact keywords aren't on your resume, the ATS can't match them. Fix: read the job posting carefully and mirror its language on your resume wherever your experience genuinely matches.

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ATS-Friendly Resume Formatting for Veterans

ATS systems parse your resume by looking for standard formatting patterns. When your resume uses non-standard formatting, the parser can't extract information correctly — and your carefully written content ends up garbled in the system. Here's what works and what doesn't.

Use standard section headings. ATS systems look for specific section headers to categorize your information. Use "Professional Experience" or "Work Experience" (not "Military Service History"). Use "Education" (not "Military Training and Academic Credentials"). Use "Skills" or "Core Competencies" (not "Areas of Operational Expertise"). The more standard your section headings, the more accurately the ATS categorizes your content.

Avoid tables, columns, and text boxes. Many ATS systems struggle to parse multi-column layouts, tables, and text boxes. Your information may get scrambled, merged, or lost entirely. Use a single-column layout with clear section breaks. This isn't the most visually exciting format, but it's the most reliably parsed format across different ATS platforms.

Use a standard file format. Submit your resume as a .docx or PDF — both formats work fine with modern ATS systems. If you submit a PDF, make sure it's a text-based PDF (created from a word processor), not a scanned image.

Don't use headers or footers for critical information. Many ATS systems skip header and footer sections entirely. If your contact information is in the header, the system may not capture it. Put your name, phone number, email, and LinkedIn URL in the main body of the document.

Use standard fonts. Stick with Arial, Calibri, Times New Roman, or similar standard fonts. Custom or decorative fonts can cause parsing issues with older ATS platforms. Font size should be 10-12 points for body text and 12-14 for section headings.

The Keyword Strategy: Military-to-Civilian Translation for ATS

The most important ATS optimization for veterans is keyword translation — converting military terminology into the civilian keywords that ATS systems and recruiters are searching for. Here's a systematic approach.

Step 1: Analyze the job posting. Read the entire job posting — not just the title and requirements, but the description, preferred qualifications, and company information. Highlight every skill, qualification, and keyword that appears. Pay special attention to words and phrases that appear multiple times — these are the highest-priority keywords for that position.

Step 2: Map your military experience to those keywords. For each keyword you identified, ask yourself: "Where did I do this in the military, even if it was called something different?" Project management? You've been planning and executing operations your entire career. Stakeholder management? You've been coordinating with higher headquarters, adjacent units, and supporting agencies. Risk management? You've been conducting risk assessments before every operation. The experience is there — it just needs the right label.

Step 3: Write your resume using the job posting's language. This doesn't mean copying the job description word-for-word. It means using the same vocabulary to describe your genuine experience. If the posting says "managed cross-functional teams," don't write "led a joint task organization" — write "managed cross-functional teams of 15-40 personnel from multiple specialties." Same experience, civilian vocabulary, specific numbers.

Step 4: Include a skills section with explicit keyword matches. Create a "Core Competencies" or "Key Skills" section near the top of your resume that lists 12-15 skills using the exact language from the job posting. This ensures the ATS picks up critical keywords even if they're described differently in your work experience bullets. Skills like: Project Management, Budget Administration, Team Leadership, Risk Assessment, Process Improvement, Training Development, Strategic Planning, Vendor Management, Quality Assurance, Regulatory Compliance.

Use BMR's career translation guides to identify which civilian keywords map to your military specialty. Each guide includes the specific civilian job titles, skills terminology, and industry language that employers search for — giving you a ready-made keyword list for your resume.

Federal vs Private Sector ATS Differences

The ATS landscape is different for federal and private sector applications, and veterans should understand both.

Federal applications (USAJOBS): The federal hiring system uses its own ATS that evaluates your resume against specific qualification requirements and specialized experience criteria. Federal resumes need more detail packed into the same 2-page format — include hours worked per week, supervisor contact information, and detailed descriptions of duties and accomplishments for each position. The keyword matching in federal systems focuses heavily on the specialized experience requirements listed in the job announcement. Read those requirements word-for-word and ensure your resume demonstrates each one explicitly.

Private sector ATS platforms: Companies use systems like Workday, Greenhouse, Lever, iCIMS, and Taleo. Each parses resumes slightly differently, but the fundamentals are the same — standard formatting, relevant keywords, and clear section structure. Both federal and private sector resumes should be concise (2 pages max) with tight, results-driven bullet points. The keyword density needs to be higher in a shorter document, which makes your skills section and professional summary especially important for ATS ranking.

Common ATS Mistakes Veterans Make

Mistake 1: Using one resume for every application. ATS ranks your resume against the specific job posting you're applying to. A generic resume that isn't tailored to the specific position will rank lower than a tailored resume every time. You don't need to rewrite your entire resume for each application, but you should adjust your skills section, professional summary, and key accomplishment bullets to mirror each job posting's language and priorities.

Mistake 2: Keyword stuffing. Some veterans try to game the system by cramming every possible keyword into their resume, sometimes in white text or in an invisible section. Modern ATS systems detect keyword stuffing and may flag your resume. Even if they don't, the hiring manager who eventually reads your resume will notice that it reads like a keyword list instead of a professional document. Use keywords naturally, within the context of your actual experience.

Mistake 3: Relying on military awards as proof of qualification. An Army Achievement Medal or a Navy Commendation Medal means a lot within the military, but ATS systems don't index military awards as job qualifications. Don't list 15 awards expecting them to boost your ranking. Instead, translate what you did to earn those awards into accomplishment bullets with measurable results.

Mistake 4: Ignoring the "nice to have" qualifications. Job postings often list "required" and "preferred" qualifications. Many veterans focus only on the required section. But the preferred qualifications are also keywords the ATS uses for ranking. If you have experience that matches a preferred qualification, include it — it improves your ranking position even if it's not strictly required.

Mistake 5: Not including your security clearance. If you hold an active security clearance, it needs to be prominently displayed on your resume. Security clearances are high-value keywords that recruiters specifically search for in ATS databases. "Active TS/SCI Clearance" in your resume header or skills section is one of the most powerful ATS keywords a veteran can have.

Beyond ATS: The Human Review

Here's what most ATS articles won't tell you: even a perfectly optimized resume only gets you to the point where a human looks at it. And that human — typically a recruiter doing an initial screen — spends about 6 seconds on the first pass. In those 6 seconds, they're scanning for three things: relevant job titles, recognizable company/organization names, and measurable accomplishments.

For veterans, this means your resume needs to work on two levels simultaneously. Level one: ATS-optimized keywords that get you ranked at the top of the applicant pool. Level two: clear, compelling, human-readable content that passes the 6-second scan and earns a full read.

The best veteran resumes accomplish both by using civilian job titles with military context, leading with quantified accomplishments, and formatting for easy scanning with clear section breaks, consistent bullet point structure, and strategic use of bold text for key metrics and results.

BMR's resume builder handles both layers automatically — translating your military experience into ATS-friendly civilian language while formatting your resume to pass the human review. Every resume is tailored to the specific job you're targeting, with keyword matching built into the translation process.

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Also see military resume templates that work and resume keywords by industry.

Related: How to write a professional summary that gets you hired and how to write work experience sections on your resume.