The leading^.cv blog

Everything we’ve learned about CVs and applicant tracking systems while building leading^.cv.

Can an ATS-friendly CV look good?

Many people assume an ATS-friendly CV has to be plain and forgettable. We wanted to check whether that’s actually true.

Every layout carries an ATS badge. Here’s how we check that it’s more than a marketing line.

The advice you read everywhere: a Canva CV for people, a plain one for the ATS. We think a single CV can do both.

You won’t find two articles that agree on two-column CVs. We looked at what really happens when an ATS reads that kind of layout.

Keep the photo or take it off before you apply? In the UK and Ireland the answer is usually clear. The reasons behind it are less so.

PDF or Word? The guides disagree. The right choice hinges on a detail that rarely gets checked.

Is a CV that plays it too safe a problem when visual work is the job? For people in these roles, the question looks different.