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1 Oct 2026
By RecruitFinds
Applying for jobs has changed significantly over the years. In the past, a recruiter could receive a stack of CVs, open each document and manually decide which candidates should proceed to the next stage. Today, many organisations receive applications through online recruitment platforms, company career pages and other digital systems. When hundreds of people apply for the same position, technology can help recruiters organise and filter those applications.
One technology associated with this process is the Applicant Tracking System, commonly known as an ATS.
For Kenyan job seekers, understanding how ATS works can be useful when preparing a CV. A well-qualified candidate can still have difficulty getting noticed if their CV is difficult for recruitment software to read or does not clearly demonstrate the skills required for the position.
The good news is that preparing an ATS-friendly CV does not require complicated tricks. The focus should be on making your CV clear, relevant, readable and closely connected to the job you are applying for.
An Applicant Tracking System is software that helps employers manage recruitment applications.
Depending on the system and how an employer has configured it, an ATS may help collect CVs, organise candidates, search application information, identify relevant qualifications and support recruiters throughout the hiring process.
Instead of a recruiter immediately reading every CV from beginning to end, applications may first be stored and organised electronically.
Some recruitment systems can also search CVs for information related to a vacancy. This is one reason job seekers often hear about keywords when discussing ATS-friendly CVs.
However, an ATS should not be treated as a single machine that automatically decides whether somebody gets a job. Different systems work differently, and recruiters may use software in different ways.
The practical lesson is simple: make your CV easy for both recruitment software and human recruiters to understand.
One of the biggest mistakes job seekers make is sending exactly the same CV to every employer.
A CV should present your experience, but it should also reflect the requirements of the specific position.
Before applying, read the job advertisement carefully. Identify the job title, required qualifications, technical skills, experience, software, professional certifications and other capabilities mentioned by the employer.
For example, if a vacancy asks for experience in customer relationship management, sales reporting and Microsoft Excel, those requirements should be easy to identify in your CV if you genuinely possess them.
Do not copy the entire job advertisement into your CV. Instead, describe your own experience using accurate terminology that naturally matches the requirements.
Keywords are words or phrases that describe important skills, qualifications, responsibilities or areas of expertise.
Suppose a Kenyan employer is looking for a "Procurement Officer" and the vacancy mentions supplier management, tender evaluation, purchase orders and inventory control.
If you have genuinely performed these responsibilities, your CV should use clear terms that describe that experience.
For example, instead of writing:
"Handled different purchasing duties for the organisation."
You could write:
"Managed purchase orders, supplier communication and procurement documentation."
The second version gives the employer and recruitment software much more useful information.
However, avoid filling your CV with keywords simply to attract an ATS. Keyword stuffing can make your CV unnatural and may create a poor impression when a recruiter reads it.
A visually complicated CV may look attractive on a computer screen but can sometimes create problems when information needs to be extracted from the document.
For an ATS-focused CV, simplicity is usually safer.
Use clear sections such as:
Professional Summary
Work Experience
Education
Skills
Professional Certifications
Additional Information
Use straightforward formatting and make sure important information is not hidden inside complicated design elements.
The objective is to make your CV easy to scan.
A recruiter should be able to quickly identify who you are, what you have done and what you can offer.
Some CV designs rely heavily on graphics, icons, charts, text boxes and decorative elements.
These can make a document visually interesting, but they are not always the best way to present information that needs to be processed by recruitment software.
For example, putting your phone number or email address inside an image is unnecessary.
Keep important information as actual text.
Your name, contact details, employment history, qualifications and skills should be clearly written in the document rather than represented through graphics.
Recruiters are accustomed to familiar CV sections.
Use headings that clearly identify the information below them.
"Work Experience" is easier to understand than an unusual heading such as "My Professional Journey."
Likewise, "Education" is clearer than a creative heading such as "Where I Learned."
This is useful not only for ATS compatibility but also for human recruiters who may spend only a short amount of time reviewing each application.
Clear structure makes your CV easier to navigate.
If the position you are applying for has a specific title and it accurately reflects your target role, using that title in your professional summary can help make your CV more relevant.
For example, if you are applying for a position advertised as "Human Resource Assistant," your summary could clearly state that you are an HR professional or HR assistant with relevant experience.
Do not claim a job title you have never held merely to match an advertisement.
Instead, use accurate descriptions that demonstrate how your background relates to the position.
Many CVs simply describe what an employee was responsible for.
That information is useful, but achievements can make your experience stronger.
Compare these two examples:
"Responsible for handling customer complaints."
"Handled customer complaints and helped resolve customer issues while maintaining professional communication."
The second statement provides more context about what you actually did.
Where possible, include measurable results.
For example:
"Managed customer enquiries and reduced average response time from two days to one day."
Numbers can provide evidence of your contribution when they are accurate.
Do not create a massive list of every skill you have ever learned.
Instead, prioritise skills that are relevant to the vacancy.
If you are applying for an accounting position, accounting software, financial reporting, bookkeeping, reconciliation and Excel may be more useful to highlight than unrelated skills.
If you are applying for a digital marketing role, relevant areas might include social media management, content marketing, analytics, SEO and advertising platforms, depending on the requirements of the vacancy.
The closer the connection between your skills and the job requirements, the easier it is for the recruiter to understand your suitability.
Abbreviations can sometimes create unnecessary ambiguity.
For example, if you have a certification or qualification commonly known by an abbreviation, consider including both the full name and abbreviation where appropriate.
Instead of writing only:
"CPA"
you could write:
"Certified Public Accountant (CPA)"
This makes the information clear to anyone reviewing your CV and provides both forms of the term.
The same principle can apply to software, professional certifications and technical terminology.
A CV can contain the right keywords and still fail to make a good impression if it contains obvious spelling or grammatical mistakes.
After completing your CV, read it carefully.
Check:
Names of companies
Job titles
Dates
Email address
Telephone number
Qualification names
Professional certifications
Software names
Spelling
Grammar
A simple mistake in your contact information can create a much bigger problem than an ATS issue because the employer may not be able to reach you.
Your CV file name should also look professional.
Instead of uploading a document called:
"CV final final 2.pdf"
use something straightforward such as:
"John_Kamau_CV.pdf"
A clear file name helps keep your application organised and looks more professional when recruiters download or share your document.
ATS optimisation should never replace following the application instructions.
If an employer specifically asks applicants to submit a CV in PDF format, follow that instruction.
If the employer asks for a Word document, use the requested format.
If an application form asks you to enter information manually, complete the required fields rather than assuming the system will extract everything from your CV.
Also make sure your CV contains information consistent with what you enter in the application form.
Two-column CVs are popular because they allow job seekers to fit more information onto one page.
However, complex layouts can sometimes make information extraction less predictable across different systems.
If ATS compatibility is your priority, a simple single-column format is generally a safer choice.
This does not mean every two-column CV will fail an ATS. It simply means that straightforward formatting reduces unnecessary technical complications.
CV photo requirements differ between employers, industries and countries.
For an ATS-focused CV, a photograph is generally not necessary unless the employer specifically requests one or the role has a legitimate reason for requiring it.
Your professional experience, qualifications and skills should remain the focus of the document.
There is a common misconception that an ATS independently decides whether someone is qualified for a job.
In reality, recruitment technology can perform different functions depending on the system and employer. It may be used to collect applications, organise candidates, search application information or support recruiters with screening.
Therefore, do not think of ATS optimisation as trying to trick a computer.
The better approach is to make your qualifications and experience easy to identify.
Your CV should work for two audiences: the technology processing the application and the recruiter who eventually reads it.
A practical approach is to start with the job advertisement.
Read it carefully and identify the employer's most important requirements. Then review your CV and determine whether your genuine experience demonstrates those requirements.
Remove irrelevant information where necessary.
Rewrite vague descriptions so that your responsibilities and achievements are clear.
Use standard headings, straightforward formatting and relevant terminology.
Finally, proofread the document before submitting it.
This approach is much more sustainable than trying to manipulate an ATS with hidden text, excessive keywords or other questionable techniques.
An ATS-friendly CV is not about creating a document filled with keywords or trying to fool recruitment software. It is about presenting your genuine qualifications and experience in a clear format that can be understood by both technology and people.
For Kenyan job seekers, this can be particularly useful when applying through online recruitment portals, company career websites and digital application systems.
Start by understanding the vacancy. Identify the skills and qualifications the employer actually needs, then make sure your CV clearly demonstrates the relevant experience you already have.
Keep the layout simple, use standard headings, include relevant keywords naturally, highlight measurable achievements and check every detail before submitting the application.
Most importantly, remember that getting through an initial screening stage is only one part of recruitment. Your CV should accurately represent what you can do because the information you provide may be discussed during an interview or tested later in the hiring process.
A clear, targeted and honest CV gives you a stronger foundation for the rest of the recruitment process.nts.
