How to Optimize Your Resume for ATS

Your resume is often your first opportunity to show an employer what you can bring to a role. And before that first conversation happens, your resume needs to make your skills, experience and potential easy to understand.

If you’re ready to explore open roles at Northwestern Mutual, knowing how to optimize your resume for ATS can help you put your best foot forward. Focus on matching your experience to the job description, using relevant keywords naturally, choosing simple formatting and clearly showing the impact you’ve made. The goal isn’t to write a resume for software. It’s to create one that works well for both an applicant tracking system and the recruiter who reviews it.

Optimize Your Resume: Key Takeaways

• Tailor your resume to the skills and requirements listed in each job description.
• Use relevant keywords naturally and only when they accurately reflect your experience.
• Choose simple, ATS-friendly formatting with clear headings and an easy-to-follow structure.
• Focus bullet points on achievements and impact, not only previous responsibilities.
• Customize your resume for each opportunity instead of submitting the same version everywhere.
•  Review and update your resume regularly as your skills, experience and career goals change.

What Is an Applicant Tracking System (ATS)?

An applicant tracking system, or ATS, is software employers use to manage job applications throughout the recruitment process. Depending on the system and how an employer uses it, ATS tools can organize candidate information, parse resume content and help recruiters search for skills, job titles, qualifications and other relevant information.

How Applicant Tracking Systems Work

When you submit a job application, an ATS can read information from your resume and organize it for the recruiting team. Clear section headings, relevant keywords, recognizable job titles and straightforward formatting can make that information easier to interpret.

This is why ATS optimization should start with clarity. Your resume should make it easy to understand what you’ve done, what skills you have and how your experience connects to the specific job.

Why Employers Like Northwestern Mutual Use ATS

When you apply for a role at Northwestern Mutual, you’ll create an account in Workday, our applicant tracking system, where you can also check the status of your application. Northwestern Mutual prioritizes skills-based hiring, looking at your skills and proficiencies and how well they align with the role. Each position is also assigned an NM recruiter who reviews applicants and resumes.

You can learn more about what to expect through our hiring process.

Common ATS Myths and Misconceptions

Optimizing your resume for ATS doesn’t mean trying to “beat” a system.

• Myth: The ATS makes the hiring decision. An ATS supports the hiring process, but recruiters and hiring teams still play an important role in evaluating candidates.
• Myth: More keywords are always better. Keyword stuffing can make your resume harder to read. Use the right keywords only when they genuinely represent your experience.
• Myth: Your resume needs an elaborate design to stand out. Simple formatting can make your information easier for ATS software and recruiters to review.

Build a Resume That Opens the Door to New Opportunities

Why Your Resume Matters Before the First Conversation

Before an interview, your resume introduces your professional journey. It gives recruiters a quick view of your experience, essential skills and the impact you’ve made.

That makes your resume more than a list of previous jobs. It should help someone understand where you’ve been, what you’ve learned and what you could contribute next.

Understand What Recruiters Look for in a Strong Resume

Start by asking whether your resume clearly connects your experience to the specific job. Northwestern Mutual recruiters recommend reviewing the job description and tailoring your skills to what the role requires. They also recommend organizing your achievements and experience concisely and showing impact with specific results whenever possible.

Improve Your Resume Before You Begin Applying

Take time to review your entire resume before starting your job search. Remove unnecessary details, update older experience and make sure your contact details, professional summary, skills list and recent roles are current.

For students and recent graduates, our Early Careers resources also include career-readiness opportunities such as resume workshops and interview preparation.

How to Optimize Your Resume for ATS Without Losing Your Voice

Tailor Your Resume to Match the Job Description

One of the most useful resume tips is also one of the simplest: read the job posting closely.

Identify the job requirements, hard skills, tools and responsibilities that match your actual experience. Then reflect those connections in your professional summary, skills and work experience. Avoid copying an entire job description into your resume. Your goal is to show alignment, not duplication.

Use Relevant Keywords That Reflect Your Experience

ATS keywords can include job titles, software, certifications, technical skills and other specific qualifications listed in the job description.

Use the same terminology where it makes sense. If a posting asks for “project management,” for example, and you have project management experience, use that language when describing the projects you managed and their results.

Keyword matching only works in your favor when the keywords are accurate. Your resume should still sound like you.

Choose an ATS-Friendly Resume Format That Highlights Your Strengths

Keep your resume format simple and easy to scan. Use standard section headings, clear bullet points and a straightforward single-column layout. Avoid relying on text boxes, embedded images, complicated tables or two-column layouts to communicate essential information.

For file type, follow the instructions provided with the job application. Current U.S. Department of Labor resume guidance also recommends using the requested PDF or Microsoft Word format and avoiding charts, images, tables and columns that may interfere with ATS parsing.

Show the Impact You've Made Throughout Your Career

Highlight Achievements Instead of Listing Responsibilities

A strong resume shows more than what you were responsible for. It shows what happened because of your work.

Instead of writing, “Managed marketing projects,” you might explain that you “Managed five cross-functional marketing projects that launched on schedule and supported a 15% increase in qualified leads.” When possible, use numbers, outcomes or specific examples to make your contribution clear.

Showcase Transferable Skills That Strengthen Your Application

Not every career move is a straight line. If you’re changing industries or pursuing a different type of role, focus on relevant skills that travel with you.

Project management, communication, leadership, problem-solving, analytics and collaboration can all strengthen an application when they match the job requirements. Connect those skills to real examples rather than simply listing yourself as a “team player.”

Customize Your Resume for Every Opportunity You Pursue

You don’t need to rewrite your entire resume for every job, but you should adjust it for the specific opportunity.

Prioritize the experience and key skills that matter most for each role. Northwestern Mutual recommends tailoring your application and resume to the skills and requirements of each position you pursue.

Keep Your Resume Ready for New Opportunities

Update Your Resume as Your Career Grows

Don’t wait until you’re actively job searching to remember what you accomplished two years ago. Update your resume as you complete major projects, learn new skills, earn certifications or take on new responsibilities.

Refresh Your Resume for Different Career Goals

As your goals change, the story your resume tells may need to change too. A resume for a technical role might emphasize different achievements than one for a leadership or client-focused position.

Keep the experience accurate, but change what you prioritize based on where you want to go next.

Review Your Resume Before Every Application

Before you hit submit, complete one final resume checklist:

• Confirm your experience aligns with the job requirements.
• Check that relevant skills and keywords appear naturally.
• Review your formatting and file type.
• Proofread your contact details, dates and job titles.
• Make sure your strongest achievements are easy to find.
• Then review the application one more time before sending it.

Take the Next Step in Your Career Journey

Learning how to improve your resume isn’t about creating a document that simply makes it through an ATS scan. It’s about clearly showing the skills, experience and potential you can bring to your next opportunity.

By tailoring your resume, using relevant keywords, keeping the format ATS-friendly and highlighting the impact you’ve made, you can create an application that represents both what you’ve accomplished and where you want to go next.

Ready to keep moving forward? Explore opportunities at Northwestern Mutual, learn more about our workplace and hiring process, and prepare for what comes next with our interview tips.