How Modern ATS Use AI (Workday, Greenhouse, Lever) and How Applicants Should Prepare

Understand how modern applicant tracking systems read your resume and answers, which parts involve AI and which are still human, and how to adjust.

You apply to a multinational through its careers page. You have to create a new account, upload your resume, watch the system fill in fields half correctly, then answer a dozen more questions. That is an ATS (applicant tracking system), and understanding what it does lets you stop guessing and prepare your application where it counts.

What is an ATS?

An ATS is software recruiting teams use to manage the whole hiring process: posting jobs, receiving applications, screening, scheduling interviews and making offers. Workday, Greenhouse and Lever are examples used by many international and tech companies. They look different, but the principles are similar.

What an ATS does with your application

1. Reads and parses your resume

The system tries to extract your name, work history, education and skills into fields. If your resume uses tables, multiple columns, or text inside images, information can go missing or land in the wrong field.

2. Screening questions

Many roles include yes or no questions, such as whether you have a work permit or can start within 30 days. Some answers may be set as minimum requirements, and a mismatch can stop your application before a person sees it.

3. Recruiter search and filters

Recruiters search candidates by keyword, skill or job title. If your resume lacks words that match the job, you may not appear in results even with real experience.

4. Added AI features

Many ATS vendors are adding AI, such as candidate profile summaries, matching skills to job postings, or help with ranking. One example: in 2024 Workday announced it would acquire HiredScore, a provider of AI-powered talent solutions, as reported by Hunt Scanlon Media. Which features are actually switched on depends on each company's setup.

Common misconceptions

• The ATS automatically rejects everyone: mostly the system organises and filters, and people still make decisions at many stages.
• There is one ATS score every system uses: there is no such universal standard. See Is the ATS score real?
• Stuffing in keywords gets you through: it may help in search, but a human reader will instantly see it is unnatural.

Write so the system can read it, but write so a person wants to call you.

Prepare an application both systems and people understand

Resume format

• One column, standard headings such as Experience, Education, Skills.
• A PDF exported from a document editor, not a scanned image.
• More detail in ATS-friendly resume formats.

Wording

• Read the job post and pick out five to eight core skills, then place them in experience you actually have.
• Write both the full term and the abbreviation, such as Search Engine Optimization (SEO).
• Use job titles the market understands. If your internal title is unusual, add the common equivalent in brackets.

Before and after example

A Digital Marketing Executive job post asks for Google Ads, GA4 and reporting.

• Before: Managed the company's online marketing.
• After: Planned and optimised Google Ads campaigns weekly, tracked results in GA4, and produced monthly reporting on leads for the sales team.

The second version contains the words a recruiter searches for and tells the reader what you actually did.

After uploading

• Check every field the system filled in, and fix wrong dates or titles.
• Answer screening questions truthfully, because they will be checked again at interview.
• Keep your password, since systems like Workday often require a separate account per company.

Cautions

Do not hide white text or paste the whole job description into your resume. When a person opens it, your credibility is gone. And do not assume AI in the system decides everything. Clearly described achievements still matter most.

How to start

1. Choose one job post you care about and highlight the core skills.
2. Convert your resume to one column with standard headings.
3. Work keywords into real achievements, not a loose list.
4. After applying, check every field the system extracted.
5. Note the screening questions you met so you can prepare next time.

Check your resume before sending in Resume Lab, then apply for roles that fit you in job search.