You've written a strong resume. Your experience is relevant, your accomplishments are impressive, and you know you're qualified for the role. Yet you're not getting interviews.
The reason might not be your content. It might be that an ATS parsing error is scrambling, misreading, or hiding significant portions of your resume before any scoring even happens. The system can't evaluate content it can't correctly extract.
Here's how to diagnose parsing errors, understand what's causing them, and fix them before they cost you more interviews.
What Is a Resume Parsing Error?
Resume parsing is the process where an ATS extracts text from your document and categorizes it into structured fields like name, job titles, companies, dates, skills, and education.
A parsing error occurs when something in your resume's formatting, structure, or file type prevents this extraction from working correctly. The system misreads content, skips sections, scrambles the order of information, or fails to categorize information appropriately.
Unlike rejection by keyword mismatch, which you can at least understand by looking at your resume, parsing errors are invisible. Your resume looks fine to you, but the system reading it sees something entirely different.
The Most Common Causes of Parsing Errors
Understanding what causes parsing errors helps you identify and fix them in your own resume.
- Tables and multi-column layouts
These are the leading cause of parsing errors. When text is arranged in table cells or columns, parsers often read across rows rather than down columns, producing nonsensical text sequences. A two-column skills grid becomes a jumbled string of unrelated terms. - Headers and footers
Many resume templates place contact information, the resume title, or decorative elements in document headers or footers. Most ATS systems don't read these locations at all, causing your name, email, or other critical information to be completely invisible. - Text boxes
Content placed inside text boxes is frequently skipped entirely by ATS parsers. If your skills, summary, or any significant content is in a text box, it may not be parsed at all. - Complex nested formatting
Multiple levels of indentation, hanging indents, or complex spacing structures can confuse parsers about what content belongs together. Information that appears related visually may be parsed as separate, unconnected fragments. - Non-standard fonts or embedded font files
Particularly in PDFs, custom fonts that don't exist on the ATS server may fail to render correctly during extraction. Characters may display as gibberish, or the entire font may be substituted with a default, shifting your formatting. - Graphics, images, and icons
Any visual elements including skill-level icons, progress bars, decorative graphics, or even profile photos are images from a parser's perspective. They don't contribute to text extraction and may interfere with adjacent text parsing. - Decorative elements created with special characters
Dividers made from repeated dashes, asterisks, or other special characters sometimes render unpredictably during parsing. A clean line to separate sections can become a string of random characters. - PDF created with design tools
Design-tool PDFs sometimes embed content in ways that ATS parsers can't extract cleanly. Canva, Adobe Creative Suite, Figma, and similar tools create visually impressive PDFs that are often parsing nightmares. - Inconsistent or non-standard section headers
While we covered this in a previous article, it's worth reiterating: non-standard headers like "Where I've Been" instead of "Work Experience" prevent the parser from recognizing section boundaries and categorizing content correctly.
How to Diagnose a Parsing Error in Your Resume
The plain text test is the fastest, most reliable way to diagnose parsing problems.
Step 1: Export to plain text
Open your resume. Select all content, copy it, and paste it into a plain text editor like Notepad on Windows or TextEdit on Mac set to plain text mode.
Step 2: Read through the plain text output
Without any formatting, you're seeing exactly what an ATS parser extracts. Read through the text in order. Does it flow logically? Can you identify your name, contact information, job titles, companies, dates, skills, and education in a coherent sequence?
Step 3: Identify gaps or scrambling
If your name is missing, your job titles are jumbled together, your dates are scrambled, or whole sections are either completely missing or appear out of order, you have parsing problems.
Step 4: Compare to your formatted resume
Open your original formatted resume. Look at the plain text output and compare it. Any content that appears in your formatted resume but is missing from the plain text version, or appears in a different order, reveals a parsing problem.
How to Fix Parsing Errors: The Three-Step Fix
Step 1: Identify the problematic element
Based on the plain text test, pinpoint which formatting element is causing the problem. Is it a table? A header or footer? A text box? A complex layout?
Step 2: Eliminate or replace the problematic element
Remove tables and replace them with plain text or simple comma-separated lists. Delete text boxes and move their content to the main document body. Remove graphics and icons. Replace headers and footers with content in the main body at the top of your document.
Step 3: Test the fix
Run the plain text test again. Does the problematic content now appear correctly? Does the sequence make sense? Once the plain text test shows correct extraction, your parsing problem is likely fixed.
The Nuclear Option: Rebuild From Scratch
If you've tried fixing individual elements but still have parsing problems, the issue may be so deeply embedded in the document structure that fixing it piecemeal won't work.
The fastest solution is to start fresh. Create a new, blank Word document. Copy just the text content from your current resume, skipping all formatting. Paste it into the new document. Then apply clean, simple formatting using the guidelines from our earlier Cluster 2 articles.
This approach eliminates all hidden formatting issues that might be causing problems. Yes, it takes time, but it's faster than troubleshooting mysterious parsing errors indefinitely.
Testing Your Fixed Resume
After fixing parsing errors, confirm that your resume is now being read correctly and scoring well for your target roles.
Job200.com's free ATS checker accepts both PDF and Word files and shows you exactly what an ATS extracts from your document. Upload your fixed resume, paste in a job description, and you'll see whether your content is now being parsed correctly and how well it aligns with the role.
If your ATS score is now significantly higher than before your fixes, the parsing errors were indeed the problem. If the score is still lower than expected despite correct parsing, you may have keyword alignment gaps to address.
Test your resume for every application. Visit Job200.com to get started.
When Professional Help Makes Sense
If you've tried diagnosing and fixing parsing errors yourself and still aren't seeing improvement, it may be worth having someone else review your resume. A second set of eyes often catches formatting problems you've become blind to.
Career coaches, professional resume writers, or even a trusted colleague can run the plain text test on your resume and help identify persistent parsing issues. Sometimes an outside perspective reveals problems that are invisible when you're too close to your own document.
For more resume formatting and ATS optimization guides, visit the Job200.com blog.
Frequently Asked Questions
- How do I know if low interview rate is from parsing errors or other problems?
Run the plain text test first. If parsing looks clean, the problem is likely keyword alignment or role fit, not parsing. If parsing shows missing or scrambled content, parsing errors are your constraint. - Will fixing parsing errors alone get me more interviews?
It depends on what else needs fixing. If parsing errors were preventing your content from being read, fixing them will help significantly. If your content is now being read but lacks relevant keywords or your qualifications don't match the roles, you'll also need to address those gaps. - Can a professional resume writer fix parsing errors I created?
Yes. Resume writers understand formatting best practices and can rebuild your resume to eliminate parsing risks while preserving your content and impact. - Is the plain text test accurate for predicting ATS behavior?
It's a strong indicator but not perfect. Different ATS systems may extract text slightly differently. However, if your plain text test shows correct, coherent extraction, you're almost certainly parsing correctly in real ATS systems. - Should I rebuild my resume from scratch if I'm unsure about parsing?
If you're uncertain and have the time, rebuilding from a clean template following Cluster 2 formatting guidelines is the safest approach. It eliminates all hidden formatting risk and gives you a parsing-error-free foundation moving forward.
The Bottom Line
Parsing errors are frustrating because they're completely invisible to you but devastating to your ATS score. The good news is that they're also completely preventable and fixable with attention to formatting fundamentals.
Run the plain text test on your resume right now. If you find parsing errors, fix them. If you don't find any, confirm your resume is scoring well for your target roles. Then test against every job description you apply to before submitting.
Confirm your resume is parsing correctly and scoring well. Job200.com shows you exactly what an ATS extracts from your document and how well it aligns with any job description, completely free.
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For more resume formatting, ATS optimization, and career strategy guides, visit the Job200.com blog.
