resume-export-standards

name	resume-export-standards
description	ATS-safe + accessible resume/CV export standards (PDF/DOCX) — real ATS parsing limits, single-column rules, PDF/UA accessibility, country/industry CV norms (US/UK/DE), keyword hygiene. Load for changes under export/, model/, theme/, templates/, locale/, fonts, layout/.

Resume/CV export standards — ATS-safe & accessible

External best-practices for generating resumes that real ATS parse and that meet accessibility law. Load with author-contract (pdf-docx-generator) / token-efficiency (resume-export-expert). Pairs with the repo's docs/knowledge/resume-domain.md (the export contract).

ATS-safe formatting (verified 2026-06)

Parsers read linearly, top→bottom, left→right — design for that.

• Single-column, reverse-chronological. Multi-column / side-by-side scrambles reading order into "word salad." https://www.jobscan.co/blog/resume-tables-columns-ats/
• No tables/text-boxes/grids for layout. Modern ATS tolerate a simple one-cell table but tab stops are safer; skills as commas/bullets/|, never a grid.
• Contact info in the BODY, never headers/footers — ATS dropped header/footer contact info ~25% of the time. https://www.jobscan.co/blog/ats-formatting-mistakes/
• Standard fonts (Arial, Calibri, Helvetica, Times New Roman, Georgia, Garamond, Cambria, Verdana), 10–12pt; custom display fonts → fallback-render breakage.
• Standard •/- bullets only — icon glyphs/dingbats parse as [NULL]; replace icons with text labels ("Phone:" not 📞).
• No graphics/charts/logos/photos/skill-bars (US/UK/CA — see country norms); images are invisible to parsers.
• Standard section headings ("Work Experience", "Education", "Skills") — creative titles ("My Journey") aren't recognized.
• PDF vs DOCX: text-selectable PDF now parses ≈ DOCX in modern systems (Workday/Greenhouse/Lever); DOCX safer for older/stricter ATS; default PDF unless the posting asks for Word; never image-only/scanned PDF. https://www.resumemate.io/blog/pdf-vs-word-for-resume-2026-which-format-ats-actually-prefers/
• File name FirstName-LastName-Role.pdf (descriptive, no spaces/special chars).
• Dates consistent Mon YYYY – Mon YYYY; no apostrophes (Jan '21), no year-only when months exist.
• Keywords mirror JD terminology inside achievement bullets with metrics — don't repeat; stuffing drops scores ~30% (parsers detect repetition + understand synonyms). https://blog.theinterviewguys.com/ats-resume-optimization/

Document accessibility (PDF/UA = ISO 14289 · WCAG 2.2 AA)

• Tagged structure (most important), logical reading order, real heading hierarchy (not visual sizing). https://accessibility.build/guides/pdf-accessibility
• Declare document language + Title metadata; embed fonts with ToUnicode; bookmarks for 20+ pages.
• Alt text on meaningful images; decorative → artifact; data tables get header-cell markup.
• Accessible DOCX (built-in Heading styles + real lists/tables + alt text) maps to PDF tags on export. https://daisy.org/guidance/info-help/guidance-training/content-creation/accessible-pdf/
• 2026 driver: EU European Accessibility Act applied 2025-06-28, enforcement ramping through 2026 (EN 301 549 → WCAG 2.1 AA + PDF/UA). https://www.levelaccess.com/compliance-overview/european-accessibility-act-eaa/

Country / industry CV norms (2026)

Element	US / UK / CA / AU	Germany / EU
Photo	Omit	Expected (formal headshot, top-right)
Date of birth	Omit (anti-discrimination)	Often included
Address	City/country only	Full address standard
Length	1–2 pages	1–2 pages (Lebenslauf), often signed/dated

• German AGG means a photo/DOB cannot be legally required, yet most DE employers still expect a photo. https://www.topcv.io/blog/cv-for-germany-complete-guide-2026
• Creative/design roles tolerate portfolios + visuals; finance/legal/gov/academic and any ATS-screened pipeline demand the plain single-column rules.

Common ATS-failure mistakes (quick reject list)

1. Multi-column/table layout → scrambled reading order. 2. Contact info in header/footer → ~25% dropped. 3. Icons/photos/skill-bars/charts → invisible/[NULL]. 4. Custom display fonts → fallback breakage. 5. Image-only/scanned PDF → zero text. 6. Creative section headings → section unrecognized. 7. Inconsistent/apostrophe/year-only dates → misparsed tenure. 8. Keyword stuffing → ~30% penalty.

Take: ATS-safe and accessible are the same single-column, tagged, text-first artifact — they reinforce, not conflict. (Vendors don't publish parser specs, so "simple tables parse OK" is the weakest claim — hedge it.)