More Kenyan companies now use Applicant Tracking Systems to pre-screen CVs. Here is how to make sure yours is actually being read.
Larger Kenyan employers, multinational companies and NGOs increasingly use Applicant Tracking Systems (ATS) — software that scans, ranks and filters CVs before a recruiter ever sees them. A CV that looks great to a human eye can be misread or rejected outright by these systems if it is not formatted correctly, which means a technically excellent candidate can be filtered out before the interview stage even begins.
An ATS parses your CV into a structured database — pulling out your name, contact details, work history, education and skills into separate fields. If the software cannot correctly read a section because of unusual formatting, that information may be recorded as blank or garbled, even though it is clearly visible on the page to a person.
Use a single-column layout, standard section headings ("Work Experience," "Education," "Skills"), a common font (Calibri, Arial, Times New Roman), and standard round or square bullet points.
ATS systems typically rank candidates partly by how closely their CV matches keywords in the job description. Read the job advert carefully and mirror the specific terms used — if the advert says "stakeholder management," use that exact phrase rather than a close synonym like "client relations," even if they mean roughly the same thing to a human reader.
Submit your CV as a Word document (.docx) unless the employer specifically requests a PDF — some older ATS systems parse Word documents more reliably than PDFs, though this gap has narrowed with modern systems. Name your file clearly, such as "FirstName-LastName-CV.docx," rather than a generic name like "CV new final 2.docx," which can look disorganized when a recruiter downloads dozens of applications into one folder.
Single-column layout, no tables or text boxes
Standard section headings (Work Experience, Education, Skills)
Contact details in the main body, not header/footer
Keywords from the job advert used naturally throughout
Saved as .docx with a clear, professional filename
After formatting your CV, copy and paste the full text into a plain text editor (like Notepad). If the sections still read clearly in the correct order, your CV is likely ATS-safe. If it becomes a jumbled mess, an ATS may read it the same way.