8 ATS-Friendly Cover Letter Tips That Actually Work

Applicant Tracking Systems reject most cover letters before a human reads them. Here's how to write one that gets through — without sounding robotic.

What is an ATS and why does it matter?

An Applicant Tracking System (ATS) is software that companies use to collect, sort, and filter job applications before a recruiter ever sees them. At larger companies, 75% of resumes and cover letters are rejected by the ATS before reaching a human.

The ATS doesn't read — it scans. It looks for keywords that match the job description, checks formatting, and scores each application. If your cover letter doesn't score high enough, it goes straight to the bin.

The good news: you can beat it with a few simple rules.

1. Use exact keywords from the job description

The ATS matches text literally. If the job description says "project management", don't write "managing projects". If it says "React.js", don't write "ReactJS". Copy the phrasing exactly. Go through the JD and highlight the 5–8 most important terms, then make sure every one appears somewhere in your cover letter.

2. Don't use tables, columns, or text boxes

Most ATS software reads left to right, top to bottom, in plain text. Tables and multi-column layouts confuse the parser. Text boxes are often skipped entirely. Use a simple single-column format with no special layout elements.

3. Avoid headers and footers

Some ATS systems skip the header and footer sections. Your name, contact details, and date should be in the main body of the document, not in a header field.

4. Use standard section headings

ATS systems are trained on millions of resumes and cover letters. They recognize standard headings. If you're writing a cover letter with sections, use straightforward labels the parser will recognize.

5. Submit as .docx or plain PDF (not scanned PDF)

A scanned PDF is an image — the ATS can't read it at all. Submit a native PDF (exported from Word or Google Docs) or a .docx file. The text must be selectable.

6. Match the job title in your letter

Mention the exact job title from the listing in the first paragraph. "I am applying for the Senior Product Designer role" scores better than a generic opening, because the ATS is specifically looking for the role it's filtering for.

7. Keep sentences short and direct

Long, complex sentences make it harder for parsers to extract meaning. They also make it harder for the human recruiter who eventually reads it. Short sentences win on both counts.

8. Check your score before you send

Don't guess whether your cover letter is ATS-ready — check it. Paste your cover letter and the job description into QuickCover's ATS Checker and get an instant keyword match score with a list of what's missing. It takes 30 seconds and can be the difference between an interview and silence.

The balance: ATS-friendly doesn't mean robotic

The goal is to pass the ATS filter and then impress the human. This means your cover letter needs keywords, but it also needs to sound like a person wrote it with genuine interest. The two are not mutually exclusive.

AI tools like QuickCover are useful here: they generate a cover letter that includes the right keywords from the job description automatically, and the output reads naturally rather than stuffed with terms. You get the ATS optimization without writing like a dictionary.