In this guide
ATS and application systems
Fonts, bullets and special characters on a resume
Which fonts, bullet styles and symbols tend to survive when resume text is extracted, how to keep accented names intact and how to spot garbled characters.
Fonts
A standard font that is installed on most computers keeps your layout stable when the file is opened elsewhere and avoids character substitution. Choose a size that stays comfortable to read on screen and on paper, and keep one font for the body and, at most, one more for headings.
Icon fonts, where a letter is displayed as a symbol, are a particular risk: the extracted text may be a stray letter instead of the phone or email icon you see.
Characters that can change on the way through
| Character | Risk | Use instead |
|---|---|---|
| Round bullet or hyphen | Low | Fine to keep |
| Arrows, ticks, stars or custom bullet images | Medium | Round bullets or hyphens |
| Emoji | Medium | Words |
| Smart quotes and long dashes | Low | Fine, but check the paste test |
| Icon-font symbols for phone or email | High | The words 'Phone' and 'Email' |
| Accented letters (é, ñ, ø) | Low in standard fonts | Keep your name's correct spelling and check it |
Protecting names and accented characters
Spell your name correctly, including accents. Standard fonts handle accented letters, and changing your name to suit software is not something you should have to do. Check that it pastes out correctly; if a portal form garbles it, type it into the form field by hand.
Illustrative example
Spotting a garbled character
Before
Pasted text: 'José MartÃnez – Project Coordinator'
After
Pasted text: 'José Martínez, Project Coordinator'
The first line shows accented letters broken into two odd characters. Re-export the file from your word processor with a standard font and test again.
A quick formatting pass
Before you export
- One standard body font, at a readable size.
- Simple bullets used consistently.
- No emoji or icon-font symbols in place of words.
- Name and place names spelt correctly, accents included.
- Copy-and-paste test shows no garbled characters.
Common questions
Do serif fonts cause problems?
Not because they have serifs. Any common, installed font works; the risk comes from unusual or decorative fonts that are replaced or render symbols as letters.
Should I remove the accents from my name?
No. Keep your name as it is and check it survives the paste test. Correct a portal field by typing it if autofill gets it wrong.
Put it into practice
See how Luceria helps with thisDrafted with AI assistance and checked against Luceria’s editorial standards. Examples are illustrative, not real people’s results. Spotted something out of date? Tell us.