Most large companies — and a growing number of smaller ones — run job applications through an Applicant Tracking System (ATS) before a recruiter sees them. Your cover letter is scanned, parsed, and scored. If it does not contain the right signals, it gets filtered out before any human reads it.
The good news: writing an ATS-friendly cover letter does not mean stuffing in keywords or writing like a machine. It means being specific and intentional with language you would use anyway.
What ATS Software Actually Checks
Modern ATS tools look for several things in a cover letter:
- Keyword matches. Skills, tools, and role-specific terms from the job description.
- Job title alignment. Whether you have held a role similar to the one you are applying for.
- Formatting. Many ATS systems struggle with tables, columns, text boxes, and unusual fonts. Plain, single-column text parses better.
- Relevance signals. Mentions of the company name, the specific role, and industry-relevant terminology.
How to Optimise Without Keyword Stuffing
Mirror the job description language
If the job post says “stakeholder management,” use that phrase — not “working with internal teams.” If they say “data-driven decision making,” use that exact phrase somewhere in your letter. ATS systems are literal; synonyms often do not match.
Read the job description carefully and note the specific words and phrases they repeat. Those are your priority keywords. Work them into sentences naturally, in context.
Use the exact job title
Include the job title you are applying for somewhere in your first paragraph. “I am applying for the Senior Product Manager role” is a direct signal that is easy for ATS to pick up.
Keep formatting simple
Standard paragraph text. No columns. No tables. No text boxes or decorative elements if you are submitting as a PDF (some ATS systems convert to plain text internally, and complex layouts become garbled).
Headers like “Dear Hiring Manager” and a standard sign-off are fine — they are expected and help with parsing.
The Keywords That Matter Most
Focus on three categories from the job description:
- Hard skills. Specific tools, technologies, methodologies. If they list Salesforce, Figma, SQL, or Python — and you have used them — they go in your letter.
- Soft skills they name explicitly. If they say “cross-functional collaboration” three times, that phrase matters to them.
- Industry terminology. B2B, SaaS, FMCG, fintech — whatever vertical they are in, use their language.
What Does Not Help (And Can Hurt)
- Repeating the same keyword five times in one paragraph.
- Including keywords that do not reflect your actual experience — you will be found out in the interview.
- Unusual file formats. Submit PDF unless they specifically ask for Word.
- Headers and footers with your contact info in text boxes — some ATS systems cannot read these.
The Fast Way to Get This Right
Reading a job description, identifying the key terms, and weaving them naturally into a cover letter takes practice and time. CoverDraft does this analysis automatically — it reads the job post, identifies the keywords that matter, and writes a letter that includes them in context.
The job fit score tells you exactly how well your background matches the role before you even start writing — so you know which skills to emphasise and which gaps you might need to address.