Skip to content
JL JobLabs

UK Recruitment Glossary

ATS (Applicant Tracking System)

Alex By Alex · 12-year UK recruiter · Updated April 2026

In recruiter context

Workday, Greenhouse, Taleo, iCIMS and SmartRecruiters are the ones I see most. The ATS is what reads your CV first, before any human does. If your CV is a two-column PDF with text in image form, the ATS often can't parse it and you get filtered out before a recruiter ever sees you. That's why ATS-friendly formatting matters more than design flair.

Related terms