Knowing which Applicant Tracking System a company uses gives you a strategic advantage. Different ATS platforms parse resumes differently, have different scoring algorithms, and present candidate data differently to recruiters. While the core principles of ATS-friendly formatting apply universally, understanding the specific platform you are applying through can help you fine-tune your approach.
This guide covers every major ATS platform in the market, with details on who uses them, how they parse resumes, and what you should know as a candidate.
The ATS Market in 2026
The Applicant Tracking System market has consolidated significantly over the past five years. A handful of major platforms now handle the majority of job applications globally. At the same time, newer entrants are pushing the market toward better candidate experiences and more sophisticated AI-powered screening.
The platforms listed below are organized by market segment and include practical information for job seekers.
Enterprise ATS Platforms
These platforms are used by large corporations, Fortune 500 companies, and organizations that process tens of thousands of applications annually.
Workday Recruiting
Used by: Large enterprises across all industries, including many Fortune 500 companies like Amazon, Target, and Bank of America.
Market share: One of the largest ATS platforms globally, with significant penetration in enterprise markets.
Parsing quality: Workday has invested heavily in parsing technology and generally produces accurate results with well-formatted resumes. It handles both .docx and PDF formats reliably.
Candidate experience: Workday applications typically require creating an account and filling out extensive form fields in addition to uploading a resume. The system often pre-fills form fields from your parsed resume data, so clean formatting directly affects how much manual correction you need to do.
Tips for candidates: Use .docx format. Ensure your dates are in a standard format, as Workday uses them to calculate years of experience for filtering. After uploading your resume, always review the pre-filled fields for accuracy before submitting.
Oracle Taleo
Used by: Large enterprises, government agencies, and organizations that adopted ATS technology early. Users include major banks, telecom companies, and government contractors.
Market share: One of the oldest and most widely deployed ATS platforms, though its market share has been declining as companies migrate to newer systems.
Parsing quality: Variable. Taleo’s parser has improved over the years, but it can still struggle with complex formatting. Simple, clean resume layouts produce the best results.
Candidate experience: Taleo applications are often lengthy and require significant manual data entry. The interface can feel outdated compared to newer platforms.
Tips for candidates: Keep your formatting as simple as possible. Use a single-column layout with no tables, text boxes, or graphics. .docx format is strongly recommended. Taleo is one of the platforms most likely to have parsing issues with complex layouts.
SAP SuccessFactors
Used by: Large multinational corporations, particularly those already in the SAP ecosystem. Users include many manufacturing, pharmaceutical, and consulting firms.
Market share: Significant in enterprise markets, especially among existing SAP customers.
Parsing quality: Generally reliable with standard formatting. Integrates with SAP’s broader HR suite.
Candidate experience: The application process varies by company configuration but typically involves uploading a resume and completing a profile.
Tips for candidates: Standard ATS-friendly formatting works well. Pay attention to the specific questions and fields in the application, as SuccessFactors often includes custom screening questions configured by the employer.
iCIMS
Used by: Mid-to-large enterprises across industries, including many healthcare, retail, and financial services companies. Notable users include various hospital networks and retail chains.
Market share: One of the largest independent ATS providers, processing billions of applications.
Parsing quality: Good. iCIMS has invested in parsing technology and generally handles standard formats well.
Candidate experience: iCIMS-powered career pages typically allow you to apply with a resume upload and often support “Apply with LinkedIn” or “Apply with Indeed” shortcuts.
Tips for candidates: Both .docx and well-formatted PDF work. Use standard section headings and consistent date formatting. iCIMS career pages often have company-specific branding, so you might not realize you are using iCIMS until you look at the URL.
Tech-Focused ATS Platforms
These platforms are popular with technology companies, startups, and companies that prioritize a modern candidate experience.
Greenhouse
Used by: Technology companies and startups of all sizes. Notable users include Airbnb, Pinterest, and many well-funded startups.
Market share: Dominant in the technology sector, particularly among companies that prioritize structured hiring processes.
Parsing quality: Excellent. Greenhouse has strong parsing capabilities and a clean, well-designed recruiter interface. Resumes typically parse accurately.
Candidate experience: Greenhouse offers a streamlined application process. Many companies using Greenhouse allow one-click applications or short-form applications. The candidate portal provides good visibility into application status.
Tips for candidates: Greenhouse is one of the more forgiving platforms for formatting, but you should still follow standard ATS-friendly practices for best results. Focus your energy on keyword optimization rather than worrying about parsing.
Lever
Used by: Technology companies, especially mid-stage startups and scaling tech companies. Notable users include Netflix, Shopify, and various high-growth companies.
Market share: Strong in the technology sector, particularly among companies that value candidate relationship management.
Parsing quality: Good. Lever combines ATS and CRM (Candidate Relationship Management) functionality.
Candidate experience: Lever offers a clean, modern application experience. Your profile persists in the system, so even if you are not selected for one role, you may be considered for future openings.
Tips for candidates: Lever’s CRM aspect means your resume and profile data persist long-term. Make sure your information is accurate and up-to-date, as recruiters may reach out about future roles based on your stored profile.
Ashby
Used by: Modern tech companies and startups that want a combined ATS and analytics platform. Growing rapidly in the tech space.
Market share: Newer entrant with growing adoption, particularly among companies that value hiring analytics and structured processes.
Parsing quality: Strong. Ashby was built more recently and incorporates modern parsing technology.
Candidate experience: Clean, fast application process with good transparency into application status.
Tips for candidates: Standard ATS-friendly formatting works well. Ashby’s modern architecture handles both .docx and PDF reliably.
Mid-Market ATS Platforms
These platforms serve small to mid-sized businesses and growing companies.
BambooHR
Used by: Small to mid-sized businesses across industries, often companies with 50-1,000 employees.
Market share: Strong in the SMB market, where it serves as both HR software and ATS.
Parsing quality: Adequate for standard formatting. Less sophisticated than enterprise parsers.
Candidate experience: Simple application process, usually just a resume upload and a few basic questions.
Tips for candidates: Keep your formatting very simple. BambooHR’s parser is less tolerant of complex layouts than enterprise platforms.
JazzHR
Used by: Small businesses and growing companies, often as their first dedicated ATS.
Market share: Popular among small businesses looking for an affordable ATS solution.
Parsing quality: Basic. JazzHR focuses more on workflow management than sophisticated parsing.
Candidate experience: Straightforward application process with resume upload.
Tips for candidates: Use the simplest possible formatting. .docx format is strongly recommended.
Rippling
Used by: Growing companies that use Rippling for their broader HR and IT needs. The ATS is part of a larger suite.
Market share: Growing rapidly as an all-in-one HR platform with ATS capabilities.
Parsing quality: Good, leveraging modern technology.
Candidate experience: Clean, integrated experience.
Tips for candidates: Standard ATS-friendly formatting. Rippling is a newer platform, so its parser handles modern resume formats well.
Breezy HR
Used by: Small to mid-sized businesses looking for a visually appealing and user-friendly ATS.
Market share: Growing in the SMB space.
Parsing quality: Decent for standard formats.
Candidate experience: Modern, drag-and-drop candidate pipeline. Applications are usually quick.
Tips for candidates: Stick with clean formatting and .docx files. Avoid complex layouts as parsing tolerance varies.
Recruiting-Focused Platforms
These platforms blur the line between ATS and recruiting CRM, often used by staffing agencies and recruiting teams.
Bullhorn
Used by: Staffing agencies and recruiting firms worldwide. The dominant platform in the staffing industry.
Market share: Market leader in staffing and recruiting agency software.
Parsing quality: Good. Bullhorn processes a massive volume of resumes and has mature parsing capabilities.
Candidate experience: Candidates often interact with Bullhorn indirectly through staffing agencies. Your resume is uploaded by a recruiter or through a job board integration.
Tips for candidates: When working with staffing agencies, your resume will likely be processed through Bullhorn. Clean formatting ensures accurate parsing, which helps the agency’s recruiters find and present you for relevant roles.
Jobvite
Used by: Mid-market companies across industries, with a focus on recruiting marketing and employee referrals.
Market share: Established player in the mid-market ATS space.
Parsing quality: Solid. Jobvite has been in the market long enough to have mature parsing capabilities.
Candidate experience: Often includes social recruiting features and employee referral programs.
Tips for candidates: Standard ATS-friendly formatting. Jobvite handles both .docx and PDF well.
How to Identify Which ATS a Company Uses
Knowing the ATS can help you fine-tune your approach. Here are several ways to identify which platform a company uses:
Check the Application URL
- URLs containing “myworkdayjobs.com” indicate Workday
- URLs with “greenhouse.io” indicate Greenhouse
- URLs with “lever.co” indicate Lever
- URLs with “icims.com” or “jobs-[company].icims.com” indicate iCIMS
- URLs with “taleo.net” indicate Oracle Taleo
- URLs containing “jobvite.com” indicate Jobvite
- URLs with “ashbyhq.com” indicate Ashby
Look at the Application Page Source
Right-clicking and viewing the page source can reveal platform-specific code or references.
Use Browser Extensions
Several browser extensions and tools can detect the ATS platform being used on a career page.
Check the Job Board Redirect
When you click “Apply” on a job board like LinkedIn or Indeed, watch where you are redirected. The destination URL usually reveals the ATS platform.
Universal ATS Optimization Tips
Regardless of which ATS your target company uses, these practices ensure the best results across all platforms:
Format for the Lowest Common Denominator
Since you often will not know which ATS will process your resume, format for the most conservative parser. This means single-column layouts, standard section headings, no tables or text boxes, and .docx file format. Using the templates on our templates page handles all of this automatically.
Use Both Keyword Variations
Include both acronyms and spelled-out versions of technical terms: “Amazon Web Services (AWS),” “Machine Learning (ML),” “Continuous Integration/Continuous Deployment (CI/CD).” Different ATS platforms may search for different variations.
Tailor for Each Application
Each job posting is configured differently within the ATS, with different required keywords, experience requirements, and scoring criteria. Tailor your resume to each specific job description for the best match score. Our guide on how to tailor your resume to a job description explains this process in detail.
Test with an ATS Checker
Before submitting, run your resume through an ATS checker. Teal provides comprehensive analysis of your resume’s ATS compatibility, including keyword matching against specific job descriptions and formatting review.
For more details on testing tools, see our ATS resume checker guide.
Use a Proven Template
Our CS Resume Template has been tested against all the major ATS platforms listed above. Starting with a template that is known to parse correctly eliminates the formatting guesswork and lets you focus on content optimization.
The Trend Toward Better Candidate Experience
The ATS market is shifting toward platforms that offer better candidate experiences. Newer entrants like Ashby and Lever have pushed established players to improve their application processes. Many companies now offer one-click applications, shorter forms, and better communication about application status.
For job seekers, this means the application process is gradually becoming less painful. However, the fundamentals of ATS optimization remain the same: clean formatting, relevant keywords, tailored content, and proper file format. These principles work across every platform, today and in the future.
Understanding the ATS landscape gives you an informed perspective on the technology that processes your applications. Use this knowledge not to game the system, but to ensure that the system accurately represents your qualifications to the people making hiring decisions.