How to create a resume using ChatGPT, with the exact prompt
Most resumes written by ChatGPT are filtered out before a person reads them, because of the formatting rather than the writing. Here is a prompt that avoids that, and what to gather before you run it.
Pratham Kumar
ChatGPT will write you a resume in about ten seconds. Most of what it produces gets filtered out before a person ever reads it — not because the writing is bad, but because the formatting is unreadable to the software that screens applications first.
This is the prompt we use, the information you need to collect before running it, and the checks worth doing on the output.
Why most ChatGPT resumes get filtered out
Larger employers run applications through an Applicant Tracking System before a human sees them. The system reads your file, tries to pull out your name, your roles, your dates and your skills, and stores them as fields. Anything it cannot read is simply not there.
- Tables and columns scramble the reading order. A two-column layout that looks smart on screen can come out interleaved as plain text, with your job titles landing inside your skills list.
- Icons, graphics and skill bars carry no text. A five-star rating next to "JavaScript" tells the parser nothing at all.
- Details in headers and footers get dropped. Your phone number and email are the worst possible things to lose.
- Generic output does not match the posting. Ask for "a resume for a developer" and you get one that fits nobody in particular, which is what the keyword matching is looking for.
The prompt below rules all of that out explicitly, which is why it is long. Every restriction in it exists because a resume failed on that specific point.
What to gather before you start
Collect these first. The prompt is built to refuse to invent anything, so whatever you leave blank is simply missing from the finished resume.
- Contact details. Name, phone number, email, city, LinkedIn, and a portfolio or GitHub link if you have one.
- The target job title, written the way the employer writes it.
- The full job description, pasted in whole. This is the single highest-value input and the one people skip.
- Every skill, including the tools and platforms rather than only the languages.
- Education, with the institution, location, graduation year, and specialisation.
- Each role, with the job title, company, location, start and end dates, and what you actually did there.
- Certifications, projects and achievements, where they are real. Leave them out where they are not.
Dates and job titles are the two things people summarise and the two things the software most wants exactly. Write them out in full.
The prompt
Paste this into ChatGPT, fill in the fields at the bottom, and send it as a single message.
You are an expert ATS Resume Writer, Professional Resume Designer, Recruiter, and Hiring Manager.
Your task is to create a professional, modern, ATS-friendly resume based on the candidate information and target job description provided below.
The resume must be optimized for both:
Applicant Tracking Systems (ATS)
Human recruiters and hiring managers
The final resume should look polished, structured, readable, and professionally designed while remaining ATS-compatible.
IMPORTANT DESIGN RULES
Create the resume using a clean professional layout.
Use:
Clear section headings
Bold section headings
Horizontal divider lines between major sections
Consistent spacing
Consistent date formatting
Clear hierarchy between name, job title, company, and responsibilities
Bullet points for experience and skills
Short paragraphs
Professional typography
Strong visual separation between sections
Use a simple horizontal divider such as:
Do NOT use:
Tables
Text boxes
Multiple columns
Icons
Emojis
Graphics
Photos
Skill bars
Star ratings
Decorative shapes
Excessive colors
Complex layouts
Headers/footers containing important information
The divider lines must be created using plain text characters so the resume remains ATS-readable.
RESUME STRUCTURE
Use this structure unless a different structure is clearly better for the candidate.
FULL NAME
Target Job Title
Phone | Email | City, State | LinkedIn | Portfolio/GitHub
PROFESSIONAL SUMMARY
Write a highly targeted 3-5 line professional summary based on the target job description.
The summary must:
Clearly identify the candidate's professional profile
Mention relevant experience
Highlight the strongest job-relevant skills
Naturally include important ATS keywords
Communicate the candidate's value
Avoid generic statements
CORE SKILLS
Organize relevant skills in a clean, ATS-friendly format.
Example:
Technical Skills: JavaScript, React, Node.js, SQL
Tools: Git, Docker, AWS
Professional Skills: Project Management, Client Communication, Problem Solving
Only include skills genuinely provided by the candidate or clearly demonstrated through their experience.
PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE
For every position:
JOB TITLE
Company Name | Location | Start Date - End Date
Start each bullet with a strong action verb.
Focus on responsibilities and achievements relevant to the target job.
Mention technologies, tools, processes, and methodologies when relevant.
Quantify achievements when the candidate provides numbers.
Never invent statistics or achievements.
Avoid generic responsibilities.
Use approximately 3-6 strong bullets per relevant position.
Separate each position with appropriate spacing.
EDUCATION
Degree / Qualification
Institution Name | Location | Graduation Year
Include specialization when relevant.
CERTIFICATIONS
Only include this section if certifications were provided.
Certification Name - Issuing Organization | Year
PROJECTS
Only include this section when projects are provided and relevant to the target role.
Project Name
Explain what was built or accomplished.
Mention relevant technologies.
Highlight the outcome or purpose.
Include a link only if provided.
ACHIEVEMENTS
Only include this section when meaningful achievements are provided.
ATS OPTIMIZATION
Before writing the resume, silently analyze the job description.
Identify:
Required qualifications
Preferred qualifications
Technical skills
Software/tools
Industry terminology
Responsibilities
Soft skills
Certifications
Important keywords
Job-specific phrases
Seniority level
Then tailor the resume accordingly.
Use the employer's terminology where it accurately matches the candidate's background.
For example, if the job description says:
"Customer Relationship Management"
and the candidate has genuine CRM experience, use:
"Customer Relationship Management (CRM)"
rather than unnecessarily replacing it with unrelated wording.
Do not keyword stuff.
Every keyword must make sense in context.
EXPERIENCE OPTIMIZATION
Rewrite raw experience into professional resume language.
Prefer this structure:
Action + What was done + How it was done + Result
Example:
Weak:
"Worked on website development."
Strong:
"Developed responsive websites using React and Node.js, integrating REST APIs and database services to deliver scalable web applications."
Never invent technologies that the candidate did not provide.
Never invent:
Employers
Job titles
Degrees
Certifications
Technologies
Metrics
Revenue
Percentages
Awards
Responsibilities
If information is missing, simply write the strongest truthful version possible.
FORMATTING RULES
Follow these formatting rules exactly:
Candidate name must be the most prominent text.
Target job title should appear directly below the name.
Contact information should appear directly below the target title.
Every major resume section must have a horizontal divider above it.
Section headings must be uppercase and bold.
Job titles must be bold.
Company names should be clearly distinguishable from job titles.
Dates must use a consistent format.
Experience must use bullet points.
Avoid paragraphs longer than 3-4 lines.
Maintain consistent spacing throughout the resume.
Keep the resume concise.
Prioritize the most relevant information.
Do not include irrelevant personal information.
Do not use first-person pronouns such as "I", "me", or "my".
Do not include a career objective unless specifically appropriate.
Do not include references unless requested.
Do not include "References available upon request."
Do not use decorative symbols.
Do not use emojis.
FINAL ATS CHECK
Before producing the final answer, silently perform an ATS quality check.
Verify:
Target job title is clear.
Relevant keywords are present.
Skills match the job description where applicable.
Experience is relevant and achievement-focused.
No fabricated information exists.
No keyword stuffing exists.
Standard section headings are used.
Dates are consistent.
Grammar is correct.
Spelling is correct.
Resume is easy to scan.
Horizontal dividers separate major sections.
The resume remains readable if converted to plain text.
The resume is suitable for PDF conversion.
The resume looks professional rather than like raw text.
OUTPUT INSTRUCTION
Output ONLY the finished resume.
Do not explain your decisions.
Do not provide an ATS score.
Do not provide keyword analysis.
Do not provide recommendations after the resume.
Do not add introductory text such as "Here is your resume."
The final output should look like a finished professional resume.
CANDIDATE INFORMATION
CONTACT DETAILS
Name:
Phone Number:
Email:
Address:
LinkedIn:
Portfolio/GitHub:
TARGET JOB ROLE
Job Title:
JOB DESCRIPTION
Paste the complete job description here:
SKILLS
List all skills here:
EDUCATION
Degree:
Institution:
Location:
Graduation Year:
Specialization:
EXPERIENCE
Experience 1
Job Title:
Company:
Location:
Start Date:
End Date:
Responsibilities / Achievements:
Experience 2
Job Title:
Company:
Location:
Start Date:
End Date:
Responsibilities / Achievements:
CERTIFICATIONS
PROJECTS
ACHIEVEMENTS
ADDITIONAL INFORMATIONFilling it in
A completed contact block looks like this — plain values, one per line, no formatting:
CONTACT DETAILS
Name: Pratham Kumar
Phone Number: +91987654321
Email: pratham@gmail.com
Address: Delhi, India 110001
SKILLS
JavaScript, Node.js, React.js, Next.js, Nest.js, AWS, CI/CD,
PostgreSQL, SQL, MongoDB, Redis, Cloud Deployment
EDUCATION
Degree: B.Tech
Institution: IIT Mandi
Location: Himachal Pradesh, India
Specialization: Computer Science and EngineeringTwo fields decide whether the output is worth anything. Target job title and job description are what the entire optimisation half of the prompt reads from — without them it produces something generic, which defeats the point of using a prompt this specific.
The other one worth care is your experience. "Worked at a company for 1.5 years" gives the model a heading and nothing to put under it. Write out what you built, what you used, and what changed as a result, in whatever rough English comes out. Turning rough notes into resume language is the job the prompt is good at. Inventing the notes is the job it is instructed never to do.
What to check before you send it
Read the output properly. It is a draft written by something that has never met you.
- Check every fact. Job titles, dates, employers, degrees, numbers. Anything you did not supply and cannot verify comes out.
- Copy it into a plain text editor. If it survives that intact, the parser will cope. If sections collapse into each other, the layout is doing something it should not.
- Read the summary aloud. This is where generic writing hides, and it is the first thing a person reads.
- Confirm the dates are consistent and that gaps are what you expect.
- Export to PDF, then reopen it and try selecting the text. If you cannot select your own phone number, neither can the software.
Run it again with a different job description for each application. The point of a prompt built around the posting is that the output changes when the posting does — a single saved resume sent everywhere gives up the only real advantage here.
A tool, not a shortcut
What this does well is structure, phrasing and consistency: turning what you already did into language a recruiter reads quickly and a parser reads correctly. What it cannot do is know your work. That part is still yours to supply, and the resumes that land are the ones where somebody did.
The same honesty applies from the other side of the table — if you are the one hiring rather than applying, how to hire an offshore development team without getting burned covers what to check in the people answering your posting. We are a development team based in Himachal Pradesh, and if you want a hand with the tooling side of your business, talk to us — the first conversation is free.
Frequently asked questions
Can ChatGPT write a resume that passes ATS screening?
It can, provided you tell it what the software needs. Left to its own devices it produces tables, columns and decorative formatting that a parser reads out of order or drops entirely. A prompt that bans those explicitly, asks for plain-text dividers, and uses standard section headings gets output that survives the screen.
What information do I need before I start?
Contact details, the target job title, the full job description, your skills, your education with dates, and each role with its title, company, location, dates and what you actually did. Certifications, projects and achievements only where they are real. Anything you leave blank stays out of the finished resume.
Why does the job description matter so much?
Roughly half the prompt is about matching the employer's own terminology where it genuinely fits your background. With no posting to read, that half does nothing and you get a generic resume. Paste the complete description rather than the job title alone, and run the prompt again for each application.
Will ChatGPT make things up on my resume?
It will if you let it. That is why the prompt tells it never to invent employers, job titles, degrees, certifications, technologies, metrics or awards, and to write the strongest truthful version instead when something is missing. Check every fact in the output regardless — a fabricated detail is your problem at interview, not the tool's.
Should I use a template with columns and icons instead?
Not for an application that goes through an automated screen. Two-column layouts can come out interleaved as plain text, icons and skill bars carry no readable text at all, and details in headers or footers are commonly dropped. Keep the design in the typography and the spacing.
How do I check the resume is actually readable?
Copy it into a plain text editor and read it. If the sections stay separate and in order, a parser will cope. Then export to PDF, reopen it, and try selecting your phone number with the cursor — if you cannot select it, it is an image and the software cannot read it either.
How long should the resume be?
One page for most people with under about ten years of experience, two if you genuinely have the history to fill it. The prompt asks for the most relevant information first, so if the output runs long the usual fix is cutting older or less relevant roles rather than shrinking the type.
