What does an ATS see when it reads a resume?

Resume parsing converts document content into text and then classifies portions of that text as contact information, work history, education, skills and other candidate data. A clean visual design can still parse poorly if the underlying reading order jumps between columns, repeats headers or stores essential content inside images. Conversely, a plain document with consistent headings and dated work entries is usually easier to interpret. Parsing does not determine the entire hiring decision: employers can configure screening questions, searches, workflows and human review differently. The practical test is to inspect what was extracted. Lineup CV imports supported files into editable fields, reports recognized layout problems and lets the candidate compare the structured result with the source before creating a new PDF.