• Hiring managers can’t see your specific role
• ATS may not match industry keywords

• Replace generic titles with specific ones (e.g., “Community Outreach Coordinator”)
• Add a brief qualifier in parentheses if the official title was vague

Coordinator, Nonprofit Org

Volunteer Coordinator – Community Outreach (Nonprofit Org)

• Doesn’t demonstrate impact
• ATS looks for action verbs and metrics

• Start each bullet with a strong verb
• Quantify results (e.g., number of volunteers recruited)

Managed volunteer schedules.

Coordinated schedules for 150 volunteers, reducing shift conflicts by 30%.

• ATS filters out resumes missing sector‑specific terms
• Recruiters may think you lack experience

• Add keywords such as “grant writing”, “community engagement”, “program evaluation”
• Mirror language from the job description

Assisted with events.

Organized fundraising events raising $25K, leveraging community partnerships and grant funding.

• ATS may misread dates
• Hiring managers view it as sloppy

• Use month-year format consistently (e.g., Jan 2020 – Present)
• Align dates to the right margin

2019 – 2021

Jan 2019 – Dec 2021

• ATS cannot read images
• File size may exceed limits

• Stick to plain text formatting, use bullet points, avoid logos
• If you need visual flair, attach a separate portfolio PDF

Included a bar chart of volunteer hours.

Listed volunteer hours in text: “Managed 2,000+ volunteer hours annually.”