For job seekers
AR and finance resume check: get past the ATS
Most companies screen resumes with software before a recruiter reads them. I have hired and mentored many finance professionals; here is what an accounts receivable resume needs to get shortlisted.
Why good candidates get filtered out
An applicant tracking system (ATS) reads your resume as text and compares it with the job description. Tables, text boxes, headers and footers, images and unusual fonts can scramble that text. Missing keywords lower your match. A strong candidate can be rejected before a human ever sees the file.
Keywords recruiters search for in AR roles
Use the ones that are true for you, in the words the job description uses:
- Accounts receivable
- Order-to-cash (O2C)
- Collections
- Cash application
- Dispute management
- Credit control
- DSO reduction
- Ageing analysis
- Reconciliation
- Month-end close
- SAP FI-AR
- Oracle
- Excel / Power BI
- Stakeholder management
- GST
- Shared services
Five fixes that make the biggest difference
- Replace duties with results. Not "Responsible for collections", but "Cut DSO from 62 to 48 days across 300 accounts".
- Mirror the job description. If it says "cash application", do not only write "receipts posting".
- Use a simple layout. One column, standard headings (Experience, Education, Skills), no tables or text boxes.
- Name your systems. SAP, Oracle, HighRadius, Excel functions: recruiters filter on them.
- Lead with a three-line summary that states your role, years and two strongest results.
Check yours now
The resume ATS check gives you a score out of 100 across format, contact, keywords, impact, structure and language, a job match score when you paste the job description, and prioritised fixes with example rewrites. Your file is read in your browser, and contact details are hidden before anything is analysed.
Prefer a person? I also offer 1-to-1 resume curation, LinkedIn makeovers and mock interviews for finance and AR roles.
Frequently asked questions
What is an ATS score?
An estimate of how well an applicant tracking system can read your resume and how closely it matches a job description. Each employer configures its ATS differently, so no score guarantees a shortlist.
What keywords should an accounts receivable resume include?
Common ones are accounts receivable, order-to-cash, collections, cash application, dispute management, credit control, DSO, reconciliation, SAP FI-AR and stakeholder management. Use only those that reflect your experience.
Should I use a two-column resume template?
For ATS, a single-column layout with standard headings is safer. Two-column designs and tables often scramble the order of your text.