Why Tables and Columns Break Your ATS Score (And the Easy Fix)

Multi-column resume templates are everywhere on Canva, Pinterest, and Google Docs. They look polished and modern. They also fail ATS parsing more reliably than almost any other single formatting choice. The reason is mechanical, not aesthetic: ATS parsers read text as a linear stream, and tables/columns break that linearity in ways that produce garbled, unusable output.

If the free ATS resume checker flags formatting issues on your resume, table and column detection is one of the first checks it runs. Here is why this matters and how to fix it.

How ATS Parsers Read Text — And Why Columns Break Them

An ATS parser reads a PDF or Word document from top to bottom, left to right, treating the document as a single stream of text. For a standard single-column resume, this works perfectly: Name at top, summary below, experience in order, education at bottom. The parser extracts text in reading order and correctly identifies which content belongs to which section.

For a two-column resume, the parser reads straight across the full page width. The left column might contain "Project Manager" and the right column might contain "JavaScript, React, Node.js". The parser reads them as a single text chunk: "Project ManagerJavaScript, React, Node.js." The job title and skills list have been merged, and both are now unclassifiable. The ATS cannot tell what section either belongs to.

Tables create a similar problem: cells are read in an order determined by the table's internal structure, which may not match the visual reading order. A contact information table (name, email, phone in a horizontal row) often parses as the three items merged into one long string with no line breaks between them.

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Other Formatting Elements That Break ATS Parsing

• Text boxes — Text inside text boxes is often completely skipped by parsers. If your contact info or skills section is in a text box, the ATS may never see it.
• Headers and footers — Some ATS systems do not read header/footer content. Do not put your name, contact info, or page numbers in the document header.
• Icons and graphics — Images are ignored by text parsers. If you have a phone icon next to your number, the number may still be extracted — but the icon and any adjacent design element can confuse spacing.
• Custom fonts and Unicode symbols — Unusual bullet symbols (→, ✦, ★) can parse as "?" or be skipped. Use standard bullets (•) or simple dashes.
• Text in images — If any part of your resume is an image (common in PDF exports from Canva), that text is entirely invisible to parsers.

How to Fix Formatting Issues for ATS Compatibility

The fix is to rebuild your resume in a single-column format. This does not mean it has to look boring — single-column resumes can still use bold section headers, consistent date formatting, and strategic white space. What they cannot use is a second column.

Step-by-step:

1. Open your resume in Word or Google Docs (not Canva)
2. Remove all tables — replace table cells with plain text lines
3. Move your contact info out of any table or text box — make it the first plain-text lines of the document
4. Remove all text boxes — paste their content directly into the document body
5. Switch to a single-column layout — remove any two-column section
6. Use only standard section headings in bold or all-caps
7. Run the ATS checker again to confirm all formatting flags are cleared

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I use any table in my resume?

It is best to avoid all tables. Even a simple 2-cell contact info table can produce parsing errors in some ATS systems. Plain text with line breaks is always safer.

Are Canva resumes ATS-friendly?

Generally no. Canva resumes use complex layouts with text boxes, columns, and graphics that break ATS text extraction. If you use Canva, choose a clean one-column template and test it thoroughly. The safest option is a plain text document from Word or Google Docs.

What happens if an ATS cannot parse my resume?

If the parser extracts garbled text, your resume profile in the ATS is incomplete or wrong. Your skills and experience may not register, your keyword score will be near zero, and you will rank at the bottom of the candidate queue regardless of your qualifications.