An ATS-friendly resume for Colombia (a hoja de vida, as it's called there) is one that recruiting software can read without errors and that carries the exact words of the vacancy: one column, standard section names, real text instead of tables or graphics, and achievements with numbers written in the terms the company uses.
The local name is also used in parts of Ecuador and Costa Rica; for the ATS it's the same document as any resume or CV. It isn't an official format or a file you download: it's a way of building the document. And it has nothing to do with the Minerva 1003 form or the SIGEP format, which exist for paperwork and public-sector jobs, not for a private company filtering candidates with an ATS.
This guide covers how to know if your resume passes the ATS in Colombia and how to build one step by step, with an example and a section for a first job.
What an ATS-friendly resume is in Colombia (and why it isn't the Minerva or SIGEP format)
An ATS (applicant tracking system) is the program where a company receives resumes, converts them to text, splits them into fields (name, title, company, dates, education, skills), and ranks them by how well they match the vacancy. The job portals you already know, like Computrabajo, elempleo, or LinkedIn, work similarly under the hood, and large companies run their own: 97.8% of the Fortune 500 had a detectable ATS in 2025, according to Jobscan.
That gives you the three things that make a resume "ATS":
It converts to text without losing anything. One column, no tables, no photo with text on it.
The software finds the sections. Headings like "Experiencia laboral" and "Formación académica" (or their English equivalents), not creative titles.
It contains the vacancy's words. If the posting asks for "SAP", "Excel avanzado", and "atención al cliente", those words are written exactly like that.
The Minerva 1003 is a printed form with boxes that many small businesses still ask for and that remains valid in the Colombian public sector; the SIGEP single format belongs to Función Pública. Both exist and are valid for what they're for.
What you shouldn't do is scan a Minerva and upload it to a private vacancy: to the ATS it's an image, and nothing can be read from an image. We explain that in detail in how the ATS parser reads your resume.
How to know if your resume passes the ATS
A two-minute test, no tools:
Open your resume as a PDF and select all the text.
Copy it and paste it into Notepad or a blank email.
Read what came out.
If your name and mobile number come first, each role is followed by its company and dates, and the bullets read in order, the file parses fine. If the text came out scrambled (typical of two-column templates), if the contact details from the header are missing, or if your skills were colored bars and now don't appear, that is the problem the system has with your resume.
That test covers "can it be read". For "does it match the vacancy" you have to compare the text with the specific posting.
You can do it by hand or check your resume free against the vacancy with Dopplio: paste the posting, upload the file, and in about 30 seconds you see the match score, the keywords the vacancy asks for that aren't in your document, and the lines worth rewriting. The tool reads like an ATS and like a recruiter at the same time, and it's free to start.
How to build an ATS-friendly resume step by step
1. Format: one column, no tables, PDF
A single column, top to bottom.
No tables for alignment, no text boxes, no icons or level bars.
Contact details in the body of the document, not in Word's header.
A normal font (Arial, Calibri) at 10 to 12 points.
Export to PDF from Word or Google Docs. Never scan or save as an image.
Photo: optional, and only the image, with no text on it. In Colombia it isn't mandatory; if you include one, keep it small.
Use these headings, in this order: Datos personales (name, city, mobile, email, LinkedIn), Perfil profesional (two or three lines), Experiencia laboral, Formación académica, Habilidades, and, if they apply, Idiomas and Certificaciones. Applying in English? Use Contact, Professional Summary, Work Experience, Education, Skills, Languages, Certifications. The same headings used for a resume anywhere; the full structure with a copy-and-paste template is in free ATS resume template.
Two things that go on a resume in Colombia out of habit and are worth revisiting: the cédula number and date of birth aren't needed (they'll ask later, if you advance), and "Referencias personales" doesn't need half a page; one line saying "Referencias disponibles a solicitud", or nothing at all.
3. The vacancy's keywords, written the way the vacancy writes them
This decides the order in which the recruiter sees resumes. Open the vacancy on Computrabajo, elempleo, or LinkedIn and underline: the job title, the required items, and the tools or programs. Each has to appear in your resume with the same words.
If the vacancy says "SAP", write "SAP", not "accounting software".
If it says "servicio al cliente", don't swap it for "trato con clientes".
Acronym and long form together: "SG-SST (Sistema de Gestión de Seguridad y Salud en el Trabajo)".
If your title was different, clarify in brackets: "Auxiliar administrativo (asistente contable)". Without lying.
Mind the accents: to a strict system, "logística" and "logistica" are different terms.
4. Achievements with a number in every role
After the filter, a person reads it in a few seconds. Each bullet should say what you did, with what tool, and what result it produced. "In charge of inventory" says nothing; "Controlled inventory of 1,200 SKUs in SAP and cut stockouts 18% in a semester" says role, tool, and impact, and it contains two keywords. No percentage? Use quantities, timelines, or number of people or clients.
5. Adapt it to each vacancy
The filter is per vacancy, so the resume is too. You don't have to redo it: in ten minutes you adjust the professional summary to the job title, move the most relevant experience up, and add the missing keywords. How to do it, step by step, is in how to tailor your resume to a job description.
Example: one responsibility before and after
An "Auxiliar contable" vacancy asking for Siigo, bank reconciliations, invoice posting (causación), and Excel.
Before:
In charge of the company's accounting and office support.
What the ATS sees: none of the four words. What the recruiter sees: a vague task.
After:
Posted an average of 350 invoices a month in Siigo, performed bank reconciliations for three accounts, and kept the receivables control in Excel, reducing overdue receivables 15% in six months.
What the ATS sees: Siigo, bank reconciliations, invoice posting, Excel. What the recruiter sees: volume, tool, and result. Same experience, told in the vacancy's language.
ATS resume for a first job or with no experience
The same rules apply; the content changes. If you're looking for your first job or coming out of an internship:
Professional summary with the vacancy's job title and what you already know how to do ("Tecnólogo en gestión administrativa, aprendiz SENA con etapa práctica en...").
Work experience includes internships, the SENA productive stage, teaching assistantships, temp jobs, and university projects, each with a result bullet.
Education above Experience if it's the strongest thing you have.
Skills and courses with the vacancy's tools: Excel, an ERP, a language, a recent free certification.
Keywords matter just as much: the first-job vacancy goes through the same system.
Common mistakes in an ATS resume
A two-column template downloaded or from Canva. Looks good, reads out of order. Made yours in Canva? See the test.
A large photo or one with text on it, or the whole resume saved as an image.
A scanned Minerva form uploaded to a private vacancy.
Half a page of personal references and data like cédula, marital status, or date of birth taking the space of an achievement.
Synonyms instead of the vacancy's words.
The same file for every vacancy.
Contact details in Word's header, which some systems discard.