Pass Substack's ATS
Substack uses Lever to filter resumes. Check your ATS score and optimize your resume for Substack's hiring process.
How do I get my resume past Substack's ATS?
Substack screens applications with Lever. Mirror the exact wording from Substack's job posting — Lever ranks resumes on keyword match. Quantify every bullet with a number (revenue impact, scale, efficiency gain) — Substack recruiters scan in 6 seconds. Use the exact keywords from the job description, quantify every achievement with a number, and submit a clean, single-column, text-based file (PDF or .docx) so the parser captures each section. Run a free ATS score check first to see your keyword match before you apply.
Source: ResumeAI — 2026-05-26
Further reading: Free ATS resume checker
Cite as: ResumeAI — withresumeai.com
About Substack's ATS System
Substack uses Lever as their applicant tracking system. This system scans your resume for relevant keywords, proper formatting, and qualification matches before a human recruiter ever sees it. Understanding how Lever works gives you a significant advantage.
75%
of resumes filtered by ATS
6 sec
avg. recruiter review time
250+
avg. applicants per role
Resume examples for Substack's most-hired roles
Substack hires heavily for these social media roles. Each guide includes a free downloadable template pre-filled with the keywords Lever looks for:
Tips to Pass Substack's ATS
Mirror the exact wording from Substack's job posting — Lever ranks resumes on keyword match
Quantify every bullet with a number (revenue impact, scale, efficiency gain) — Substack recruiters scan in 6 seconds
Highlight Engagement, Mobile, Real-Time prominently in a dedicated Skills section
Submit a clean, single-column, text-based PDF — Lever parses these most reliably
General ATS Best Practices
Frequently asked: Substack resume & hiring
What ATS does Substack use?+
Substack uses Lever as its applicant tracking system. Lever parses your resume, extracts your contact info, work history, and skills, then ranks your application against the job description's required keywords. Resumes scoring below a 70–80% keyword match are typically filtered out before a recruiter ever sees them.
What keywords help a resume pass Substack's ATS?+
For Social Media roles at Substack, the strongest resumes include keywords like Engagement, Mobile, Real-Time, Recommendation Systems, Content Moderation, Scale. The single most reliable source of keywords is the specific job posting you're applying to — mirror the exact phrasing (skills, tools, certifications, and outcome verbs) in your Skills section and inside your bullets.
What format should my Substack resume be in?+
Submit a clean, single-column, text-based PDF for Substack. Lever parses this format most reliably. Avoid tables, multi-column layouts, images, icons, headers/footers, and decorative fonts — all are known to break ATS parsing. Use standard section names (Experience, Education, Skills) and a font like Arial, Calibri, or Helvetica at 10–12 pt.
How long does it take to hear back from Substack?+
Most candidates hear back within 1–3 weeks of submitting an application to Substack. Resumes that score 80+ on the ATS keyword match are surfaced to a recruiter within the first 48 hours. If your resume is below 70%, it may never reach a human — run a free ATS score check first to see where you stand before you apply.
Run our Substack ATS checker on your site (free)
Career coaches, university career centers, and bootcamps: embed the live Substack ATS checker on your site with a single <iframe> tag.
<iframe src="https://withresumeai.com/embed/ats-checker/substack" width="100%" height="900" frameborder="0"></iframe>