If you’ve applied for a job at any mid-to-large Australian company recently, there’s a very good chance your resume was first read by a machine, not a person. AI-powered applicant tracking systems (ATS) are now standard across most industries, and understanding how they work is no longer optional — it’s essential.

How AI Screening Actually Works

The old ATS systems were basically keyword matchers. They’d scan for specific terms and rank candidates accordingly. The newer generation is significantly more sophisticated.

Modern AI screening tools analyse your resume for contextual relevance, not just keyword density. They look at career progression, role consistency, skills adjacency, and even how your experience maps against successful hires in similar positions. Some systems now parse portfolio links and LinkedIn profiles as part of the screening process.

This means the old trick of stuffing your resume with keywords from the job description is less effective than it used to be — and can actually hurt you if the AI flags it as unnatural.

What This Means for Your Portfolio

Here’s the part most career advice misses: your digital portfolio is increasingly part of the AI screening process. When you include a portfolio URL on your resume, some ATS platforms will crawl that link and factor the content into your overall score.

That means your portfolio needs to be:

• Well-structured with clear headings so automated tools can parse it
• Text-rich, not just images — AI can’t evaluate a screenshot of your work the way a human can
• Keyword-relevant to your target roles without being spammy
• Fast-loading and mobile-friendly — if the crawler times out, it’s a missed opportunity

Companies like Team400 are building AI systems that help organisations make better hiring decisions, and the technology is only getting more nuanced. The takeaway for candidates is clear: your entire digital presence is now part of your application.

Practical Steps to AI-Proof Your Resume

1. Use standard section headings. “Professional Experience” not “My Journey So Far.” AI parsers expect conventional structure.

2. Include both acronyms and full terms. Write “Search Engine Optimisation (SEO)” so you’re covered either way.

3. Quantify everything possible. AI systems are trained to identify and weight measurable outcomes. “Managed a team of 12” parses better than “led a large team.”

4. Match the job description naturally. Read the posting carefully and mirror its language where genuine. If they say “stakeholder engagement,” use that phrase instead of “client management” — assuming your experience supports it.

5. Use a clean, simple format. Tables, columns, headers in images, and unusual fonts can confuse parsers. Stick to a single-column layout with standard fonts.

The Portfolio Connection

Your resume gets you past the AI. Your portfolio convinces the human. They work as a pair, and the smartest candidates treat them that way.

Here’s what I recommend to my clients:

• Your resume should reference 2-3 specific portfolio case studies by name
• Each case study on your portfolio should include the same keywords and role titles you’d use on a resume
• Your portfolio’s “About” page should read like an expanded professional summary

When a recruiter clicks through from your resume to your portfolio, the experience should feel connected. Same tone, same positioning, same story — just with more depth.

What About AI-Generated Resumes?

I get asked about this constantly. Yes, AI tools can draft resumes and cover letters. And yes, recruiters can often tell when they do.

My advice: use AI as a starting point, not a finished product. Let it help you structure your thoughts and identify gaps, but then rewrite everything in your own voice. The goal is to sound like a competent professional, not a language model.

The same applies to your portfolio content. AI can help you outline case studies and draft descriptions, but the specific details — the project context, the challenges, the personal reflections — need to come from you. That authenticity is what separates a forgettable application from one that gets a callback.

Stay Ahead of the Curve

AI recruitment technology is evolving quickly. The best thing you can do is maintain a portfolio that’s genuine, well-structured, and regularly updated. Machines and humans alike respond well to clarity and substance.

Keep your portfolio URL on every application. Make sure it loads fast, reads well, and tells a coherent story about who you are and what you deliver. That combination — a strong resume paired with a compelling portfolio — remains your best strategy for landing interviews, regardless of whether the first reader is human or artificial.