When designing a CV, the goal is simple: maximise clarity, keyword density and ATS performance. Yet one of the most overlooked obstacles comes from something as small as the hyphen.
At The Career Experts (TCE), we advise candidates to avoid using hyphens altogether. Here’s why.
Hyphens Confuse ATS Systems
Applicant Tracking Systems read CVs by parsing them into data fields. Hyphens can appear as fragments of XML feed instructions, which disrupts parsing and leads to misinterpretation. In practice, this means your CV may not be read correctly, lowering your chances of ranking in recruiter searches.
Hyphens Break Reader Flow
Even when a CV passes the software stage, hyphens create a disjointed, lumpy look on the page. They jar the reader’s eye, making the document harder to scan and weakening your professional presentation. If Microsoft Word flags them with a red underline, this introduces further distraction — a detail that instantly undermines confidence in your application.
The “Hieroglyphic Factor”
Some candidates replace hyphens with symbols, bullets or decorative marks. This is another mistake. Adding “new symbols” creates the same parsing confusion as emojis — ATS software doesn’t know how to interpret them, so the system strips them out. Worse, every unnecessary symbol reduces the keyword density of your document. That directly lowers your ranking position in recruiter searches. In short: it’s maths with words.
The Strategic Advantage of Removing Hyphens
Removing hyphens isn’t cosmetic — it’s a strategic improvement in the digital recruitment circuit. A clean CV maximises ATS compatibility, maintains keyword density, and ensures human readers see a professional, fluid document. Final Word
Your CV isn’t just a document — it’s a strategic tool designed to outpace competitors and take roles off the market in your favour. By eliminating hyphens and adopting clean, modern separators, you immediately elevate the readability, ATS performance, and professional gravitas of your profile.
The verdict is simple: Hyphens have no place in a modern CV.
