Need this uploaded today, can ats read pdf resumes?

I’m applying for a marketing role and the company portal closes at midnight tonight, so I need to upload my resume today. Someone told me some applicant tracking systems garble PDFs with fancy layouts, and I’ve got a two-column design I spent ages on. Is that actually a real problem or just a myth?

Honestly, it is a real issue with columns. The simplest thing to check first is copying all the text from your pdf into Notepad. If it pastes out of order there, an ATS will probaly garble it too.