New job openings are more accessible than ever online.<\/p>\n
That, combined with the relative ease of submitting a job application online, has created a problem for job seekers and hiring companies alike.<\/p>\n
Any given job opening can result in hundreds of incoming resumes, many of which are from unqualified job hunters who believe they\u2019re playing a numbers game.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s worth a try,\u201d they think. This flood of resumes buries qualified candidates and leaves recruiters unable to keep up.<\/p>\n
Instead of sorting through a stack of printed resumes or a cluttered inbox, recruiters at most companies (including 90% of Fortune 500) use applicant tracking systems, or ATS, to keep themselves as organized and efficient as possible.<\/p>\n
This software parses the content on incoming resumes and allows recruiters to search and filter the results. Some ATS even automatically rank and assign a score to applicants based on how well their resume matches the job description.<\/p>\n
While ATS software lightens the load for recruiters by shrinking the applicant pool and keeping things organized in a CRM-style pipeline, they still leave much to be desired.<\/p>\n
Most glaringly, many highly qualified candidates slip right through the cracks with zero consideration.<\/p>\n
When it comes to job applications, we would like to believe that the cream always rises to the top and the most qualified candidates always land interviews. With perfect and impartial ATS algorithms ranking candidates objectively, one could argue that this should be especially true when technology enters the mix.<\/p>\n
But while technology continues to advance, we\u2019re not quite there yet. The ATS algorithms aren\u2019t advanced enough to make nuanced judgements about candidates and the human recruiters pushing the buttons don\u2019t have time to carefully read every incoming resume.<\/p>\n
That means great candidates get ignored or rejected for reasons they might not realize. The ATS aren\u2019t out to get you, they just aren\u2019t yet good at what they do.<\/p>\n
Job seekers need to work in sync with ATS to avoid falling through the cracks due to word choices, formatting decisions, or other seemingly innocuous choices.<\/p>\n
There are dozens of ATS out there, each with their own strengths, weaknesses, and quirks. Following these three tips will help you avoid the most common ATS obstacles.<\/p>\n
While some less-advanced ATS are simply a repository for downloadable resumes, many top ATS allow the recruiter to search applicants for specific keywords.<\/p>\n
The recruiter will often start by searching the job title for which they\u2019re applying.<\/p>\n
For example, if they\u2019re hiring a Client Success Manager, it makes sense that they\u2019ll start with applicants who have \u201cClient Success Manager\u201d in their resume and direct, one-to-one experience.<\/p>\n
Once they\u2019ve exhausted candidates with previous experience, they will likely search for relevant skills that are in the job description, such as \u201ctraining\u201d or \u201cpresentation.\u201d<\/p>\n
Job seekers should analyze the job description to identify the most important titles, hard skills, and other keywords that they should include in their resume. Exact keywords.<\/em><\/strong> Most ATS are not advanced enough to distinguish between different tenses, conjugations, or similar terms.<\/p>\n For example, a recruiter\u2019s search for \u201cmanagement\u201d will probably find your resume only<\/strong> if it contains the word \u201cmanagement.\u201d<\/p>\n Sometimes a recruiter doesn\u2019t even need to search. Some of the more advanced ATS automatically compare an applicant\u2019s resume to the job description or pre-assigned skills and assign a ranking. Recruiters can filter the talent pool to see applicants that were ranked highly, ignoring anyone else. Because of this, it\u2019s critical to use the exact keywords found in a job description.<\/p>\n When an ATS scrapes an uploaded resume for content and keywords, an applicant\u2019s formatting choices can cause errors or hide data. For example, some ATS struggle to read tables or text boxes on a resume and exclude any data contained within. That information might be critical to your qualifications.<\/p>\n The same thing can happen with unusual fonts. While you might hope that your unique font choice will help you stand out, the reality is that ATS might convert your font to a standard font (like Times New Roman) or, much worse, fail to register skills that are in a font it doesn\u2019t recognize.<\/p>\n Some ATS auto-populate fields based on the resume to create a digital applicant profile. The ATS algorithm has to be able to recognize common resume sections in order to do this accurately. This means you shouldn\u2019t get cute with heading titles.<\/p>\n Use basic headings like \u201cWork Experience\u201d<\/em> or \u201cProfessional Experience\u201d <\/em>that the ATS will have been programmed to recognize, rather than something creative like \u201cWhere I\u2019ve Been\u201d <\/em>or “My Background.”<\/em><\/p>\n Format this text simply as a heading or with bold font so as not to obscure it from the ATS.<\/p>\n Sequencing within the work experience section can also make a difference. To account for ATS that try to parse this information, use this order:<\/p>\n Company Name \/ City and State \/ Job Title \/ Start Date – End Date<\/strong>.<\/p>\n In your resume, the sequence would look like this, for example:<\/p>\n Knockout questions are built into many ATS and are typically asked early in the job application process. The purpose is to eliminate applicants who are unable or unwilling to perform key job functions, lack required qualifications, or exhibit other red flags.<\/p>\n These questions are designed to keep hiring managers from wasting their time vetting and interviewing applicants who are unlikely to be among their top candidates.<\/p>\n The term \u201cknockout\u201d is not an exaggeration. Some of these questions are programmed to auto-reject candidates who give the “wrong” answer to the question.<\/p>\n For example, a knockout question for an Account Manager job with an employer who uses Salesforce to manage their sales process might be, \u201cDo you have experience with Salesforce?\u201d If the hiring manager has indicated that they don\u2019t want to have to train the new hire on their CRM software, then answering \u201cno\u201d immediately takes the applicant out of the running without the recruiter or hiring manager even looking at the resume.<\/p>\n A common complaint from job seekers applying through online applicant tracking systems is that they have to repeat information that is already on their resume. For example, an ATS might have an applicant fill out sections for each of their previous positions.<\/p>\n In this case, do not write \u201cSee resume\u201d in these sections! While it may feel redundant, this extra step is an attempt to avoid the resume parsing errors mentioned above. The uploaded resume might be used if a recruiter or hiring manager wishes to print out a physical resume to review or take to the interview, but these other fields are what matters when it comes to searching or ranking.<\/p>\n Take these fields seriously. At a minimum, paste in all the information from your resume. To improve your chances, use these fields to flesh out your skills and experience with content you might have removed from your resume to keep it to one or two pages.<\/p>\n As much as job seekers hate them, applicant tracking systems are here to stay. You might get around them to some degree by taking your job search offline and networking, but it\u2019s hard to avoid them completely.<\/p>\n Don\u2019t fight it. The more you know about ATS and how to work in sync with them, the faster you\u2019ll get through the system, and land an interview.<\/p>\n About the author…<\/strong><\/p>\n Jon Shields is a writer and editor focused on uncovering the hidden obstacles faced by today’s job seekers. He a member of the team at Jobscan<\/a>, a Seattle-based startup specializing in resume and LinkedIn optimization technology for job seekers. Jon is the managing editor of the Jobscan Blog<\/a>, which features in-depth articles from himself and expert contributors on the topics of resume writing, applicant tracking systems, LinkedIn for job seekers, and other job search topics. You can follow or connect with Jon on Linkedin<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Jon Shields shares 3 great tips on how to beat the ATS systems employers use to screen job applicants.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":65,"featured_media":20168,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"old-site-template.php","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[78,82],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5168","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-job-search-advice","category-job-applications"],"last_modified_at":"","edited_by":"Jessica Howington","acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.job-hunt.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5168","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.job-hunt.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.job-hunt.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.job-hunt.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/65"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.job-hunt.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5168"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/www.job-hunt.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5168\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":22585,"href":"https:\/\/www.job-hunt.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5168\/revisions\/22585"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.job-hunt.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/20168"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.job-hunt.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5168"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.job-hunt.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5168"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.job-hunt.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5168"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}} 2. Keep Resume Formatting Simple<\/strong><\/h3>\n
Use a Simple Font<\/em><\/h4>\n
Use Standard Section Headings<\/em><\/h4>\n
Use This Simple Sequence for Experience<\/em><\/h4>\n
\n
3. Take “Knockout Questions” and Additional Fields Seriously<\/strong><\/h3>\n
Avoid “See Resume” Responses<\/em><\/h4>\n
Bottom Line on Beating the ATS<\/h3>\n
\n