Is Your Resume ATS Ready?

The conversation about resumes is never ending. The size, format, font – everything from ‘summary’ and ‘objective’ conversations to what constitutes a skill set worthy of inclusion. What is most important today is getting your resume past the elusive Applicant Tracking System (the ATS) and into the hands of someone who can help you (a human).

What is an ATS and how does it determine your ability to land an interview? In a nutshell, the ATS is a type of software that not only accepts large volumes of resumes sent to an employer, it assist the HR/recruiting process by assisting in determining which applicants best fit the “requirements” stated in a job posting. It looks for key words and then excitedly, highlights them. When the ATS “searches and finds” a minimum of key words, that resume will be forwarded to a recruiter for further consideration (aka scrutiny).

Although this may seem like a somewhat ‘inhuman’ approach, it saves a great deal of time and helps employers/recruiters stay organized and objective; key words are presented and names, location and (even misspellings) are not picked up by the ATS and cannot be used to disqualify an otherwise worthy candidate.

Additionally, Social Media does play a role in how the ATS can help or hurt your job search efforts. There are some Applicant Tracking Systems that can be programmed to “pick up” social media sites (such as LinkedIn/FB) and can read these in the same way they can review the resumes of potential employees. *Having a professional presence on Social Media is more important than ever before. Putting it simply, ATS will look for the same keywords on social media as they would in their database. Remember the influence your postings, tweets and updates have on the population you are trying to impress.

While this system is looking for keywords, it is really looking for concrete details about your experience that tie you to the posting – the available opportunity. A good example is if you are looking for an Administrative position, the ATS will look for that title, as well as Office Coordination, Office support or an Administrative certification in the Education section of your resume. The ATS will not, however, search out and highlight words like “outgoing” “innovative” or “detail oriented”. Those are interview words and not a relevant function of the position that is available: be mindful of each word on your resume and how it can move your past that ATS.

Some key points in getting past the ATS would be: avoid sending your resume as a PDF or including charts or graphs…all can be seriously misread by the ATS and render your document unreadable, you can make your resume a little longer than one usually word in order to include the skills and experience that are most relevant and lastly, use “work experience” on your resume to draw the ATS to your actual history as opposed to something more colorful like “background” or “professional overview”….work with the ATS so it can identify and not disqualify you.

The ATS has been blamed for the “black hole” of the recruiting process and while this may seem like the case at times, it has enabled the recruiter to determine which candidate is the closest fit for their opening saving time for all involved. In order to have the best chance of landing your first job or ‘next job’ create an ATS friendly resume and then continue the process by connecting effectively with your Career Center at school, recruiters and staffing firms and being an engaged and professional influencer on LinkedIn.