Today’s job-hunting environment can be a real challenge for candidates. Though technology now offers new and wondrous tools for anyone in search of a job, recent innovations also bring new technological barriers that those candidates must overcome.
As companies have found themselves inundated with resumes and applications, many have turned to applicant tracking systems (ATS) to screen resumes and reject candidates that fail to meet the required job qualifications.
Unfortunately, that means that a qualified candidate may face rejection before their resume even reaches human eyes. These five essential tips can help you avoid that automated rejection and get your resume past the ATS.
What is an ATS?
Applicant tracking systems are technology solutions that screen resumes to verify a candidate’s basic qualifications for the job. The programs review each resume to ensure the candidate has the right experience, education, and skills to fill the position.
In a perfect world, a system like that would quickly reject unqualified candidates. And, leave hiring managers with only the most relevant resumes from which to choose. The ATS does this by scanning resumes in search of specific keywords.
Still, that reliance on pre-selected keywords has a weakness that often causes the technology to reject relevant candidates. In fact, according to an article in Forbes, screeners end up rejecting as many as three-quarters of all resumes.
In many instances, those candidates are rejected simply due to their failure to optimize their resumes in a way that satisfies the applicant tracking systems. Fortunately, there are things that you can do to optimize your resume and minimize that resume rejection risk.
The Five Tips You Need to Get Your Resume Past the ATS
Use a Common, Standard Format
Job hunters have a lot of options available to them when it comes to formatting, but you should resist the urge to be overly creative. Remember that your resume may need to satisfy a preprogrammed automated screener that may not be up to the challenge of reviewing a creative resume.
Keep it simple and avoid fancy fonts, creative color choices, and graphics like charts and tables. These can all confuse an ATS and cause it to reject your resume.
You can get a free ATS resume test with Zipjob’s resume review. This shows you how an ATS is reading your resume and if there are any issues with parsing.
Use Keywords from the Job Descriptions
Like any automated search program, an ATS relies on keywords. To satisfy the program, you need to use the right keywords, both within your skills summary and the contextual body of your resume.
To identify those essential keyworks, simply review the job posting. Most job descriptions and postings use unique keywords related to the position and the company’s qualification requirements.
Send a Word File
ATS programs are also limited when it comes to the types of files that they can read. For example, PDF documents may be a commonly-used option for saving text presentations like a resume, but applicant tracking systems are typically not set up to read them accurately.
Instead, those systems are more likely to identify a PDF as an image. You can ensure that the system accurately reads your resume by saving it as a Word document (.doc), since all ATS programs are well-suited for that type of text format.
Focus on Relevant Content
You should also optimize your resume by focusing only on relevant content. The ATS review will examine your resume in search of the required skills, education, and experience needed for the position.
Obviously, you should only apply for the job if you meet those qualifications, since the ATS will reject your resume if you can’t satisfy those requirements.
But even when you do have the right qualifications, it’s important to avoid irrelevant details that could make it more difficult for the screener to identify the skills and experiences that matter.
Limit the Resume Length
Human hiring managers like to see resumes that are clear and concise. ATS programs also tend to be more accurate with those types of resumes. As a rule, you should try to limit your resume to no more than one or two pages in length, to minimize any possibility that the ATS may become confused.
Check your Work
Finally, never submit your resume until you have thoroughly reviewed it. Check your punctuation, spelling, and grammar. Review it for clarity and brevity and change or cut anything that is unclear or irrelevant.
If possible, have a trusted friend, colleague, or family member review it as well. You may also benefit from having it reviewed by a professional resume-writer. You can check out this post on the best resume writing services.
In addition, make sure that you have properly named the resume file so that company hiring managers can find it in their database systems. That file name should include your complete name and the word “resume.”
Are You Ready to Get Your Resume Past an ATS?
ATS technology is getting better all the time, making them a more attractive option for many companies. As they grow ever more popular, it will be more important than ever that candidates optimize their resumes to meet ATS requirements.
These five essential tips can help you with optimization process and increase your odds of getting your resume past the ATS.
About the author: Natalya Khaykis is a writer and analyst at ZipJob. She graduated from NYU with a masters and currently resides in New York City. She covers topics related to resume writing and job search. In her free time you’ll find Natalya attempting to cook an edible meal, reading and spending time with her husband.
