According to a LinkedIn study, an estimated 70% of job applications are rejected by ATS, even before a recruiter gets the chance to see it.
As unfair as it sounds, this is the reality and the new normal that many job seekers have to live with.
The study indicates that 90% of fortune 500 companies use the ATS in their hiring process, and another 30% of small businesses use the ATS to attract and source employees.
The only constant thing in life is change, and so is the case with hiring. In the past, recruiters had to go through thousands of resumes to find the ones that meet requirements, but today, the ATS has cut out their jobs.
What is ATS (Applicant Tracking System), and how does it work?
The applicant tracking system is a recruitment software that simplifies recruiters’ work and hiring managed by sorting and ranking the applicants based on their skills and qualification. In many large organizations, open job vacancies attract thousands of applications, and the majority of the applicants lack the necessary skills and qualifications.
Thus, by using the ATS to weed out unqualified candidates, employers save time that would have been used to scan through the applications manually.
While different ATS have different capabilities and functionalities, they have the primary operating mechanism. When you apply for a job through the ATS, you will be requested to answer some questions.
These questions are the knock-out questions meant to weed out and disqualify candidates not meeting the requirements. In most cases, the question are simple and meant to test your competence, years of experience, or skills.
If you fail in the knock-out questions, your resume will be flagged off and auto-rejected at this stage. If you answer the knock-out questions correctly, your application will pass to the following screening stage.
- Organize your resume in the correct style
Most ATS systems are designed to read the resume organized in a pre-determined format. In most cases, the resume will begin with a personal profile, career objective, professional background, summary of the skills, education background, work experience, other-related jobs performed, accomplishments, and references.
Use this format in a proper chronological when drafting your resume. For instance, in the education background, start with the oldest to the most recent. Under the job experience, begin with the oldest to the most current. Unless specified in a job posting, follow this format to ensure your resume is read and interpreted correctly by the ATS system. For instance, instead of using the title ‘places I have worked,’ use the title ‘Job experience.’
- Identify and use keywords on your resume
Optimizing your resume with the right keyword is the best way to create an ATS-compliant resume. The best way to know the right keywords to use on a resume is to read through the job descriptions in your field.
Identify the common words used to describe the skills, experience, qualification, and competence, and include them on your resume.
Remember, keyword optimization goes beyond the hard skills required for a job posting. Soft skills like leadership, team player, ability to cope with pressure, empathy, and cultural orientation are required for most jobs. Thus, other than the listed job requirements, go through websites and job boards to identify the common keyword phrases in your field. Also, avoid buzz words or fluffy words on your resume. Some words like highly motivated, hard worker, people’s people these words have been overused, and some ATS might auto-reject them.
The frequency and the placement of keywords are critical when creating an ATS-optimized resume. Most ATS software determines the strength of a resume based on the number of times keywords, words, or phrases appear. Overusing the keywords can lead to auto rejection as this will be interpreted as keyword stuffing meant to cheat the system.
- Use simple easy to understand words when writing the titles.
Unlike a human being who would understand some creative titles, the ATS is pre-programmed to accept or decline some titles. For instance, when screening candidates for a marketing officer, some acceptable titles can be direct sales representative, business development, and marketing officer.
On the other hand, some titles like a brand warrior and brand enthusiast might get rejected even if they refer to a marketing executive.
Thus, use standard titles when describing your position, former or past. If you are looking for an accounting job, the classic titles can be accountant, accounts administration, or junior accountant.
The ATS might reject some creative titles like corporate or business controllers, even though they refer to an accountant.
- Use the correct format.
Most ATS will accept applications in word and PDF format, thus unless specified, stick to word format. Unlike what most applicants believe, PDF is not the best ATS-friendly format.
Most ATS systems are not compatible with PDF; thus, those consistent with PDF will always state using PDF format on your application. Hence, unless specified, always stick to word format.
Special characters like exceptional graphics are not recommended when drafting an ATS–compliant resume. Besides being declined, unique graphics can make your resume complex to read, even by a human being. Stick to common font type and size. Unless specified, the best font is Ariel, times roman, or Calibri, and the ideal font can be 12.
- Use an ATS-friendly template.
The ideal resume template should make it easy for the ATS to identify, outline and rank your resume. Use a template whose design will not confuse the ATS system, leading to your resume being auto-rejected.
The template should magnify your skills and experience to make it easy for your resume to stand out. Also, the template should not use complex fonts, font size, or special characters as this might lead to auto-reject.
The aim of the template should be to enable the ATS system to process your information correctly. When in doubt, type out your resume in a plain word document.
While thousands of resume templates online claim to be ATS-friendly, understanding the elements of an ATS-friendly resume will make it easy to choose a suitable template.
- Customize the resume for each job
Remember, the overall resume objective is not to bypass the ATS system but to get shortlisted for an interview.
Thus, go through the job advert, identify the critical skills and qualifications required and customize your resume for the job. Ensure that other required skills like soft skills appear on your resume to increase your odds of being shortlisted.
While the ATS is not a new system in recruitment, most candidates still struggle to create a resume that beats the system.
Using these tips, you can create a resume that is not only ATS-compliant but can get you shortlisted for your dream job.
Wrapping Up
Times are gone when you were writing a resume for another human being. Currently, robots are taking the lead on the first stage of the funnel.
For that reason, you must write your resume to please the ATS systems. By doing that, you get a chance to be presented to the recruiter, therefore, showing your full potential.
Thus, whether you are currently job hunting or thinking about making a change, incorporating the elements of the ATS on your resume is a great way to stand out in a crowded marketplace.
