An applicant tracking system (ATS) is a tool designed to stand between you and your next job. Okay, snark aside, it is an indispensable tool for recruiters to filter hundreds or thousands of resumes down to the ones that the hiring manager should look at. [Read fuller version here: https://lnkd.in/e5RNqYiA —but PLEASE return here to leave comments and repost!] Unfortunately, these machines aren't terribly smart, and if your resume doesn't explicitly speak to the job description, you're likely to get ghosted, or rejected immediately. I tested BambooHR, which is human-centric, but since many others aren't so polite, here are common tips for making your escape. —Uglify your resume— As someone who values visual design and enjoys putting real work into presentations and documents, this one causes me physical pain… but, many applicant trapping systems choke on pretty resumes. Ugly it up, because it needs to be machine parsable. So: • Ditch columns, tables, footers, and other nice-looking groupings. • Use MM/YYYY dates. • Avoid icons and graphics • Use system fonts or submit PDFs. • Don't differentiate your structure…parsability is key (e.g. your name → objectives → contact info → top skills → work experience → education (in brief)). —Customize your resume for each application— Assuming your resume is parseable, the ATS's main job is to scan it for keywords. The general advice is to *use* keywords without *stuffing* them. Completely awkward and artificial use of keywords isn't going to help, so be judicious. Choose keywords from the job description itself (and common parlance in your domain). Make sure your keywords aren't misrepresenting you… you'll have to back them up at some point. —Use Jobscan or Skillsyncer— I tried Jobscan and a couple of similar tools. Not exactly an exhaustive search, but I found that one Jobscan competitor parsed my resume and helpfully regurgitated it in a format chock full of known bad practices. Yikes. Jobscan and Skillsyncer both compare your real resume to a real job posting and give you solid advice. The free versions of each are fairly robust. —SKIP THE ATS AND CHANGE THE GAME— The easiest trap to get out of is the one you didn't step in. Instead of sending your resume into a potential black hole, work personal connections to get close to the hiring manager or anyone else on the inside. Treat it like you're a one-person sales org: • Prospect for potential buyers (the companies you're interested in). • Find out who the decision-makers are, e.g. by combing through the company's LinkedIn. (Failing that, you can look for people in a similar role to the one you want.) • If you have connections in common, see if you can get an intro. • Reach out and ask how you can help them solve the problem that necessitated the job posting. You'll still need an ATS-friendly resume, but having the inside track lets you skip the line. #hiring #productmanagement #job #layoffs2023 #ats #resume #ats #keywords #selfmarketing
• Skip Balch
1y
Good, solid, fundamental advice here Glen! "Ugly up our resume". Would not have thought of that one. Networking is still the best path to your new gig. Problem is, if you haven't been networking and "giving back" all along you're gonna be late to the party. Best time to network is when you don't need it. #thereisadifference #networknow
I have never known any ATS to reject applicants without being specifically told to knock-out certain applicants based on specific criteria, but I do agree with most of this. PS - for the love of god stop using Times Roman and limiting to one page. They are IMPOSSIBLE for us to read. And also, work your network. Very few people get jobs by applying. Love, your favorite recruiter-type.