If you have been following trends in the recruiting process you might have seen the term Applicant Tracking Systems (ATS) pop up frequently. As employers and hiring managers have seen a drastic increase in the number of applications that they are receiving in the Digital Age they have begun to switch from viewing each resume individually to using ATS to organize and pre-rank all of the applications. With this new method of screening candidates there are additional steps you need to take to format your application for a job or internship to increase the chance it will get in front of a hiring manager. We will answer questions regarding ATS and advise you on how to best format your applications so they have the best chance of moving on to the next stage of the job recruitment process. What are ATS? As defined by Jobscan, applicant tracking systems are automated software tools that help employers by organizing all of the applications and resumes that are sent to them. ATS are used as alternatives to crowding offices and flooding email inboxes with paper applications. Why Are Employers Using ATS? Employers use ATS more than to just sift through resumes. They also use the software to coordinate with other departments in the company throughout the whole hiring process. For example, many employers use ATS to schedule interviews. Once a candidate has been hired, human resources personnel cam use the system to put employees on payroll. How Common are ATS? There are currently hundreds of types of Applicant Tracking Systems out there and nearly every company uses one in some way shape or form. A report by Jobscan found that 98 percent (all but nine) of Fortune 500 companies use ATS in their hiring processes. Keywords to Optimize Your Resume With the development of ATS it is more important than ever to tailor your resume to each individual job that you are applying for. You should go over your resume and focus on the aspects that you believe will be the most important and relevant for each individual position you are applying for. Most Applicant Tracking Systems are set by the employers to look for keywords. If a resume does not have these keywords it will likely be rejected by the system and a human will never see it. The most common keywords that employers set their ATS to look for are the title of the position. Skills are another important keyword that ATS are usually set to look for. The list of skills can vary depending on the position. However, you should have a set of transferable skills that you should put in every version of your resume. Examples of these “soft skills” include, but are not limited to, communication, critical thinking, teamwork, and creativity. Choose Your Words Wisely Since most Applicant Tracking Systems are set to pick out certain keywords in a resume, you should make sure that the words in your resume will be recognizable. You should avoid acronyms as much as possible even if they are common within your industry. While a human looking at the resume may know what a certain acronym means, the computer may find it ambiguous. Applicants should also keep the headings on their resumes simple. The best headings for your employment history, are either “professional experience” or “work history”. Anything more complex than that might not be recognized by the ATS when it is reviewing your resume. Make sure the dates of your previous jobs are also accurate. You also need to make sure that your resume still represents your skills and experiences. Don’t put keywords in for the sake of keywords. It’s not a good idea to try to fool the system by putting words in white text so that they appear invisible to the human eye but not the ATS. When the resume gets to a human reviewer they will be able to notice those tricks and will most likely disregard your application for being dishonest. Formatting is Important Jobscan has twenty ATS-friendly resume formats that you should use when applying for a job. In general, resumes should be saved as either Microsoft Word or PDF formats. You should also avoid using charts or diagrams in your resume since most Applicant Tracking Systems are unable to read them. If you need to outline or use data your best bet is to stick to bulleted points that are simple and direct. Fonts can be important too. Applicant Tracking Systems are best able to read Arial, Calibri, Georgia and Helvetica. Always Follow the Instructions An applicant tracking system will take a more systematic approach reviewing your resume than a human will. The ATS will not know how to compensate for any errors you might make. Common mistakes that an ATS may not pick up on include uploading a document under the wrong name or submitting a cover letter when you were supposed to submit a resume and vice versa. These mistakes will cause an application to be marked as invalid by an ATS. Always double and triple check that your applications are formatted and submitted under the correct employer guidelines. The workings of Applicant Tracking Systems might sound complicated and overwhelming, but they are a now an integral part of the job search. Following these extra simple tips will help your resume stand out to the system and make sure that it will not slip through the cracks.
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