author:Augustine Amanda Augustine, CPCC & CPR
Here is everything you need to know about applicant tracking systems and how to beat them.
We've all been there: You find the perfect job opportunity, customize your resume and cover letter, submit your application online, and then pray it will pass the infamous six-second resume review test. Unfortunately, more often than not, your job application is lost in the resume “black hole” and you're left wondering why the employer wasn't that into you.
What many job seekers don't realize is that 75 percent of job applications are rejected before they are seen by human eyes. Before your resume reaches the hands of a live person, it often must pass muster with what is known as an applicant tracking system.
Below is everything you need to know about applicant tracking systems — and what you can do to optimize your resume and beat these bots.
What is an applicant tracking system?
An applicant tracking system — or ATS, for short — is a type of software used by recruiters and employers during the hiring process to collect, sort, scan, and rank the job applications they receive for their open positions.
The applicant tracking system was initially created for large corporations that are accustomed to dealing with several thousand inbound job applications on a weekly basis. Today, approximately 98 percent of Fortune 500 companies rely on ATS software to help streamline their recruitment process. However, what began as a recruitment solution for large employers has turned into a commonplace tool for companies of all shapes and sizes.
How do applicant tracking systems (ATS) work?
Applicant tracking systems act as an electronic gatekeeper for an employer. The ATS parses a resume's content into categories and then scans it for specific keywords to determine if the job application should be passed along to the recruiter. Its job is to essentially weed out unqualified applicants so the recruiter can devote his or her time to evaluating the candidates who are more likely to be a match for the position. In other words, the ATS is apt to toss the least-qualified candidates, rather than identify the applicants who are the best fit.
Unfortunately, that means if a resume is not written and formatted with the applicant tracking system in mind, a qualified candidate can be easily passed over.
How to write an ATS-friendly resume
To determine what makes a resume compatible with an ATS, TopResume recently analyzed 1,000 resumes from professionals across the U.S. with at least eight years of experience to identify the most common resume mistakes that will cause an applicant tracking system to toss an application. The infographic below highlights some of the most costly mistakes that make a resume incompatible with an ATS scan.
If you want to make sure your resume is compliant for an ATS, follow the tips below to write an ATS-optimized resume.
Select the right file type for your resume
Contrary to popular belief, a PDF is not the most ATS-friendly file type. While PDF files are the best at preserving the design and format of your resume, it is not compatible with all ATS software. If you're asked to upload your resume to an applicant tracking system and “PDF” is listed among the file types you can, by all means, use a PDF version of your resume. However, if the system does not specify which file types are compatible, play it safe and stick to a Word document in .doc or .docx. Plain-text files are also incredibly ATS-friendly for resumes, but they limit your formatting options.
Since the best resumes are written with two audiences in mind — the robots pre-screening your application and the live human in HR who will review your resume, should it make it past the ATS — I recommend using a Word document instead of a plain-text file for your resume file type. This will provide more creative freedom to write a resume that will appeal to a recruiter or hiring manager.
Don't put important details in the header or footer
Not all applicant tracking systems are able to properly read and parse information stored in the header and footer sections of a Word document. In fact, our recent study confirmed the ATS was unable to identify a portion of the job seeker's contact information 25 percent of the time. Avoid this same fate by placing important contact details (such as your name, phone number, or email address) outside the header or footer of your resume.
Optimize your resume with keywords
One of the best ways to ensure your resume is compatible with an ATS is to optimize your resume with keywords. Unlike a “buzzword,” which is typically considered to be a fluffy marketing term such as “proactive” or “self-starter,” keywords represent the soft skills and hard skills you possess and the expertise you've acquired over the years that qualify you for your target job.
If you're unsure which keywords should be used in your resume, start by collecting three to five job descriptions that represent the type of position you're pursuing. Then, copy and paste the job description into a free word and phrase frequency tool like Online-Utility.org's Text Analyzer, to identify the terms that are regularly used throughout your desired positions. If you possess these skills or qualifications, incorporate these terms into your resume.
When it comes to creating an ATS-optimized resume, you need to think about the frequency, as well as the placement of these keywords throughout your resume. Some applicant tracking systems will determine the strength of your skills based on the number of times a term shows up in your resume (aim to add the term two to three times throughout your resume), whereas others assign an estimated amount of experience for a particular skill based on its placement within the resume. To make a resume that is truly compatible with any ATS, you'll want to optimize your resume with both systems in mind.
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