Has it been a while since you last looked at your resume? Are you aware HR professionals use applicant tracking system (ATS) software for their initial screening of candidates? You didn’t know? You are not alone. It was almost three years ago when I was unemployed and looking for work – I wish I knew then what I know now. I had no idea that I had to get past robots before the first human would even look at my application! When did this happen?
While resume screening software has been around in different industries for years, it became widely used around 2008 when many, many people were unemployed and looking for work. Companies were inundated with applications – sometimes thousands of people were applying for a single position. The use of ATS allowed HR professionals to focus on the candidates that were the most qualified. At least, that was the idea. The problem is, if you don’t know about ATS you may in fact be the most qualified candidate but you won’t get noticed. If you have been applying for jobs on line and haven’t heard back from anyone, it isn’t because you aren’t qualified – it is because your resume isn’t formatted with ATS in mind. Here is what you need to know:
- Create a master resume, from which you will customize your work history to match the job to which you are applying. Key words are critical when it comes to getting past the robots; if the job description indicates ‘customer service experience required’ and your title is ‘sales administration manager,’ you need to submit a resume that includes the key words ‘customer service.’ Think of it this way: ATS software is like a search engine and your resume, along with many others, are the ‘articles’ which will be displayed to the recruiter when their software searches for important key words.
- The simpler the better. Have you ever applied on line, attached your resume, then the employer’s software auto-populated the application from your resume? It gets some things right, but most of the time it merges multiple positions into one, or just doesn’t put your information into the right buckets. This is an indicator that your resume is too complicated for the software to read correctly.
- Never be untruthful, but you do need to match your prior positions and experience to the job description – using their words. Carefully read the description and the skill set the recruiter is looking for – and customize your resume to match. When you are face to face in an interview, you can explain “my title was sales administration manager, but the position would be traditionally known as customer service manager.” Or, “I have participated in multiple kaizen events, which in my last company we simply called continuous improvement projects.” To get your foot in the door, you need to speak their language.
- Finally, use key words and keep it simple on LinkedIn as well. LinkedIn now shows you the key words recruiters have used, when you have been ‘found’ in their searches. Use these results to make adjustments to your page, if you want to be ‘found’ in searches for other types of positions. I cannot stress this enough – create and/or update your LinkedIn page. If they are interested, your potential employer will review your LinkedIn profile so consider this part of your branding strategy.
When we submit a resume, there is a tendency to want to tell our entire story in great detail. That may have worked in the past, but with resume screeners as a gateway to the next step, keep it simple and get to that first interview. You can tell your story then. Remember – right now your job is to sell your brand and get noticed. Once you are face to face, you will have the opportunity to show them how fabulous you are. Be strong!
