How to ensure your Resume gets through ATS

As you are searching for your next career opportunity you will start to hear the term ATS being frequently used. ATS is short for Applicant Tracking Software. These are often used for larger companies such as banks, financial institutions, larger retailers and government institutions. The aim of ATS is to make the recruitment process more efficient. So, when the recruiter is ready to screen applicants, they will login to this software and type in key words relating to the job opportunity and those resumes which have the relevant words in them will appear at the top of the search results.

So how can you make sure to get to the top of the recruiter’s search?

There are two main things to achieve

The Format

Although it can look very attractive to have a resume with logos, pictures, and different segregated sections, this will actually hinder your resume getting through ATS. This is because the system cannot pull all the information from your resume, so you risk key information not appearing into the ATS. Therefore, you need to keep a smart and simplistic layout and not use any tables. This will enable all your information to get across to ATS. Read our previous article on how to format your resume.

Key Words

You should not use the same resume for each position you apply for. It is important to review the job advert and mirror the key words used within the profile and key skill areas of your resume. The easiest section to work from in the advert is the key responsibilities or essential criteria.

Some claims to be cautious of regarding ATS

Companies claiming to have ran your resume through an ATS and offering you a % score

Unless they have a job role, they are assessing you against there is no way to offer you a score as every job and company have different criteria.  Therefore, each company have set up their scoring differently depending on the importance placed for them.

All ATS are exactly same

This is untrue as the company can refine theirs to suit their requirements and company culture. This is why it is so important to fully review each job advert and reflect the language and style in your resume.

You are now being screened by computers with no human value

Yes, your resume is being placed into ATS as this saves recruiters inboxes being inundated but a human still needs to search for your resume within ATS. So, a human will still review your resume as long as it appears in the search results.   Again, this why mirroring the job advert language is so important.

In summary, you should be aware of ATS but there is no need to start worrying about this too much. Humans still are reviewing your resume. Make sure your layout is simplistic and you are considering the job advert wording and you will be fine. If you would prefer a professional to take on the writing of your resume for you then you can view our services here