How to Avoid Being One of the 27 Million “Hidden Workers” Filtered Out of Job Applications By ATS
A recent Insider article revealed that a whopping 27 million job seekers have their applications sent into the void by ATS (applicant tracking systems) before their résumés are ever seen by a hiring manager or recruiter.
If you’ve ever experienced having your application rejected within hours or even minutes, you can probably relate to the frustration those millions of job seekers are feeling.
Considering that as many as 75% of employers rely on ATS to help them filter through potential candidates for open positions, not having an ATS-friendly résumé is a surefire way to make your job search much more difficult.
So, what exactly is ATS?
Applicant tracking systems are used by companies to make the process of identifying viable candidates easier. There are a multitude of applicant tracking systems on the market, so there’s not just one version of ATS out there. And with such a variety of available applicant tracking systems, there’s no singular way to beat the system, so anyone who tells you otherwise is mistaken.
Additionally, companies can set their own ATS parameters to make sure they find a candidate who meets their specific needs. For example, if a company needs a marketing director with lots of experience, they can set their ATS to filter out candidates with less than 10 years of marketing experience.
Although ATS makes hiring managers’ jobs easier, a report by Harvard Business School and Accenture revealed that applicant tracking systems can make it harder for job seekers to find a job because ATS filters candidates based on what’s included in or missing from their résumé as opposed to what they bring to the table. The authors of this report assert that ATS has given rise to hidden workers, job seekers who are routinely filtered out by ATS and have a difficult time finding a job.
While ATS can make the job search process more difficult, there are ways to boost your chances of making it past ATS.
Here are some tips to help you get past applicant tracking systems and get your résumé seen by the hiring manager or recruiter!
#1: Narrow your job search
Making sure your skills and experience align with the jobs you’re applying for is one of the most basic ways to up your chances of making it past ATS.
While you can pivot into new industries and try new roles, try to find jobs in your target industry that somewhat align with your skills, so you can use targeted keywords to describe your qualifications while earning a high match rate.
ATS works by assigning candidates a match rate based on how much their résumés match the job description. Those with a higher match rate have a better chance of having their résumé viewed by the hiring manager.
By using your résumé to highlight skills and experience that are relevant to the job you’re applying for, you increase your chances of earning a high match rate and getting your professional documents in front of a real person.
#2: Leverage keywords
Keywords are a great way to show how your skills and experience match the job description. While you shouldn’t stuff your résumé with keywords to make sure you earn a high match rate, you absolutely should use relevant keywords when applicable.
Avoid making your résumé a reproduction of the job description and avoid adding keywords in without context. Although making it past ATS is an essential part of the modern-day job search, your ultimate goal is to land your résumé in the hands of the hiring manager or recruiter. Add context for your keywords and back up your experience with stats to make sure your résumé holds their attention.
#3: Ditch the cute résumé templates
While the résumé templates you’ll find on Canva and Etsy are cute, the majority of them are not ATS-friendly.
Although applicant tracking systems are getting more sophisticated over time, they often have trouble reading data contained inside the text boxes and graphics that these cute templates rely on.
You can put non-essential information, like your tagline and testimonials, into graphics, but make sure your résumé’s key information is presented in plain text. To make sure ATS will be able to read all your essential information, convert your résumé into a file with a .TXT extension. This will show you exactly what information ATS can parse from your résumé when you submit it.
Wrapping Up
While ATS may seem scary (especially with all the misinformation out there), these tips can help you get past applicant tracking systems, so you can get your résumé into an actual person’s hands and avoid joining the 27 million hidden workers.
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