6 Ways to Make your Resume Applicant Tracking System Friendly - Live Assets

6 Ways to Make your Resume ATS Friendly

August 15, 2021 -

Have you been applying to countless jobs and wondering why you aren’t booking any interviews? And yet, even though you have the qualifications, you are struggling to land your dream job? This is probably due to the unfortunate side effect of ATS.

 

What is ATS?

An applicant tracking system (ATS) is an automated tool that scans resumes. Hiring managers, especially those for larger companies, are subjected to sorting through sizable amounts of resumes. The ATS is a helpful tool to save time in the initial screening process. These systems will accept or reject the resume based on its compatibility with the desired qualifications and keywords.

 

It is super easy to get rejected by these systems, but you should be on your way to booking some interviews with the following tips.

 

Tailor your resume for the job

For every job you apply to, you should be tweaking your resume. After reading the job description, you will probably find that some of your achievements or skills are more suitable than others. If you are applying for a software engineering position but still have your old summer camp counsellor job on your resume, the ATS will probably not like that.

Doing so will ensure you aren’t just submitting another generic resume and get you to the first step of getting past the ATS.

 

Choose a proper resume format

Resumes can be crafted into a variety of formats. Three of the most common types are:

 

Chronological Resume – lists work experiences in reverse chronological order

Functional Resume – summary of key skills with less emphasis on professional experience

Hybrid  Resume – a combination of the chronological and functional resume with skills and work experience being equally emphasized

 

When applying through an ATS, a chronological or hybrid format would be your best bet. Keep in mind that most recruiters also prefer those types. The idea here is that you want your resume to be as easy to read as possible. An ATS or a recruiter should be able to find all your information quickly and with ease.

 

Use the right keywords in context

ATS is not that much different than humans in its approach. Just like a person would, the ATS will scan for keywords. Although you can never know for sure what the keywords will be, the job description can act as a pretty good indicator. Depending on the job type, the keywords might focus on education, certifications/licenses, or skills only. When preparing your resume, look at the job listing and pick out some of the top skills to incorporate, given that you meet the qualifications. Be sure to give context to your keywords, such as through your skills or a summary section. Don’t be afraid of using keywords throughout your resume multiple times!

 

Choose correct file type

The time-old debate of .pdf versus .docx. Both have their time and place, but .docx files are generally seen as more ATS friendly. If the job posting specifies otherwise, then proceed to follow the given instructions.

 

Simplicity is key 

The ATS makes decisions based on text and text alone. Any fancy graphics or formatting will be ignored or possibly even have your resume denied by the system. There is also a good chance that the hiring manager won’t even see your resume. This does not mean you shouldn’t make your resume visually appealing, though. A clean and simple template will appease both the ATS and the hiring manager. Use common fonts like Helvetica or Arial as they are easy to read and won’t trip the ATS.

Things to avoid:

  • Tables
  • Graphics
  • Headers and footers
  • Columns

If you want to use some of these elements, you can create a separate copy to hand out in person, such as during interviews.

 

Don’t trick the ATS

You might have heard about some ‘hacks’ for tricking the ATS but trust me, don’t use them. Some of these tricks include hiding keywords or even full job descriptions by making the text white. While ATSs have some flaws, they’re advanced enough to pick up on these tricks. As we know, ATS scans all the text on the resume, no matter the font colour, thus foiling your plan.

 

 

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