Applicant Tracking Systems Explained

So, you’re searching for a new role. But, unfortunately, you’re getting one rejection email after another – even for jobs for which you are well qualified!

What’s going on? You got rejected by the ATS system. Your resume wasn’t ATS-friendly. So it didn’t make it through the ATS Scanner.”

You ask, “What’s an ATS Scanner?”

Don’t worry! Unless you’ve worked in Human Resources or Talent Acquisition, it’s unlikely you’ll have come across an Applicant Tracking System (ATS) before.

So, let’s take a quick look, get some answers, and learn how to BEAT them!

ATS Solutions are software that sifts through resumes, manages interview schedules, analyzes recruitment metrics, and help to hire managers and recruiters SHORTLIST job applicants!

Since the 2008 economic crisis, the volume of incoming resumes to employers has been so overwhelming that most companies, 70 to 80 percent, utilize Applicant Tracking System (ATS) scanners that manage the strong deluge of resumes received. However, before humans read resumes, they must get past these Applicant Tracking System (ATS) scanners. The function of such scanners is to recognize “keywords and qualifications.” The system is not arbitrary; it is programmed to identify keywords and qualifications corresponding to their job postings.

That said, the system is not perfect. Occasionally, qualified candidates get eliminated because their resumes are not ATS friendly. However, the rationalization is that missing out on a few great candidates is a worthwhile trade-off.

The following is The Resumes Store’s solution to the ATS Scanner.

Most times, we create resumes that are not for specific job postings. However, to enrich our resumes with pertinent keywords, we scan numerous job postings related to our customer’s job titles. For example, suppose the job title is Project Manager. In this case, we include various related Project Management terms, such as project management, project managing, project delivery, implementation, and planning.

By including a range of related keywords, we cover your bases and decrease your odds of an ATS Scanner eliminating your resume!

That said, we don’t go overboard!

Most likely, hiring managers are only searching their ATS-created candidate profiles for around 2-5 keywords; however, the actual number of profile keywords may vary per employer.

Since we have over 28 years of experience writing resumes and cover letters, we know what is and is not a keyword. Therefore, we create resumes that, 85% of the time, contain enough keywords to satisfy ATS scanners.

Factually, our keyword enrichment resumes have helped 85% of our customers achieve interviews in a timely fashion.

Even so, creating resumes that survive the ATS system is not a perfect science. Therefore, before you apply to specific job postings, we recommend that you take advantage of The Resume Store’s “Posting Specific Keyword Enrichment” program.

To explain, The Resume Store, in its effort to increase our customer’s interview success rate, will modify resumes we have created to include the keywords and qualifications of specific job postings our customers wish to apply to for a modest fee. However, like all homemade and, to a much lesser degree, professionally written resumes, there are no guarantees. In the end, we hope to better our customer’s chances of surviving the Applicant Tracking System.