Get your resume and an interview with good ATS practices!
Today we will cover “ATS”
- What is an ATS and how does it work?
- Proper ATS formatting — Dos and Don’ts
- Common ATS words and test resources
This is part one of a three-part series on writing a winning resume. This series begins with ATS, continues with effective SMART goals and ends with creating a successful resume using “above the fold” concepts.
If you aren’t sure what we are talking about then read on.
1. What is an ATS and how does it work?
ATS stands for Applicant Tracking System
No, it’s not a disease but it sure has overtaken the industry like a virus. It’s used by both recruiters and employers to collect, sort, scan, and rank the job applications they receive. The software is used by approximately 95 percent of Fortune 500 companies and many smaller businesses. This means that 75% of resumes never reach human eyes.
ATS software breaks your resume content into categories and chooses keywords to match content to the pre-defined job needs. Proper formatting and content is crucial. Even a quality candidate will get overlooked without proper formatting and setup. Let’s learn how to succeed at that task.
2. Proper ATS formatting — Dos and Don’ts
Things to Do
- When using acronyms spell out what those acronyms mean. Keep both the short and long titles in your resume.
- Reiterate your skills throughout your resume. The more times the ATS system sees an applicable reoccurring word the more years it adds to your experience for that skill.
- Note how the company defines the position, responsibilities, and core role requirements.
- Notice what words are used. If a post asks for two years’ experience (vs. 2 years of experience) your language should match. If they seek nonprofit (or Non-profit) experience then make sure your resume is worded as such. Notice how they write years or dates. Is it 2020 or ’20, etc? Tailor your words to match.
- If you possess certain job qualifications, incorporate the same language in the appropriate sections of your executive summary and work experiences.
- Notice how they use words. If they use “ing” words such as designing, creating, and training then their ATS isn’t setup to read “designer,” “creator,” or “trainer.”
- Use a “hybrid” resume, (you’ll create one in part three of three’s “Above the Fold” post). The format combines both functional and chronological information into one format. It includes your professional summary and “core competencies/skills” at the top followed by a chronological section that proves how you’ve leveraged these skills.
Things to Avoid
- Don’t put words inside headers, footers or column layouts. Trackers can’t extract information in columns, boxes and tables so avoid using them.
- Although PDF’s are good at preserving your layouts and fonts they are the least helpful option because they do not work with all ATS software. Always use a word document file!
- If you are a designer with a more visual resume or PDF send a simple word resume for the ATS to read and attach your PDF elsewhere (under an “additional documents” area or with a cover letter when possible).
- Avoid fancy templates. It might look nice but a human will never see it.
- Avoid charts, graphs, and images.
- Avoid symbols and stick to very simple bullets if any.
- Avoid buzzwords.
- Avoid lying! Don’t stretch the truth but do think creatively about your skillset and how it may tie into the needs of that business.
- Avoid raw skill lists. ATS software only assigns 6 months to any hard or soft skills seen on a list lacking context. Use keywords celebrating hard skills and soft skills in the context (unless you have less than 6 months of experience).
3. Common ATS words and test resources
Here’s a list of the current big words seen in many job fields:
- Time management
- Collaboration
- Emotional intelligence
- Creativity
- Adaptability
- Adaptive thinking
- Service orientation
- Cloud computing
- Knowledge of new social and digital media
- Artificial intelligence
Free ATS testing resources:
Once you are done re-writing your resume THEN upload it at a place like topresume.com. You only get one free (truncated) viewing from an ATS with a a short review by a human so make it count — remember their goal is to get your business and charge you more.
Put this article and the other two from my series to work and THEN upload your resume for review on an ATS sample site.
This is part one of a three-part series on writing a winning resume. If you find this information easy to understand please read the related articles about creating effective SMART goals and creating a resume using “above the fold” concepts.
Kristina Rudolph | www.linkedin.com/in/kcandy/
