As you have already understood, this post is fully related to an ATS (applicant tracking systems) and whether it’s possible to hack ta system to increase your chances to get an interview. We’re not going to talk about some hard skills for resume 2023 or tricky approaches. Only SIMPLE ways how to boost your chances. Each job seeker could do that without some specific skills.
Before we’re going too deep into some details and start discussing instructions, let’s understand fundamental things about applicant tracking software. A real-life example is the best way to show you how it works. Let’s imagine a situation when you have already prepared a resume, picked the best resume format sample for 2023 to make the recruiter’s life easier, and polished everything. Six seconds test is already passed, and because you have already run it, ask your friends to read a prepared resume. To be frank, your resume has not 90%+ match to a vacant position like a current resume trends, but pretty interesting to get scanned by a hiring manager.
BUT suddenly something went wrong!
An average job seeker, who has never tried to write a resume from a scratch.
A resume was sent to a hiring manager 3+ days ago. You were waiting all that time with the hope they should mail you back. Silence. Complete silence. Nobody mailed you back. You are starting nervously because you can’t understand what went wrong. The most terrible thing in this case, is that you can’t even understand if somebody has seen your CV. There is no feedback from that end.
Unfortunately, you are a victim of ATS. And today we’re going to talk about what exactly you should do, crafting a resume for such kind of recruitment software.
Latest ATS resume 2023 examples
What is an ATS?
ATS – (also known as an applicant tracking system) – is a kind of software both huge corporations and small companies use to optimize their recruitment processes. A key idea of ATS products is to scan a candidate’s CV and provide a match score for a hiring manager, whether this resume is the best match or not. Based on the match score (depends on keywords destiny, experience, skills, etc.), the hiring manager tunes the setting to get only the most relevant resume inbox.
Initially, applicant tracking software was developed for huge companies to improve recruitment processes and decrease time-to-hire metrics. The key function is to scan a resume and using values added by the user, recommend a CV to a user or move it to the trash pile.
How ATS works. Common algorithm
Once you have already submitted a resume to an application form or sent a resume via email, it was automatically routed to an applicant tracking system. It parses a CV, splitting all the sentences, which are possible to recognize into dedicated phrases or words. After the previous step is finished and an array of phrases and keywords is created, it moves to the next step.
The next step job is to compare arrays. The first array of keywords and phrases from the previous step and the second were created by a hiring manager. You could ask “Does HR need to add some keywords to ATS?” YES, because they want to get a resume, where exact keywords destiny is more than a specific value.
And the last, but not least step – decision. Using already set values by a hiring manager, the ATS system follows instructions on whether to send a resume to a hiring manager or skip it. That’s the core principle of each applicant tracking software.
How to write a resume in 2023 for ATS
File type for resume matters
Despite the popular resume 2023 trends, making a resume in pdf could be a tricky moment for those candidates, who would like to beat an ATS. PDF extension could be the best option for cases, when the hiring manager is asking for a resume directly, but not when you need to submit a CV via the application form.
The best solution for this case is to have resume in two different file extensions. Microsoft .doc and .docx for application forms, when applicant tracking software would try to recognize text. The second one is for hiring managers who ask for a CV directly.
Don’t use the header or footer to store important info
A key reason to avoid using headers and footers to include important information – not all applicant tracking systems works correctly with these areas, when parsing information from there. That’s why it’s much better to use a proper resume example 2023 without a footer and header.
Keywords are the core of ATS
When we’re talking about different tactics on how to beat an ATS – keywords are the most efficient way how to boost your chances to get employed. There are two main approaches how to collecting them and using them in your resume. The first one is pretty simple, you know what exact keywords to include in a resume. The second one is more intelligent and accurate. You need to use a vacancy descriptions to extract keywords, which need to be included in your CV.
Don’t use buzzword, use keywords!
There is no need to stop on the first approach, where you can create a list of keywords on your own. We’re going to deep into the second approach, where you need to create a list of keywords, which will bring you results.
- Choose up to 10 different job descriptions (for the position you are looking for). Use popular resources like indeed.com or others.
- Copy text of job descriptions to a dedicated file.
- Grab all the skills together and sort them.
- Match the list with skills in your resume.
- Add the difference to your CV, but not more than 10 skills.
- Use only the most relevant for you.
Exclude pictures from your CV
Most applicant tracking software cant recognize text on pictures, Even if they can do that, algorithms are not brilliant, It would not be possible to read for a hiring manager. We would suggest you remove all graphic elements from your resume.
Lindsay is a certified resume writer and interview coach. She obtained her certification in resume writing (CPRW) which will allow her resume expertise to help readers outshine the competition within the first 5 seconds of reviewing what they have on paper.
