There are few things more confusing for job seekers than the role that Applicant Tracking System (ATS) software plays in the screening process, and how exactly ATS reads resumes that get submitted. It is often a reason why people seek help with writing a professional resume.
To make it even more confusing, as technology continues to evolve, so too do ATS systems.
Here’s an overview of what ATS was designed to do, how it worked then and now, and what this means for job seekers today.
Writing a Professional Resume & the Rise of ATS
ATS made its way onto the hiring scene in the late 1990s and were designed to help companies organize the influx of resumes coming in as job boards exploded onto the hiring scene.
After years of snail mail and manual sorting – this was a huge leap forward! In a nutshell, ATS advanced and provided HR with keyword searching functionality. Think of it as a giant file cabinet – only faster to file and way easier to find stuff.
Fast forward to today and there are 200+ different ATS systems. While most have some commonality, and some larger ATS providers have the lion’s share of the market, no 2 work exactly the same.
Because it’s tough to know which system a job seeker is faced with when applying online, the advice I share is based on what I understand to be the lowest common denominator.
How ATS Works (a non-techie’s explanation)
After writing a professional resume, when an applicant submits, ATS software essentially transforms it into the equivalent of a plain text document, scans it and assigns values to select criteria (from keywords to number of years).
In the early days, many ATS systems had a tough time reading/scanning, which is why resume writers used to share guidance around strategies to help your resume get read correctly (from the type of font you should use to the ideal point size).
In fact, years ago I used to create a plain text resume document for my clients so they could upload it to the portal and eliminate the chance of resume reading going awry.
Fortunately, today’s systems are much more advanced, and this practice is no longer necessary when writing a professional resume!
ATS Challenges and Workarounds – Tips on Writing a Professional Resume
In a MS Word document, ATS can’t read (or doesn’t recognize) these 5 items:
1) colors
2) shading
3) anything in a text box
4) a graphic image and more advanced design elements.
5) anything in a header or footer.
Below are 5 situations where I’ve seen ATS limitations around resume reading pop up, along with workarounds, and some video tutorials:
PROBLEM #1: Contact info included in a header or footer not read.
WORKAROUND: Move the info from the header/footer to the main body of the page or submit as a PDF. This video should help!
PROBLEM #2: Using a resume template that requires you to enter information into text boxes.
WORKAROUND: Either save as a PDF or manually enter the information into a new MS Word Document.
PROBLEM #3: With some older systems, if ATS doesn’t see a company name alongside a job title, it might not give the candidate credit for the years spent in that position.
This glitch can hurt those who’ve held many roles within the same company when they simply list the role and the years spent doing it.
WORKAROUND: Include a company name adjacent to the job title – but include it in white font. This enables the reader to easily see progression within the company and ensures ATS gives the role credit. Here’s the video I made to walk you through doing this.
PROBLEM #4: Info in charts and graphs can’t be read.
WORKAROUND: Ensure the information in the graphs and charts is also detailed in the body of the text. Here’s another YouTube video I made to walk you through how to do this!
PROBLEM #5: Many stay clear of graphics or design elements in their resumes for fear of ATS. While I’ve never been a fan of graphics for graphics sake, in certain industries and roles graphics and design elements can go a long way toward conveying a message.
WORKAROUND: Similar to inserting the company information when someone has had more than one role with a company, white font can be your friend. This video shows you how.
GETTING BETTER & BETTER
There are many recruiters adamant about personally reviewing every resume that comes in through ATS. There are also those that aren’t able to make this happen – in large part because they are juggling many postings and receive a huge influx of resumes for each one.
This is why I advocate that job seekers strive to avoid applying online as a first point of entry in favor of a targeted strategy centered around research, networking and outreach – recognizing that at some point in the process applying online is required.
The good news is that thanks to advances in AI & Machine learning, ATS continues to improve! If you’d like to see how yours might fare on a wide variety of ATS systems, this article written by my colleague at Growth Hack Your Career (and featuring the insights of several others I trust) may help!
While I don’t claim to understand the ins and outs of how the technology works, when submitted as a PDF many of the glitches inherent with MS Word don’t occur – including challenges with headers/footers and the issues around company names associated with a job titles.
My advice? Submit your resume via PDF when at all possible. When that isn’t an option, make sure your MS Word document incorporates the above-shared workarounds!
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