Beat The Applicant Tracking System

Learn about ways to get your resume past an Applicant Tracking System (ATS) and into an interview.

By: Liana Sameth

In this connection economy, job applicants should be hired for the value they’ll add to the company. Why hire more people to adapt to the company’s norms? Instead, hire people for value innovation that will drive the company forward. If you can effectively sell yourself during the job interview, you are a strong candidate.

Finding talented candidates these days is tough and applicant tracking systems do not necessarily make the recruitment process more personable. An applicant tracking system is a software used to screen out candidates based on keywords written on the resume. The purpose of this technology is to make the hiring process faster, but it doesn’t make reaching an interview as easy. This software might make it harder for people to land a job because opportunities are limited due to technology excluding certain resumes.

Here are some tips for dealing with applicant tracking systems:

Correctly match keywords

Use certain words from the job description and incorporate them on your resume. The words and phrases from your resume should match the job title so this way the applicant tracking system can detect them and you can get passed the screening.

Avoid spelling errors

If there are any spelling mistakes the applicant tracking system will detect that and your chances of passing the screening will decrease because the software doesn’t accept errors. Revise and search for spelling errors at least three times before sending in your resume.

Use regular resume headings

Include regular headings such as employment history, professional experience, education background areas of expertise, etc. Don’t over personalize your resume too much because applicant tracking systems may not recognize certain headings.

Write out acronyms

To avoid the applicant tracking system misreading your resume, spell out all acronyms. For example instead of writing ATS, write Applicant Tracking System or instead of writing IBM write International Business Machines. This way the software can recognize all words.