What You Should Know About Applicant Tracking Systems
“Hey Lis - How can I tailor my resume to beat the ATS?”
There’s A LOT of talk from job seekers about Applicant Tracking Systems (ATS) and the part they play in the job search process. Applicant Tracking Systems are databases that hold candidate applications and resumes. Tailoring your resume to the job description will get your from application to interview. Read more to learn about ATS, how it’s used, misconceptions, and tips for navigating the ATS.
What is an ATS?
An ATS is an acronym for Applicant Tracking System or database that companies use to store all job applications and candidates for positions.
How Do Recruiters Use It?
Using an ATS is a recruiting standard. The ATS solves the problem of helping recruiters and hiring teams organize 1,000s of resumes and applications.
When you apply for a job, your resume and application is stored in the ATS for review by a recruiter. Primarily recruiters use the ATS to review your resume, share it with the hiring team, and to store interview feedback for candidates. This allows all candidate related activity to live in one place.
Misconception #1: The ATS is Rejecting You Immediately
The ATS does not reject applications, humans do. If you’ve ever been in a situation where you are rejected via automated email, you might wonder “Did a human even see my resume?”
Well yes, and no. Recruiters can set up a mass rejection for all candidates they reviewed who they are not moving forward. This triggers an automated rejection that can be sent out now or scheduled in the future. (Hello 12am rejection emails).
Also, some job postings receive 100s or 1000s of applications. If the position has been open for over a few weeks, it’s highly unlikely a recruiter will be viewing late applications. Hence, they will reject all applications once the position is filled or if they have enough candidates interviewing, without reviewing your resume.
In both scenarios, the ATS is merely a tool used by recruiters to help with this workflow.
Misconception #2: Your Resume is Automatically Filtered by AI
A feature of some ATS allows for search functionality. This allows for recruiters to search your resume and application. Sometimes there are filter questions - but these are set up by recruiters and pertain specifically to the job and unlikely to change your outcome whether they were asked now or during the interview (for example, ability to work remotely or in-office).
Misconception #3: You Can Beat the ATS by Stuffing Keywords in Your Resume
Back to the search functionality mentioned in #2. Resumes can be searched for keywords that relate to the job position. These keywords are set up by the recruiter with direction from the hiring team, and highlight which resumes have them or do not.
Typically, this is used for the most important skills, for example: project management or coding language necessary. I’ve spoken to dozens of recruiters and some companies use keywords and some do not. I’ve never used them to rank candidates so it really depends on the company and the ATS.
While keywords are helpful to sift through high volume applications, they are not the end all of getting an interview. Adding keywords to your resume is a great way to align your experience to the job post, however they are simply a first pass.
Recruiters will still read through your resume to make sure that you’ve demonstrated these skills. If you’re just stuffing your resume with keywords, it will show and unfortunately your resume won’t make it to the next stage.
Top Takeaways:
The ATS is simply a database to help recruiters organize applicants. It does not reject candidates, humans do. The only way to truly get to the interview stage is with a well developed and written resume that aligns with the position.
