“ATS” in a nutshell: All you need to know.
ATS means Applicant Tracking System and is essentially a software created to save time during the hiring process. It automatically scans the résumés of the applicants and rejects the less suited, highlighting the top ones. Sometimes without any human interaction.
That happens because, when hiring for several positions simultaneously, the number of applications becomes high, hence saving time becomes fundamental. Also, big multinational corporations often list a vacancy for a certain position that could be filled out from/applied by different locations (e.g. either Malmö, Stockholm, or Amsterdam). In this situation, an ATS appears the best solution to only provide recruiters with highly qualified applicants that seem to fit the job description.
According to our research and experiences, the most common ATS systems currently in use at Fortune 500 companies based in Europe (as well as in the rest of the world) include Workday, SuccessFactors (SAP), Taleo (Oracle), BrassRing (IBM), ZoHo, and iCIMS.
At techmeout.io we are familiar with these products and we can help you to get the best of them.
Our tips & tricks to making your résumé ATS-guaranteed.
Let us show you below how we propose to beat the ATS in 3 simple steps and get an ATS-compatible résumé!
1. Create a résumé that is tailored to a specific job specification
You should tailor your résumé for a specific job application as much as possible. The objective is to customize and modify your résumé to match the specific qualifications that employers are looking for.
As a first step, try to use a “word cloud generator” a copy-paste the job description you want to apply to. This resource will graphically show a number of keywords and will give you an indication of which words will be used by the ATS to score your résumé but also which words are considered important for the hiring manager of that position.
Here is an example using tagcrowd.com
Of course, the fact that a word appears many times (“Looking”, “around”, “etc”) doesn’t automatically mean that it has to be included in your résumé :)
Also, ATS is not always configured to recognize acronyms or abbreviations like CTA, DEV, PMP. Our recommendation is to spell the term entirely and put its acronym in parenthesis. For example Salesforce Certified Technical Architect (CTA).
Also, don’t forget to consider the title of the job description, if the recruiter is looking for a specific talent (like “data management”) and you have relevant expertise, make sure to add the keyphrase “data management”, not necessarily in your job title but somewhere in your résumé, a good place could be the skills section.
Ensure that you always take time to double-check your résumé, and avoid relying solely on a word cloud generator as a source of information. You might want to include a few more keywords (for example, “DCF, Excel, Python, NFC” etc.), techmeout.io helps you that, when filling skills or highlights, click on the filter icon and access an awesome set of inspirations tailored to your role and technology:
Another important factor is to specify measurable achievements and numbers when possible. For example, if you apply for a Team Lead position it is important that you specify the size of the teams you managed in the past, if they were remote and which methodology you used (i.e. Scrum). ATS is also capable of automatically extracting this information as well.
2. Make sure your résumé is correctly formatted
Passing the ATS requires you to format your résumé correctly and in a way that is recognisable by the system. One thing to note is that custom fonts, as well as charts and tables, should be avoided at all costs. Typically, fonts like Helvetica, Georgia, and Garamond are the most ATS-friendly. Including flashy photos or impressive résumé designs may also backfire in this situation.
Make sure dates are specified using both the month and year. Only using a year can be confusing and not easy to parse for the ATS.
However, with techmeout.io all your formatting, including font style and size, is taken care of on its own as the app is structured to be ATS compliant with A.I integrated solutions.
3. Take your time and prepare!
Last, but not least, you should ensure you have enough time to plan and prepare a strategic and compelling résumé before the application procedure. Having a great résumé that defeats the ATS system is difficult with so much competition. Make sure you implement a proper strategy for constructing your resume before proceeding with the application.
For example, you can point out your current and former job experience. Click and drag the skills and rearrange them using the circles on the left corner of the app’s user interface. It’s just that easy!
P.S. we have heard about metaverse and similar virtual realities. We still don’t know how much this can impact the recruitment sector, but we will certainly keep monitoring any change in technology and share every relevant update.
Keep in touch!
