About the ATS

By Soozy G. Miller, CPRW, CDCC, CDP

Applicant tracking systems, or ATS, is the search software that companies use to find and qualify candidates for an open position.

This is a very frustrating topic. Job seekers don’t understand how it works and they get frustrated when they never hear back from a company. So I want to help you understand how the ATS works so that you can try to beat it.

So the ATS is usually the first gatekeeper at a company. It’s a “necessary evil” software that companies use because they just don’t have enough eyeballs to look at every resume that comes through. And now with companies trying to fill and re-fill positions (due to The Great Resignation), there are hundreds of candidates for every empty spot. You may assume that hiring right now is a difficult and exhausting task.

ATS’s are meant to help weed out inexperienced people and people from unrelated fields, but when companies go the cheap route and under-spend on this software, hiring suffers. Cheaper, older ATS software is not up to doing everything that’s needed. And there are repercussions from this.

One is applicant frustration. Have you ever applied to a job by uploading your resume, only to get to the next page where your information has been parsed into a form—and it’s all wrong? And then you have to go and correct all the details? It feels like you’re writing your resume all over again. That is an example of an older or cheaper system. This is NOT a reflection of the company culture or whether or not you’re a good candidate, but it’s a total turnoff. I apply to jobs on a semi-regular basis (to ensure that my job application techniques still work) and when a company does this to me, I immediately stop, log out, and close the window. Even if I thought the job was perfect for me. It’s that frustrating!

On the other side of the ATS, the software is reading the resumes as they come in. If the software doesn’t understand something on the resume (e.g. formatting or graphics), either the software will put in a substitute character or it will immediately throw the resume into the trash. The hundreds of resumes that do get through are in a queue, waiting to be seen. Sometimes the person using the ATS doesn’t even know how to use the software, or use it most effectively.

I worked with one Human Resources executive who regularly trolled the ATS trash for candidates.

I’m telling you, the application process is difficult on both sides of the desk. And the software that is supposed to help, sometimes doesn’t.

So, you want to try to beat the ATS? Make sure that your resume is tailored to the position. This means that you have a section on your resume specifically designated for your skillset. You can call it Related Skills or Core Competencies or Key Skills. Adding general keywords from your field is good, and you can research job descriptions to figure out which keywords are the most popular, but I recommend using the keywords mentioned in the specific job posting that you like. This shows the ATS and the hiring team that you have read the job posting—which most candidates DON’T do—and that you speak the company language. Also, their ATS might be programmed to searched for those specific keywords from the job posting. Does that make sense?

If you’re applying to a manufacturing executive position, you probably don’t need to put that you’re an expert at Microsoft Word. While I have seen one or two (out of thousands) executive job postings that put Microsoft Word as a requirement, usually for an executive position, the company is really looking for leadership in mission and strategy. So leave out the Microsoft Word and concentrate more on the skills and keywords on the specific job posting that you’re interested in.

Regardless how much you want the job, or think that you deserve the job, the fact is that the ATS could keep your resume from being seen by anyone at all. So, if you don’t tailor your resume to the specific job posting, like I suggested above, then your chances of being seen at all are reduced.

If you focus your title, summary, and skills sections to the needs of the company, then your chances of being seen increase. I wish I could call this a “hack” or a trick and say that’s the key, but it’s never that simple. This just increases your chances.

So, yes, the ATS is a necessary evil. For now, companies have to use them—or else they just can’t keep up with the barrage of job seekers that come through. You might as well get used to the ATS and use my method to try to beat it.

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Better job. More pay. More control.

For a free resume review, please contact us at Control Your Career!