If you’ve ever applied to a job online, you might be familiar with the sneaking suspicion that your resume has entered a big black hole, never to be seen by human eyes. If you’re not getting responses to your online applications, it’s likely your resume has been thwarted by a bot.

Many companies, especially larger ones, have adopted applicant tracking systems (ATS), software applications that help them manage candidates and handle their hiring needs. ATS often acts as a filter, scanning resumes to ensure that only the most qualified job-seekers make their way to the hiring manager. While these systems certainly make recruiting easier, they can add an extra layer of frustration for a job-seeker eagerly pursuing their next opportunity. To make sure your resume isn’t blocked by the bots, follow these helpful steps: 

Apply to realistic jobs

If you’re an entry level grad applying to a VP position, or a human resources coordinator applying for a teaching job, the odds of making it through an ATS aren’t in your favor. 

While you don’t have to meet every single bullet point under the job’s qualifications, you should at least have the core skills that the position will require. If you’re pursuing a career change, spend some time thinking about the most transferable skills that you’d like to highlight. 

Include the right words and phrases

ATS systems are programmed to scan for specific words and phrases that match the job opening. So when you’re listing out your skills and qualifications on your resume, have the job listing handy to make sure the wording of your specific experience is in line with what they’re looking for. Be sure to list out specifics like software or systems you’re familiar with, languages you speak, degrees, certifications, and any other “hard skills” you might have. 

Some particularly finicky ATS systems might only count wording that exactly matches the job listing, so be mindful of how qualifications are presented. If you include “RN” on your resume, but the listing writes out “Registered Nurse,” the abbreviation could count against you.  

Format your resume correctly

Just like humans, applicant tracking systems can get bogged down by cluttered, busy, hard-to-read resumes. Your name and contact information should be at the very top, followed by your most recent experience in chronological order. Avoid heavily-formatted resumes with graphics, photos, ornate fonts, and other visual elements. (You might be sad to part with your work of resume art, but you’ll be even sadder if the company’s software can’t identify the relevant information they’re looking for!)

Be sure to pay attention to the desired resume format (usually .pdf or .docx) and when in doubt, keep your resume simple, clean, and scannable. 

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