Have you been struggling to secure interviews lately?
Tired of being rejected for job interviews? Or not even hearing back from applications? Find out why your CV could be a victim of the ATS, and how to impress computers AND humans.
Does this sound familiar: “I’m sending dozens of CVs out every week, and not getting any interviews! What am I doing wrong?”. Over the past few years, we’ve seen many job hunters become increasingly frustrated at not hearing back after applying for a job. And if you can relate to this, we sympathise. Job hunting is tough, especially if you’re trying to resume your career after a break. And it’s even more disheartening if you can’t work out why you’re not getting invited to interview for jobs you know you’re a good fit for.
Applying online often involves uploading your resume to what's called an applicant tracking system, or ATS. It can often feel like you're sending your resume into a black hole, a place where resumes go, never to be heard from again. The best resumes are those that are both ATS-friendly and pleasing to the human eye. The two are not mutually exclusive, however. ATS-friendly resumes are formatted much more simply, while human-reader resumes may contain graphic elements that make the document easier to read and more appealing to the hiring manager.
Because the ultimate goal is to have the resume reviewed by a human, even an ATS-friendly resume needs to be readable, and attractive. For this reason, if you are given a choice to copy-and-paste the resume or to upload a file, choose the upload option. Uploading will ensure that your resume retains the formatting you originally intended.
Is your CV falling victim to ATS?
So why are you falling through the cracks? The answer could be three little letters: ATS. Most recruiters and many employers today use a software application called Application Tracking System (ATS) to speed up and better manage their job application process. On the plus side, ATS saves time by automatically scanning CVs for clues that the applicant could be a good candidate. On the downside, ATS systems aren’t perfect, and can sometimes overlook the perfect person for the job.
So it’s important that you don’t just know how to write a CV that will impress a recruiter or employer when you’re looking for a job, but you understand how to get past the ATS. If not, your CV will be rejected before a human being even sees it.
How to beat ATS
It’s not all doom and gloom. There are ways to boost the chances of ATS giving your CV a high ranking.
The better your score, the more likely it is to go to a real human being, who might call you for interview. The main thing to know is that ATS acts like a specialised search engine. That means you have to write in an ATS-friendly way – it’s a bit like Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) for CVs. Here are six steps to speaking fluent résumé robot and avoiding being lost in digital translation.
1. Keyword research
Do you remember the last time you looked up something on a search engine? Well the words you used in that search were ‘keywords’. Recruiters also use keywords to identify candidates with desired skills and qualifications. The ATS tries to find these keywords in candidate CVs. This is why the keywords you use can make or break your job search. The first step is to get your keywords right but this isn’t straightforward because they’re constantly evolving. That’s one reason why people are increasingly using professional CV writers. However, you can make a good start by checking job descriptions on employer’s websites and industry related job portals.
Find and note the keywords used in the job overview and candidate specifications. Focus on both the role and industry in which you want to work. The role of an industrial marketing manager might use different keywords to that of a FMCG marketing manager. If there are different versions of the same keyword, then search for both to see which one returns the most relevant results.
2. Target titles
Always use standard job titles in your keywords, particularly if your title in your current or former roles was a little offbeat. ‘Brand Warrior’ may sound quite cool but an ATS is unlikely to pick it up and even a human might struggle to translate it as ‘Marketing Manager’. Use this keyword title as the headline on your CV and adapt it to different job applications.
For example, you may need to change ‘Marketing Manager’ to ‘Head of Marketing’, ‘Marketing Communications Manager’, ‘Product Manager’ or ‘Brand Manager’ depending on the job ad to which you’re responding. This ensures you’re including the most important keywords. It also aligns you in the mind of a human reader with the vacant role they are trying to fill.
3. Skills and experience, but no fluff
Make sure you include all the skills most relevant to the job. For example, did you manage a team? Did you have P&L responsibilities? Have you presented at industry related conferences or launched new products in new markets?. Tangible outcomes make the difference here. In a tough job market, you need a proven, measurable background of success to impress potential employers. When recruiters search for keywords, they are looking for concrete skills. They won’t be typing in ‘out-going’ or ‘team player’.
People have overused phrases such as ‘results-focused’ to the point of irrelevance. It’s the specific, highly relevant achievements, where you’ve used your talent to give an employer a measurable benefit, that will get you noticed. Work out what those achievements or strengths are; then connect them in words or phrases to a target job description. Those are more of your keywords. Good CV writing is all about the effective highlighting and presentation of objective achievements, alongside optimising your keywords. You need to customise these achievements for each role.
Be the candidate they want.
If you’re applying for a senior executive role or leadership position, your CV needs to follow the target job specification with precision. It also needs to demonstrate a senior level of management responsibility. Identify the most important leadership keywords, such as ‘staff training and development’ and make sure they appear throughout your CV. The principles remain the same for a good graduate CV. But you need to convey a different skill-set, demonstrating potential, motivation and commitment.
4. Qualifications
Try to make your qualifications relate to the specific job. What software packages and technical skills does this role require? Do you need to have any specialist industry qualifications like the CFA or ACCA? Remember to include both the acronym and the keyword or phrase.
5. Consistency
It’s important for an overall job strategy that your CV and LinkedIn profile use similar keywords. This will help you maximise the effectiveness of your job search. It also signals consistency and attention to detail for recruiters. One last (key) word; always be truthful, don’t exaggerate or lie because it’s hard to repair your credibility when a recruiter catches you out. Ultimately, you and your CV need to impress humans, not just robots.
Decoding the job search means not letting technology stand between you and the dream job you are qualified to do. It’s not about trying to trick the algorithms; the robots are too clever for that anyway.