Did you know? Getting a call for a job interview is not always a recruiter’s judgement. It’s a different picture for 98% of fortune 500 companies like Starbucks, Nike, etc. They filter all the resumes through an Applicant Tracking System (ATS).
Besides that, mid-sized startups like Airbnb, Velmo, Squarespace, and many more are also not odd-one-out businesses in the league. Even they prefer this system.
What is an Applicant Tracking System(ATS)?
Picking the relevant job applications from thousands of submitted resumes is a hard nut to crack. And that’s where an Applicant Tracking System software makes an HR’s task effortless. Whether it’s posting the job application, designing a job offer letter for the selected candidate, or whatnot, the tools of an ATS makes everything possible in minutes!
Are you clueless about how to get past an ATS? Well, no worries! Just follow the below steps and get into the next round smoothly.
Step 1: Keyword Optimization is Essential
Suppose the posted vacancy is for the role of the Data Engineer, but you mentioned Data Analyst in your resume. Will you get shortlisted? No, you won’t.
The first thing which an ATS system tries to match in your resume or CV is the set of keywords. They are the job titles and related things. Always ensure to be subtle with these keywords and optimize them according to the company’s title.
Step 2: Pointer and Highlighted Keywords Are Important
Well, you already understood how important the keywords are to your resume. Is that enough? No, highlighting them is also necessary. Either change the keyword fonts to BOLD or capitalize them for making the content easily readable for the ATS software.
Moreover, add standard bullet points if there are several points under a single heading. It’s a systematic approach to organize the content of your resume. However, don’t make it too fancy and use simple dots instead of tick marks, images, etc.
Step 3: Hard And Soft Skill’s Distribution
Mentioning hard and soft skills in your resume are equally essential. However, their distribution depends on the job role for which you applied. Suppose it’s a managerial role, then ensure to distribute your hard and soft skills equally.
But, it’s a different story for technical roles. Give priority to hard skills over soft skills. It’s because the ATS bot probes for hard skills first and then looks for soft skills.
Step 4: Resume Tailoring According To The Job Description
If you include keywords from the job description, there are more chances that you get an interview call. And that’s true! Doing this lets your resume stand out on the ATS ranking.
Enlisted are a few things you must pay attention to:
Check the relevant keywords and how frequently you are using them.
Try to match the keywords exactly from the job description.
Don’t forget to match the job title and education title accurately.
Step 5: Resume Editing With Appropriate Format
No matter how well you matched the keywords while editing your resume, you should always pay attention to the formatting part. Even an eye-pleasing format can confuse the ATS if you choose the wrong fonts styles, sizes, and whatnot. Following are a few formatting tips that can be helpful:
Keep the font size of your name slightly bigger than the rest of the font sizes.
You can use attractive font styles like Arial, Times New Roman, Georgia, Helvetica, etc.
Always follow the chronological order and mention the recent job-relevant experience on top.
Avoid using tables, columns, headers, and footers to minimize confusion.
Final thoughts,
All in all, try to make an ATS-friendly resume that’s easy to understand at the same time. We are sure the discussed five points are going to help you. Did we miss answering all your doubts in this article? Well, take a deep breath and connect to us.
We, at Success Route, always strive to help skilled professionals like you to get the best employers, and vice versa.