Have you ever had this thought (or something like it)?
“How can I possibly get my resume into the hands of the
hiring manager? When I post my resume on job boards or company websites I never
hear back from anyone. It’s as if my resume goes into a black hole!”
There are a number of more effective ways to get your resume
into the hiring manager’s hands than to submit your resume in response to
advertised job openings (Think: Networking! Networking! Networking!). Statistically,
it has been said that only 2% - 4% of jobs are acquired through jobs advertised
on job boards. It is still worthwhile to use this job search method – just
don’t spend most or all of your time doing so (as so many people do). Keep in
mind you will increase your chances of success by posting to specific company
websites and targeted job boards.
However, before
posting your resume, it is important for you to know that your resume can be
rejected before human eyes ever get the opportunity to see it.
Here’s how:
When you post your resume online, most large corporations
rely on applicant tracking systems (ATS) to pre-filter resumes and pre-quality
candidates. The systems work by searching through files based on keywords and
key phrases and then mathematically scoring them for relevance. The ATS will
deliver resumes that most closely fit job-specific search criteria pulling the
most relevant to the top and sending them through for review.
The purpose of the ATS is to save HR Managers the time and
bother of sorting through irrelevant, unqualified, weak resumes to find the
best candidates - which means that you could be an extremely qualified
candidate, but if your resume isn’t written properly, you could be disqualified
before you ever get started in the job search game.
So, here’s what you should do to prevent your resume from
being rejected by the ATS and into the hiring manager’s hands:
Include keywords and key phrases relevant to the
position you’re targeting on your resume.
Two ways to find them are:
1)
Ask yourself - What skills, responsibilities,
basic skills, licenses, certifications, etc. would the ideal candidate in my
field possess? If you’re not sure, ask others in your field.
2)
Look for verb phrases and skills within the job
description.
Also:
·
Be sure to incorporate keywords into your career
history section as well; not just in the summary.
·
A word of caution: Don’t overdo it by cramming
your resume with too many keywords. It
will not make the best impression if
your resume does ultimately make it through to the hiring manager.
Create a plain text resume in addition to your regular
resume.
While a uniquely designed resume with a bit of color and
creative formatting might get you noticed and separate you from the hundreds of
other applicants vying for the same position, this is not the time or place to
submit that eye-catching resume.
Here are a few tips for creating a scannable, plain text
resume for the ATS:
·
Use a standard font such as Arial, Courier or
Times New Roman.
·
Send your resume as a Word 97-2003 (.doc) as
many ATSs cannot read .docx, PDF, or RTF formats.
·
Eliminate all lines, shading, unusual characters
such as foreign letters, symbols or accented letters.
·
Do not include text boxes, tables, page breaks
or columns.
·
Do not underline or use italics.
Nix the Spelling Errors.
It is safe to say that you should NEVER have any spelling
errors on your resume! (A recruiter recently told me about a candidate he
recommended for one of his openings who made this fatal mistake. After several rounds of interviews, the hiring
company had narrowed down their choices to his candidate and one other
applicant but disqualified his solely due to the fact that she had spelling
errors on her resume!)
The ATS will disqualify you if you have spelling errors simply
because it will be unable to understand what you intended to write. So it is
absolutely essential for you to make sure your resume is error free. Be sure to
read it over multiple times, and perhaps give it to a trusted friend for a
second opinion. You may even want to read it backwards to make absolutely sure it’s
correct!
Bottom line, job seekers need to have a resume that will
pass through the ATS in order to make it through to the person who has the decision-making
power. The way to impress that person is to have a strategic, well-written,
branded, powerful resume that showcases your achievements – that resume will
get you called in for an interview so that you can move onto the next phase of
the job search to ultimately land the job.
