What is ATS?

We’ve all experienced that feeling at one time or another…

You created a resume, wrote a cover letter for it, sent it in response to a vacancy and waited for feedback, but no one called back. I wonder why the hiring manager didn’t contact you..?

You may have heard about systems that scan incoming applications with a resume before it falls into the hands of a recruiter.

One of the tasks of such systems is to sort through the huge number of incoming job applications that come in every day from many applicants.

The technology is known as the Applicant Management System or simply ATS (Applicant Tracking System). It is actively used abroad in the Western labor market (for example, the USA, Canada). Most often, large recruiting companies or companies with many vacancies and jobs resort to using it.

The point is that before your resume falls into the hands of a recruiter, it will go through ATS filters, where the document will be automatically checked for the required information.

In this article, we have put together a guide with all the details you need to know about ATS in order to properly optimize your resume for candidate management systems.

Understanding how ATS works in recruiting automation

The Candidate Management System (ATS) is a computer program used by hiring managers in companies and recruiting agencies.

If you have questions about how these systems work, we explain it as follows.

ATS are a tool for recruiters to go through the important process of narrowing down potential candidates for the jobs they are working with.

So what are ATS systems looking for?

The person or team involved in the hiring process sets some rules for what they look for in a resume and then sets up ATS filters on all processed resumes to find exactly what they are looking for.

In turn, the ATS system processes many resumes from various sources. All resumes go through a scanning system and an algorithm looks at the text keywords and then groups them into the following categories:

• Education;
• Experience;
• Contact details;
• Skills, etc.

These details will be stored in the database of the recruiting automation system.

Large companies often keep track of resumes for a position even when the vacancy is not yet open. And when it is opened, the recruiter will use the database in the system to find a potential candidate by key characteristics.

Resumes with the highest scores from ATS will move on to the next stage of selection of candidates – a review of the document by the recruiter and, possibly, an interview.

In order to successfully pass through this automated selection, it is not necessary to have some sky-high skills and knowledge.

The key to successfully moving through candidate management systems is a well-prepared resume optimized for these technologies.

It is important to understand

No matter what kind of specialist you are, your candidacy may not be considered at all just because the ATS system was not able to correctly extract data from your resume.

How to optimize your resume – optimize resume for ats

Now that you know how employers use candidate management systems, it’s time to figure out how to prepare a resume that will successfully pass the automatic processing of ATS…

So…

It is very important to keep track of the content of your document. Also, do not neglect the structure and readability of the summary, so that systems can easily read and sort information.

The good thing here is that the most common resume styles work well with ATS filters:

• When choosing a type of resume design from the most common, functional, chronological or combined, please note that the system works best with two extreme types. When scanning a functional resume and selecting skills, the system will not be able to sort them under items with work experience or education, and the skills will look taken out of context;
• The system reads information from left to right, top to bottom. Knowing this, make sure to put your correct contacts at the very top of the document, and then move on to the work experience.

Simply put, ATS wants to see the information that the employer is interested in. If your resume makes it through the applicant management system, you’re well on your way to getting your document seen by a live person.

Next, we will give some recommendations on how to prepare a resume for ATS processing. After reading these tips, you will be able to think like an ATS and pack your document with all the information you need to do so.

Advice

To optimize resume for ats – use the keywords from the job description in your resume. Distribute them throughout the document, using them in different sections, while making sure that they are written exactly as in the vacancy.
Stick to a simple and readable structure
After looking at examples of resume design on the Internet, you may want to add accents to your document, using different fonts, colors, text sizes, and even pictures, especially if the chosen profession belongs to the creative field of activity.

But as much as you want to make your resume unique and stand out, you also need to keep it simple and clear. Here’s what you’ll need:

• Choose a simple format where you can clearly see the sequence of your sections without any complex structures within the document;
• Use keywords in your resume taken from the job description. Do not overload one section with all the keywords, distribute them throughout the document;
• Use simple colors, without flashy combinations. ATS filtering reads all information in one color, keep this in mind if you use different colors to highlight some important information;
• Simplify formatting, avoid using logos, tables and various graphics, as systems read plain text best;
• Use simple lists, preferably without nesting levels and with standard list markers;
• Write up-to-date information, and do not fill sections of the resume with outdated facts;
• Tailor your resume title to match the job title so your resume is more targeted to the expectations of your future employer. If a company needs a “Manager”, and you have “Manager” written, this may cause a resume to mismatch with the specified system filters;
• Stay away from headers and footers. Information outside of the standard text areas may be skipped by ATS, so include all important information in the body of your resume;
• Sign the document with your name. Regardless of how your resume is stored in the system, this is a very good rule of thumb.

Advice

Recruitment automation systems can be configured to read information in a document using standard formats for different countries. Keep this in mind when laying out your sections and stick to the margins around the edges of the document.

Watch the text formatting in your resume

You are probably asking…

There are many file formats (for example: .txt, .pdf, .doc, .rtf, etc.), so which one should you use for your resume?

Sometimes, companies themselves write in the vacancy the format in which they want to receive a resume. Use the format your employer requires. If this information is not provided, please note that most ATS work with either a PDF .pdf file or a Word .docx file.

What if I want to label section headings in a non-standard and creative way?

Try to avoid this…

The automated recruiting system is programmed to search for specific words, so it’s best to stick to the standard titles for your sections:

• Contact information (Contacts)
• Work experience (Professional experience);
• Skills (Key skills)
• Education
• Awards and achievements
• Languages, etc.

Is it possible to use tables or put information on the page in several columns?

Try not to use tables in your resume, which are likely to be filtered by ATS, and be careful with columns.

Let’s consider this question in more detail.

You might think that putting information in tables makes it easier to read. But it is not always the case. Especially if we talk about the correct interpretation of this information by ATS systems. Some such systems simply read text, skipping graphics and tables. By placing your text in a table, there is a possibility that the program does not consider important information and will not save it to the database.

Also, be careful with the use of text columns.

Systems read text from left to right, top to bottom. In some cases, the information may not be sorted correctly, and the text will look merged. It all depends on the program itself and how it is configured.

If you decide to use columns on a single page, make them as readable as possible by using margins and indents. It is better to have different semantic blocks in different columns.

If you’re sending your resume in person to a recruiter or employer and you’re sure it will be read by a real person, you can use these elements to optimize document space.

Advice

The header and footer areas are not the place for important details. Many candidate tracking systems will simply ignore this information.
Using these tips, you can avoid the standard pitfalls that come with working at ATS, but keep in mind that after this, your resume will be read by a real live person. Therefore, your document should be pleasing to the eye and help the hiring manager to easily navigate the information provided.

Check spelling and punctuation on resume

This seems obvious, doesn’t it?

Of course, the recruiter may see errors in the resume, but this is not the worst. Much worse is that even a small typo in a word can affect the reading of ATS information by the program and important, key data may not be noticed. After you’ve put a lot of effort into your resume, it would be a shame to fall into this trap.

A person is able to understand the meaning of a word with a small error, the system may not recognize this.

Check your resume several times before submitting it to a job. You can ask your relatives and friends for help, because they will be able to find some nuances with their fresh eyes.

The key is to create a quality resume that will make you attractive to employers, so you need to have a zero error resume.

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