Your Resume Does Not Compute!
Did you know that —
- Large companies receive as many as 75,000 applications per week?
- On average, 144 people apply for every entry-level position a company has to offer — and 89 apply for every professional-level position?
- Only 35% of people who apply for jobs are really qualified to get them?
These are true facts from the employment world, and given these statistics, it’s easy to see why employers — particularly large companies — seek help from the same place everyone else turns to these days to streamline operations: the computer.
Known as “applicant tracking systems,” these robotic software programs cull through hundreds or even thousands of resumes to find keywords that indicate an applicant might be worth a second look by human eyes. More than 95% of large organizations are using them, and half of mid-sized organizations are as well.
Overall, these programs ditch about 75% of all resumes that come their way — in some cases, even when the person really is right for the job. How can you ensure yours isn’t one of them?
It all has to do with how you prepare your resume, and the bottom line is, what worked in the past might not work now.
Here are some do’s and don’ts you can use to make sure your resume is “ATS” ready —
Do’s
- Do use keywords included in the job description, even if that means customizing your resume for each job you apply for.
- Do put your contact information at the top of the page, but not in a header.
- Do compose an “executive summary” of your qualifications and skills and put it in a bullet-point list.
- Do make sure your academic degrees and credentials are clearly and cleanly stated. For example the software may not recognize “B.S.” or “R.R.T.” Use the more standard “BS” and “RRT” instead.
- Do use only standard fonts like Arial, Tahoma, or Verdana.
- When formatting your work history, do put the employer’s name first, followed by your job title and the dates you held that position.
- Do use proper punctuation and capitalization and be sure to spell check.
- Do upload your resume rather than cutting and pasting.
Don’ts
- Don’t constrain yourself to the standard 1-page resume format. Software programs don’t care how long your resume is and the more you include, the more chance the software will see something it likes.
- Don’t do any fancy formatting — clean and simple is best.
- Don’t use abbreviations, such as “mgr.” for “manager.” The software won’t understand them.
- Don’t use tables or graphics or logos.
- Don’t use headers or footers.
- Don’t submit your resume in PDF format. Some software programs cannot read PDF files.
Following these simple suggestions will help get your resume past the initial computerized cut.
