Okay so the ATS is a complete mystery, an enigma, a conundrum, all the words!

With over 200 ATS and at least 75% of employers using them, it leads us to having ALL THE QUESTIONS.

I’ve compiled the most common and have shared my advice:

What is the Applicant Tracking System?
• A computer program that “reads” your resume.

How often is it used?
• 95% of Fortune 500 companies and 50% of midsize companies use the ATS to manage applications.
• There are over 200 different types of ATS and each company also customizes the ATS.

How does it work?
• With 200, there are differences as you can imagine! But essentially the organization will set up the parameters for each job – rules, key words and processes.
• In most cases, the ATS reads your resume (and some compare it to LinkedIn and some even look at your LinkedIn connections!) and ranks you, assigning you a ranking number or a percentage fit for the role.

I’ve seen multiple positions within the same company, how does that work?
• First of all it is okay to submit for more than 1, however I do recommend that they are similar as the ATS will track all your applications under your name, which means the recruiter will see all the jobs you have applied for (all further applications will be marked as duplicates). It is ok to tweak your resume and cover letter for each as the recruiter will still be able to see both.

Should I submit my cover letter and resume in 1 document?
• No. An ATS is set to read a resume layout and the cover letter layout may confuse it which means vital information can get lost.

Does resume formats matter?
• Very much so. They are working on making ATSs more compatible with more stylized resumes (ie columns and tables) but even those that have that capability are inconsistent.

How long do you stay in the ATS?
• Forever. And it tracks all your interactions with the company, so if you ghost them, it will be documented and could prevent you from ever joining the company.

What type of file can I submit?
• Word doc only! PDFs and ATSs are NOT best friends, in fact they can’t seem to get along.

How to Get past the ATS
• By watching this training.

The resume.

That annoyingly super important document that helps us find jobs. It really is the foundation of the future of our career as our current and future job searches depend on it to open up new doors for us.

If only it didn’t leave our heads spinning:
• What is it supposed to look like?
• What do I put in it?
• Who reads it?
• What’s this about Applicant Tracking systems.
• How many pages is it even supposed to be
• And
• On
• And
• On

The questions, the opinions, the advice is truly endless.

So I come at resumes from 2 ways.

As a recruiter. I spent 15 years reading 100k+ resumes and watching hiring managers read them. So I think about them from the lenses of those readers (including the Applicant Tracking System). How can we make it easy and exciting to read.

I also think about them as a Certified Professional Resume Writer, the trends, stats and data that informs our resumes for today but also for tomorrow. Also, as a writer of resumes, I think about them from that point of view – how can we make it easy and exciting to write.

I’ve combined that to offer you something juicy: Two of my most popular and effective resume templates (out of the 20 I’ve created).

A checklist outlining my 3 easy steps to writing a resume that wows.

I’m giving this away. For free. Just because.

The process will make writing the resume easy and enjoyable. The template will make it easy and enjoyable to read.

The result?

You getting more interviews. 2022 is the year that you find work you love and I’m doing everything in my power to help you.

To grab yours to use now (or in the future – these won’t be around forever!), click here.