I have been applying my resume to various companies. My ATS score is also above 80, but still my resume is not getting shortlisted. What am i doing wrong.

13 Comments

1. AnonymousJune 2,2024 at 12:50PM UTC

   I would go to LinkedIn or Google “resumes that pass through applicant tracking systems or how to write a résumé for ATS “ and see if there’s any pointers they can give you on. Had to adjust your current résumé that might help you get through more applications.

2. Jonna Ferguson, ACCJune 2,2024 at 1:15PM UTC

   Jobscan.co is my go-to for scanning/reviewing resumes and comparing them to specific job descriptions for ATS scoring and compatibility prior to applying for positions. The tool offers suggestions to enhance your resume and improve your chance of getting past bots.

   In addition to Jobscan.co as the first step, I encourage people to differentiate themselves in any way possible. If there's a place to add a Cover Letter or free form text box to introduce and personalize yourself, use it! Also, see who you can connect with at the company via LinkedIn, or who might already be in your network who knows an employee at the company who can refer you to a hiring manager. Existing connections, or making new ones, is a gamechanger.

   Lastly, check out the book, "The 20-Minute Networking Meeting" for great pointers in expanding your network and personalizing your approach. Best of luck!

3. Romaine GreinerJune 2,2024 at 1:48PM UTC

   I sent out my CV to many companies without a positive response, until I tried Jobscan. I then worded my CV differently and received companies that are interested. I have a second interview scheduled for Tuesday and fingers crossed that I get this job.

   Try it out and hopefully you will be successful!!! Good luck

4. Joan Williams, Senior Talent Acquisition SpecialistJune 2,2024 at 8:57PM UTC

   There is no such thing as an ATS-friendly or compliant resume. No matter how much someone wants to charge you $1000 for one.

   I have experience with 7 or 8 different ATS and with different configurations of those systems.

   Here's what happens (on all the systems I've ever used) when a new candidate applies to one of my open requisitions:

   I click on their name in the list of new applicants for that requisition. Their resume has not been ranked. It has not been sorted for keywords. It has not been "scored". It has not been filtered.

   There typically is no sorting involved with the application process – which is where keywords come in.

   I click "download resume". It downloads in whatever format - Word doc or PDF - the candidate uploaded it. I look at their resume. With my eyeballs. Every one.

   There's no need for me to search by keywords for new applicants because you're sitting right there in the list of new applicants.

   I know most candidates don't seem to want to hear this, but when they're being rejected, they're being rejected by a human. I'm the bot.

   I suggest you thoroughly read the job posting and if you have the experience they're looking for - especially the Required Qualifications - make sure it's reflected in your resume.

   There is an entire industry that has grown up around trying to scare jobseekers into parting with whatever money they have left. Telling them that if they don't shell out bucks for that secret sauce course guaranteed to get you a job paying $30k more in 3 weeks or that you need to have your resume re-written so it "gets past the ATS".

   There is no getting past the ATS. The goal is to get INTO the ATS so you can be considered for the position.

   ATS are not nearly as sophisticated as those folks would like you to believe. They are essentially electronic filing cabinets where recruiters move applicants through the process, schedule interviews, send emails - it's where we generate offer letters from.

   Websites that scan your resume are notoriously bad - I guarantee you if I ran my own resume through one for my current job, I'd probably score 50%. If you use one, please take the results with a grain of salt.

   You want to have boring formatting - no fancy graphics, no tables or columns, simple bullet points.

   Please let me know if you have any questions.

   GOOD LUCK!!!!!!!!!

5. Tami L CannizzaroJune 3,2024 at 5:01PM UTC

   So I have to ask: your ATS doesn't parse out resumes that don't meet the minimum job criteria? Then why use an ATS at all? In my experience/understanding, that's the purpose of writing the job description and uploading to the ATS, to parse out resumes that do not meet minimum requirements and then pass on resumes that DO meet a certain level of requirements to humans for review. Those are the resumes that get reviewed to determine who may be called for an interview. Or does your company do it differently?

6. Joan Williams, Senior Talent Acquisition SpecialistJune 3,2024 at 5:19PM UTC

   At no company that I have ever worked at, in no ATS that I have ever work in, has an ATS been used as you describe. I have been using ATS since they were invented.

   As I mentioned, ATS are not nearly as sophisticated as those dimfluencers would like you to believe. They are essentially electronic filing cabinets where recruiters move applicants through the process, schedule interviews, send emails - it's where we generate offer letters from.

   What an ATS does is right there in the title - Applicant TRACKING System.

   The purpose of the job description and uploading it into the ATS is so that jobseekers can see it and decide if they want to apply. How else would jobseekers see the position? The job boards scrape the jobs from our ATS.

   Again, this is what happens (on all the systems I've ever used) when a new candidate applies to one of my open requisitions:

   I click on their name in the list of new applicants for that requisition. Their resume has not been ranked. It has not been sorted for keywords. It has not been "scored". It has not been filtered.

   There typically is no sorting involved with the application process – which is where keywords come in.

   I click "download resume". It downloads in whatever format - Word doc or PDF - the candidate uploaded it. I look at their resume. With my eyeballs. Every one.

   There's no need for me to search by keywords (or anything else) for new applicants because they're sitting right there in the list of new applicants.

   This is how it has worked at every company I've worked at - including one of the largest on the planet - since I've started using an ATS.

7. AnonymousJune 2,2024 at 10:05PM UTC

   Use ai apps like ChatGPT to form your resume. You should be gearing each resume towards the job description given. There was an article where someone copied and pasted the skills from the job post into the skills portion of their resume and it got them a response. ATS is checking for if you have matching key words. I think we over complicate the process when it should be easy to out smart ai.

8. AnonymousJune 3,2024 at 10:37AM UTC

   You can use Jobscan.

   You put in the job description and your resume to get a score of how much your resume scores against the JD.
   The free version (without subscription) should be enough to give you a good idea of what you need to improve on your resume.

9. AnonymousJune 3,2024 at 11:32AM UTC

   ATS score??? I'm guessing you're seeing your skill set matches a certain amount of criteria points that whatever you're using to gauge compatibility on. Let that go. Kinda. Revisit your resume, make sure you're telling a story of your skills and growth, even in your bullet points you can tell your own story on your success. Also, MOST opportunities go beyond what a resume states, bring yourself into the conversation.

10. AnonymousJune 3,2024 at 8:11PM UTC

    Please do not underestimate the number of open jobs that are given to friends-of-friends or never even filled. Yes, build a resume that makes sense, and network, but also know that a lot of this is up to the whims of a company or corporation. Their behind the scenes decisions do not make sense a lot of the time.

11. Maegan, Nike Sales Rep & Career CoachJune 3,2024 at 9:03PM UTC

    What is your networking + connecting process like?

12. AnonymousJune 4,2024 at 7:37AM UTC

    I am connecting HR and talent acquisition members of the company on Linkedin. And on other sites like naukri.com etc. But no response whatsoever

13. AnonymousJune 3,2024 at 10:15PM UTC

    With the market filled with many potential candidates, inside recommendations and inside candidates chances are good you are getting lost in that.