Is your resume ATS friendly?
I've revamping my resume and I thought I had almost everything covered - until a friend told me I needed to make my resume ATS friendly. I had to look up what that even meant! Has anyone else done this/is anyone doing this right now? Is it worth it?
Sandy Rosenblum
Solutions-driven, resourceful sales rep.
21
06/12/20 at 6:32PM UTC
You can bypass some of the ATS anxiety by contacting a hiring manager via LinkedIn.
Liz KalbPassion has shaped my career.
57
05/19/20 at 3:04PM UTC
Thank you! I have what I believe to be an ATS friendly resume format. And I know to add certain key words from the job description I am applying for. So it sounds like I should be all set, but I'm still feeling unsure. It's challenging to hear about this road block (ATS) during this already difficult time looking for jobs. But I am thankful it was brought up in FGB. Thanks for everyone's post and feedback.
Samantha Amsberry
13
05/19/20 at 2:44PM UTC
Yes - you'll want to have two resumes, both with the same content, but formatted differently. One that is ATS friendly and another that is nicer looking. The ATS friendly one should be plain enough to run through a system but organized enough for a human to navigate and read - no boxes, header, footer, or design work (just text (bolding and italics ok), bullets, headings, and paragraph spaces) and should match the language of the job description (this is how you get through the system). This is the one that you'll attach to your application on a system. If you have the opportunity to add an attachment, attach your designed resume - this is the one that a human will see. This can include coloring, design, your photo, etc. to match your personality. I'd recommend printing this one and bringing it with you for interviews to give to the interviewer and leave as your calling card.
Anonymous
05/22/20 at 5:53PM UTC
Thank you so much, Samantha! These are great tips.
Liz KalbPassion has shaped my career.
57
05/18/20 at 1:44PM UTC
This is really helpful. Thank you for posting this and thank you for all the feedback. Anytime I've ever applied to a job online (Linkedin, Indeed, Glassdoor), it always goes into the black hole. I've only ever had luck getting jobs via networking. I did look up ATS friendly resume layouts and they look like the resume I am using, so I'm not sure if there is something special about the examples online. I will continue looking into articles about it. Thank you!
Anonymous
05/22/20 at 5:53PM UTC
I'm glad my question could help others :)
Mona YaegerTalent Acquisition Specialist in Chicago, IL
60
05/15/20 at 8:37PM UTC
You should have a regular "styled" resume and an ATS resume. I'm not sure I would use Indeed, I used to work for LinkedIn and Indeed was not always the professional career seeker's friend because most of my clients only used Indeed for skilled and hourly employees. Also having worked for an outplacement company, here are a few tips for the ATS resume. Don't use headers or footers, just your name, contact info, use Arial or Calibi type, 11 point font or higher, no narrow margins, no docx or doc when saving your resume and use only these sections Career Summary, Work or Professional History and Education. Hope this helps.
James Christine ParkerAspiring Writer & Editor
41
05/16/20 at 11:55PM UTC
I absolutely agree. ATS cannot read in the headers and footers. So if you put your name and contact information there, the ATS cannot read it and will assume you didn't include the details — then it will automatically pitch your resume to the trash before a human ever sees it!
Anonymous
05/22/20 at 5:52PM UTC
Thank you so much, Mona and James. These details are so helpful.
Jennifer TaylorCommunications Professional
1.28k
05/15/20 at 6:49AM UTC
ATS is the hiring manager's friend, and the enemy of the job seeker. Forget the wonderful and creative resume templates. Do a Google search for ATS friendly resume and you'll see some plain, Word docs that work. You will need to edit every resume you send out to include keywords from the job listing. I know this is difficult and limits the number of resumes you can send out a day, but this is the "new rule" and you won't get any calls or interviews if the ATS keeps automatically declining you.
Anonymous
05/22/20 at 5:52PM UTC
Thank you, Jen. I wish we could be more creative but I definitely want to get my foot in the door.
Lisa StegemanCopywriter// Creative Writer// LGBT+
81
05/14/20 at 7:04PM UTC
Yes, absolutely! I worked in the Payroll/HR field only briefly, but one thing I can tell you is that things are becoming automated! In order to streamline processes that HR and Hiring managers have to complete, many newer Applicant Tracking Systems (ATS) do some of the legwork, so in the end the HR people see the applications that most accurately fit what they are looking for, instead of sifting through a ton of resumes that they won't even interview.
In my experience, (and anyone PLEASE correct me if I'm wrong here), using the Indeed resume, which you can download as a PDF easily, is a great start because information can be parsed out easily. That's probably the best first step while we in the job search catch up to the new tech. Good luck!
Anonymous
05/22/20 at 5:51PM UTC
Wow, Lisa, thank you for sharing your experience. I'll definitely check out the Indeed resume.
Leslie WassonStrategy, Insight & Operations
241
05/13/20 at 9:48PM UTC
Yes, you want to do that. Nearly every employer now lets a mathematical matching function (computer program) select their first round of candidates to look at. And algorithms (computer functions) are dumb. You will want to customize your resume, and your cover letter, using exactly the keywords from the job ad, or the machine will filter you out before you even get a chance to show how awesome you are. This modern convenience has doubled and tripled the time to placement for most jobs. Such is progress.
Anonymous
05/22/20 at 5:50PM UTC
Thank you for the insight! I'll definitely make sure to use keywords.
GibbomaLearning ninja with solid business acumen.
97
05/19/20 at 5:32PM UTC
Agree! And have a standard/streamlined version of your resume that you can customize for EACH application following advice above. Gone are the days you can be one and done with a resume.
Anonymous
05/22/20 at 5:51PM UTC
That makes a lot of sense -- I hope the work is worth it!
