It might not be your fault. The odds are not in your favor if you don’t know these terms: AI, ATS, machine learning, algorithm, predictive analytics, SEO, etc.
How do you bypass ATS?
#1 Ensure that your resume is Application Tracking System (ATS) friendly. ATS is the fancy term for recruiting software. I will write a tip on this one soon!
#2 Customize your resume for each job listing.
#3 Copy and paste 50-90% of the job qualifications (of the job posting) to the bottom of your resume.
The copy and paste tip is the one that flies against the norm, and here are my reasons for why I promote this tip:
#1 YOU ARE QUALIFIED.
If you are qualified, you are doing what you have to do to get your PERFECT resume in the hands of the SUPER COOL recruiter who will LOVE it because they’ve been scouring the job bank forever looking for YOU.
#2 RECRUITING SOFTWARE IS NOT THAT “INTELLIGENT”
Recruiting software is not as “intelligent” as people think. It needs resumes to be perfectly set up. Like no tables, no graphics, no colors, etc. It’s super finicky.
Moreover, I’ve even heard of some recruiters tricking applicants and adding rando words in job descriptions to see if they are reading them to ensure that they get quality candidates. Why would you have to trick candidates if the ATS is capable of finding quality candidates??? 🤔
#3 HUMAN ERROR
Are people perfect? Will people ever stop making typos? What if your resume had “Windos” instead of “Windows”? Or what if the Job Posting had the same mistake? What about syntax? What if your resume said you knew “MS Office” or “MS Word” and the Job Posting asked that you know “Word, Excel, PowerPoint”? You assume MS Office covers all of it, but the AI is specifically looking for each skill, so it brings down your compatibility score. So now, because it thinks you don’t have the right skills (because of the typos and the lack of skills), you could be a 4% match for the job posting even though you might be a 90% match and BOOM! REJECTED! 🙁 It’s not necessarily the AI’s fault — human error. Input => Output.
#4 LIKE ANY SYSTEM, RECRUITING SOFTWARE MAY NOT BE FULLY IMPLEMENTED OR FAULTY.
In any enterprise system implementation, I’ve ever worked on, invariably project schedules slip and cost overruns occur, so what does that impact? QUALITY and RISK. Remember, cost, schedule, quality, and risk are intertwined. So out of the box, many Applicant Tracking Systems like Workday or Taleo are not customized and it takes time and money to customize. Many companies run out of time and money often when implementing huge systems like these, so they might just use it straight out of the box. Requirements may not have been set up correctly, and so resumes may get rejected.
Even if properly set up initially, future enhancements and bugs could mess up the screening and filter requirements. Again, opportunities for your resume to get rejected go up all the time. 😲
#5 IF YOU GET BLACKLISTED, YOU DON’T WANT TO WORK THERE ANYWAY.
If you get blacklisted for thinking outside the box and trying your best to get your perfect resume in the hands of a recruiter, because their system might be erroneously too restrictive, you should be happy about it. Honestly, if they reject a perfectly qualified candidate and also blacklist them, what do you think their corporate culture will be like? Think about it. Especially when not knowing if the ATS is too restrictive or not. 🤗💖
How Can I Get My Resume Seen by Recruiters?
So what can you do? I have a super easy and simple tip for you — copy and paste part of the job posting into your resume, and hide it. Details of why and how to exactly do that are in my YouTube video below. Your odds improve dramatically.
Your chances of getting a call jump up when you make your resume more explicit rather than implicit. Why leave the Artificial Intelligence (AI) guessing if you’re a match with a job posting or not. Put destiny in your own hands.
For more valuable tips, don’t forget to check out the rest of them here and the videos. Stay connected with me for more career advice and more job alerts — subscribe to my newsletter below, YouTube, LinkedIn, Instagram, Pinterest, etc. I want to see you succeed!!! 😎🤗💪🏆👍😉
Check out my YouTube video below for even more information on this tip.
