How to Impress a Robot by Reading Your Resume
While you are perfecting your resume and cover letter thinking about the hiring manager of your dream company, you might be interested to know that they might not even read your application because the robot will discard it before they have a chance.
Nearly all Fortune 500 companies and online job boarding boards use software (called Applicant Tracking Systems or ATS) to first go through the potentially thousands of applications they receive, said Money , Weeding John Sullivan, professor of management at Sun State University. -Francisco. one that they cannot read or do not meet certain standards for a human to see.
So how can you improve the robotic eyes scanning your job application? It’s not that hard, Mani said: include the keywords that are on the job listing, as well as any related terms. “For example, if you are applying for a job as a programmer, you must mention the programmer, as well as related terms such as coder and developer. Also, you’ll want to use acronyms and full words for important terms like CSS and Cascading Style Sheets , or CPA and Certified Public Accountant , because you don’t know what the software will pick up.
And simplicity is also key. There is no need to embellish your resume with decorative fonts, colors, headings, images, etc. – these systems cannot read them. “Stick to standard resume formatting using a regular font such as Arial, Courier or Times New Roman – ATS cannot read fancy fonts and will reject your resume due to confusion,” suggests Muza . You may also want to consider submitting your resume as rich text rather than PDF as the software may not fully read the PDF file.
However, you shouldn’t just fill your resume with keywords and skills that you don’t have; in the end, it is the person who makes the final decision. Your resume should be readable, not cluttered with jargon and keywords.
But including job listing components is always good practice in both resume and cover letters. This shows that you have done the research and care about the position you are applying for and it will have a better chance of passing the robot’s algorithm.
This ingenious technique will put your job application in the hands of the hiring manager | Money