Applicant Tracking System

What is an ATS?

Simply put, an ATS is software designed for companies that receive large numbers of applications to sort through and rank them based on the company’s established criteria. These systems are often looking for highly specific key words concerning experience, education, skill sets and other factors to narrow down their applicant pool to those who meet the requirements based on their job posting.

Today, a reported 99% of Fortune 500 companies utilize this type of software and with its growing availability, many smaller organizations are able to use them as well. In one form or another it is highly likely that you will encounter this frustrating AI progenitor.

How to Hedge Your Bets for Success

While it’s difficult to anticipate what exactly might get your resume kicked out of a que for the ‘to contact’ pile, we do know certain factors that influence the likeliness of a human eye gazing at your perfectly polished and pristine resume.

  • Flashy, out of the ordinary designs are a no go – ATS do not like any ‘unexpected input’ so unique templates might look nice and seem ‘more professional’ than a traditional text based one might seem appealing, it is a far safer bet to stick to what works.
  • Do not include images or columns – if you Google ‘Resume Template’ you are rewarded with many options that are not going to be ATS friendly which comes back to avoiding ‘unexpected input’. Columns can vary and can be confusing to an automated system so it is best to avoid them.
  • Your header should just be your name – Software is smart but not that smart – avoid combining different types of information (i.e. your name and your contact information) by having both in a header where the information may not be accepted by the ATS and your resume may be categorized as ‘incomplete’ and therefore dismissed. Having clearly defined sections (Education, Relevant Experience, etc.) helps the ATS find the information it’s looking for with no issue.
  • Make sure your application materials are submitted in the correct format – You might not think that how you save your document might matter but it does! Simply put ATS cannot work with document types that it does not how to read. It has been noted that Word documents (.docx or .doc) are the best format to submit resumes in but to avoid open text documents as they provide too many variations. If you have any questions about how to convert your document, reach out to a Career Connection member to help you.
  • While listing ‘soft skills’ is not ideal, make sure to incorporate them – We advise students to not make a soft skills list (things like organized, good time-management skills, etc.) because, as a college student or recent graduate, you are expected to have these skills as part of your accomplishments however it is important to include exact keywords somewhere in the body of your resume or cover letter to push the ATS to put your application higher than those that do not.

While following these tips does not guarantee that you will trick the ATS to putting your application to the top of the list, they certainly are helpful to be aware of!