How to Rework Your Resume to Get Applicant Tracking Software to Notice It — and You

Nancy Anderson
Posted by in Career Advice •


Thanks to advanced computer software, employers have access to great tools that can help narrow down huge pools of applicants very quickly. Applicant tracking systems are commonplace among businesses that hire people regularly. An ATS reviews your application and resume looking for specific keywords and traits entered by the HR manager or recruiter.

If your resume makes it through the computerized gatekeeper, you have successfully passed the first step in the job search process. Learn what it takes to rework your resume so the applicant tracking system notices your document and sends it to the person responsible for hiring you.

How Applicant Trackers Work

Applicant trackers work by scanning resumes for specific content and then ranking the results. HR managers set the criteria that generate scores for each resume. A higher-ranked resume has a better chance of being selected for further review by a human being. Format your resume effectively to increase your odds of getting past round one.

Keywords

Applicant tracking systems scan applications and resumes for relevant keywords. Include the right keywords in your resume to increase your rank on the list. If you are reworking your resume for a specific position, you can align your keywords to the job description.

Use acronyms and spelled-out words at least once each in your resume. Recruiters may input one or both terms into the applicant tracking system's program, so you need to make sure an ATS picks up both forms of a word or phrase. For example, include both "HR" and "human resources" in your resume.

Review several job postings for the type of position you want. Note common keywords that appear in the job descriptions. Look for similar terms in the U.S. Department of Labor's "Dictionary of Occupational Titles" and the "Occupational Outlook Handbook." These resources contain lingo and verbiage used by various industries.

Word Cloud

Your computer, coupled with some good websites, can also help you narrow down which keywords applicant trackers may look for in a resume. Find anywhere from six to 10 job descriptions for a position similar to the one for which you are applying. Copy and paste the text of each description into a single word processing document. Go to a word cloud website, such as Wordle or ToCloud, and then copy all of the text into the word cloud generator's text box.

These programs show which words are the most relevant in the text you entered by displaying significant words in a larger font size. Now that you have the correct keywords, it is important to use them the right way within your resume.

Keep Things in Context

Merely stuffing your resume full of keywords does not work, because sophisticated applicant tracking systems look for the context in which you use words. Contextualization means that a program ranks a keyword in relation to the words surrounding the keyword. For example, a good applicant tracker can detect if you programmed in C++ five years ago or more recently based on words related to your work experience.

Applicant tracking systems recognize specific sections of the resume, such as those for "Education," "Work Experience" and "Skills." Make sure you put keywords in the appropriate section of your resume so an ATS knows how to rank your keywords in context for HR managers and recruiters.

Remove Contact, Location and Dated Information

HR managers may instruct applicant tracking systems to weed out resumes with dates, contact information and location data. Leave this information out of the online resume as it has no bearing on your skills, qualifications and experience. Put your employer information first before any dates, since applicant trackers may reject resumes that place dates first. Removing contact information also leaves more room for stronger sections of text.

Qualifications and Bullet Points

A "Qualifications" section, as opposed to an "Objective" section, lets you group several keywords together in one section. Include bulleted lists that lay out significant qualifications you possess that make you the ideal candidate for the position. Blend a few skills, experiences and achievements into this section.

Fonts

Keep your fonts simple and easy to read. Applicant tracking systems may have trouble reading fancier fonts, such as Calibri. Convert your text to Helvetica, Arial or Times New Roman to make it easier for software to read your words.

Uploads Matter

Upload your resume straight from your word processor rather than typing it into an application form. An ATS recognizes how you input the resume, and programs often give preference to uploaded resumes, as opposed to text typed directly into the blank form. Although human eyes cannot tell the difference, a computer program can determine how you input the resume into the blank space.

Retool your resume to make it more appealing to a computer program first, and then worry about making it look great for human eyes. Finding the right format that satisfies both an ATS and a human recruiter takes practice. Group some keywords together, create bulleted lists within block texts and get rid of superfluous information to shore up your chances of getting past an applicant tracking system's rankings.

Photo Courtesy of personalwerk at Flickr.com
Comment

Become a member to take advantage of more features, like commenting and voting.

Register
Sign In
  • Nancy Anderson
    Nancy Anderson •

    @Erin stuffing your resume with keywords regardless of their context is an extremely bad idea. The ATS will reject it for that reason, too. @Jacob that paragraph was a bit misleading - sorry. Dated information - older information is what it means. You should try to only include the past ten years worth of information on your resume. Companies figure that if it's older than 10 years that it's obsolete now. There are exceptions to that rule but, for the most part, 10 years is a good guide to follow. Years ago, when writing up a resume and/or cover letter, you would include your full name, physical address, phone number and email address at the top of both. Today, your name and email address is enough to get them started. I still include my phone number just to make it easier for them but you don't need to include anymore than that. So, on your resume, still include the title of the position, the company name and the dates you worked from and to. Hope this helps.

  • Erin H.
    Erin H. •

    I guess there is so much more to ATS than most people think. I think that the technology is fascinating, but I also think that it's unfair to the applicant. When you take the time to create a resume, you kind of expect that a human will read it and either cal for an interview or reject the application. Now applicants have to contend with computer software before they even have a shot with a hiring manager.

  • Jacob T.
    Jacob T. •

    I was not aware that ATS systems rejected resumes with contact information or dates; I had not seen that in any other article. Does that mean that no employment history should be present? Does this apply even if here is not an online application with personal details accompanying the resume?

  • Erin Jean
    Erin Jean •

    William, I had never thought of that, but if course people would add keywords to pass filters. Admittedly, a resume that was nothing but a few good lines and a great deal of word salad filler would probably put most potential employers off.

  • Jay Bowyer
    Jay Bowyer •

    Applicant tracking software can be so tricky to circumnavigate! I agree that tailoring your resume and cover letter toward the job and including both full-spelled-out phrases and acronyms in your content is a sensible option. That way, the applicant tracking software will find the keywords it's been engineered to look for in your application.

  • Nancy Anderson
    Nancy Anderson •

    @Catherine the way that I find keywords is to find several of the same type positions and print them out. Then I do a side by side comparison. Usually the keywords will start jumping out because you will find many of them included in most if not all of the job postings. Make sure that the keywords are used in the correct context. @Kellen there is no real standard. Use a font that is easy to read and probably a font size of 10 - 12. Anything smaller than that is just too small. The format depends upon the position and the company. Some companies will indicate that they want a .doc file or they desire a .pdf. Some companies will state that they only want a resume. Some will indicate that they want both a resume and a cover letter. Personally, if the posting doesn't indicate one way or another, I use a .doc because not all companies have the updated software for a .docx. I have never tried to submit an open office document so I am not sure about that. Anyone have that experience?

  • William Browning
    William Browning •

    I disagree that we should cater to the computes first. We can format a resume to look great for the computers and for human eyes at the same time. The difficulty is that some people may try to submit a longer resume to add more keywords even though resumes should stay at one page or less.

  • Kellen P.
    Kellen P. •

    I never knew how important it is to use the correct font! Calibri is the default now for Microsoft Word. Is it really hard for computers to "read" it? What about font size? How small is too small? Is it acceptable to upload a PDF or similar document type, or just DOC or DOCX files? What about Open Office documents?

  • CATHERINE S.
    CATHERINE S. •

    Are there any good resources for finding lists of industry-specific keywords that are used by applicant tracking software programs? For example, I work in the health care industry and it would be really helpful to have this resource. Also, should we avoid using some of the more "overused" keywords? I would imagine that hiring managers would get tired of seeing the same words over and over in resumes.

  • Duncan Maranga
    Duncan Maranga •

    Thank you for the comments. I like the idea of using a word cloud to hunt for the possible keywords that the ATS would be looking for. However, I have a concern on the idea of removing contact, date and location information. How can I place such information so that it doesn't appear as coming too soon in my resume?

  • Katharine M.
    Katharine M. •

    I love the idea of using a word cloud to figure out what the keywords are! I always worry that my resume is missing the right words and using synonyms instead, and this is a perfect way to figure out what words should be in there! Also, it can give you an idea of which words to use more than once - the ones that are in a bigger font in the word cloud.

  • Abbey Boyd
    Abbey Boyd •

    We all know by now that keywords are the most important part of the resume. The ATS will pick out the resumes with the best match to keywords noted by the hiring manager using the program. As the article says, though, there is a such thing as too much. Not only could the ATS system catch it and mark it as spam, as Shannon mentioned, but even if it does pass through the system, the hiring manager can easily spot an overly fluffed resume. After the ATS system runs through the resumes, this hiring manager will look at them. Be prepared not only for a computer system, but also for a human eye.

  • Nancy Anderson
    Nancy Anderson •

    Thanks for your comments. @Shannon keywords are king and need to be included in both your resume and cover letter. But they need to be included within the proper context. Just finding keywords and peppering your correspondence with them is not going to get you the job and it probably will have your information sent to the round file. Use proper keywords in the proper context and your resume has a great chance of being reviewed. @Lydia resumes have really changed even over just the last few years. In the past, you would create a resume that included ALL of your work experience even if it meant that the resume was several pages long. Today, only the last ten years are what companies are looking at because - well, technology changes so rapidly and the technology that you may have used ten or more years ago probably is not still valid today. Also, what does it really matter where you worked before. If your skills are what the company wants, they will contact you to find out where and when you worked those positions. It truly is important, however, that you network as much as you can. In spite of everything being online today, companies still appreciate it when a current employee brings them a resume. It seems to carry more weight than one that was sent online. I know that many of you won't agree with me on this but - I am living proof that it still happens.

  • Lydia K.
    Lydia K. •

    I've seen a lot of discussion over the years about what it takes to get your resume noticed. But it sounds like you could go too far and have your resume tossed back in the pool. For example, this article recommends leaving locations and dates off your resume. But I don't think many recruiters would pick a resume if they can't tell how much experience they're looking at. This is why it's more important to network and look for referrals whenever you can instead of hoping that a resume with the right keywords will get you an interview.

  • Shannon Philpott
    Shannon Philpott •

    I have always wondered if it was better to upload your resume vs. pasting into submission boxes. Thanks - this is helpful. I do have a question about keywords. I heard from a hiring manager that applicants need to be careful about using too many keywords because the system may flag it as spam. Is there any validity to this? And, how many keywords do you recommend?

Jobs to Watch