Understanding the Job Applicant Tracking System

When you're looking for a job, one of the first challenges is to get your resume read. At first glance, you might think that all you have to do is submit your resume to a company with a job opening and from there, it's looked over and someone decides whether or not to invite you in to interview. Sadly, it's not that simple.

These days, more and more companies are using the Applicant Tracking System to screen resumes in order to determine which ones are worth reading. In order to keep your resume from ending up in the trash without being read, you have to make sure that your resume makes the cut.


So, how do you accomplish this feat?


First, you have to understand how the system works. Here is an infographic that breaks down the process:

As you can see, when your resume is received, it is sent through a parser. This is a program that removes the stylized formatting and lets the system scan your document for recognized words. Next, it sorts the information into categories like education, contact information, skills and work experience.


Once all the resumes have been run through the parser and the information has been sorted, the system searches for applicants who have the relevant experience and training. Each resume is scored based on how well it matches what the employer is looking for. This means that even if you have all the skills the employer wants, if the system can't recognize it, your resume will be scored very low.


This is why it's so important to include keywords and relevant information that is listed in the job description. Every resume you send in should be customized to that particular job opening in order to be sure that the Applicant Tracking System will score it well.


Once you have a clear understanding of the system, you can move on to finding ways to make sure your resume is read. Stay tuned next week when we talk about how to beat the Applicant Tracking System.


What do you think about this system? Have you applied at places where this system is being used? Please share your thoughts in the comments.