Do
you ever ask yourself why your job application got rejected? Are you frustrated
by not even receiving a response? You may have thought you were the
"perfect" candidate.
There
is a lot of information about the causes of ATS rejection and non-response.
Some of it is correct and some of it is conjecture passed on to you with good
intentions but without a real understanding how ATS extracts information from
your resume. The following are the key reasons for either rejection or non-response
to your application.
Qualification. Many times applicants are simply not qualified. And sometimes
qualified candidates get rejected for the wrong reasons. The written content
may be right-on, but the document may contain attributes that ATS cannot
handle.
Key
words. Sometimes people ignore using key words "exactly
as written" in job descriptions. Or they fail to use them in context in
other parts of their resume. ATS checks to see if you have have the right
keywords and that you demonstrate you understand them by using them in context.
ATS
parsers. ATS parsers extract information from your
resume. If you pass scrutiny it presents the information to HR for review in one
common format for all candidates. But ATS
cannot extract text located inside graphics. This is important because we all
use shortcut tools provided by word processing software to make document
creation easier to do.
However, shortcut tools typically introduce graphic boxes into the document for us to type information into. And we don't even realize what's happening. All we know is it looks good and is easy to do. Borders, headers, footers, tables, charts and text boxes are typical examples.
For instance, if you put your name and contact information in a header, ATS cannot read it and will not know who you are or how to contact you. If skills or other information is listed in a table, ATS will not know it is there. If you put an outside border around your resume, nothing will be read. These are common things that cause rejection or non-response.
However, shortcut tools typically introduce graphic boxes into the document for us to type information into. And we don't even realize what's happening. All we know is it looks good and is easy to do. Borders, headers, footers, tables, charts and text boxes are typical examples.
For instance, if you put your name and contact information in a header, ATS cannot read it and will not know who you are or how to contact you. If skills or other information is listed in a table, ATS will not know it is there. If you put an outside border around your resume, nothing will be read. These are common things that cause rejection or non-response.
Columns. Some people use text columns or tables to format a resume. ATS
parsing software reads data across the full page, one line at a time. This
jumbles columnar information into sentences that make no sense.
For
instance if I were to write this:
Some people use text columns or tables to format a resume.
|
ATS parsing software reads data across the full page, one line
at a time.
|
ATS
would read this:
Some
people use text ATS parsing software reads columns or tables to format a data a across the full page, resume. one line at a time.
PDF
files. Although some providers claim they can read
ATS files, most cannot. What they fail to say is "converted PDF file"
variants. There are two basic types of PDF files, Native and Scanned. And
there are many variants. How are you to know if your file is a converted
PDF file? And how are you to know if your resume will be scrutinized by an ATS
that is capable of reading "converted" PDF files? The only safe thing
to do is not to submit your resume as a PDF file. Submit only Word *.doc or
plain text *.txt files.
The
takeaway is this. Maximize your job application success by making sure you are
qualified before you apply. Use keywords exactly as written in job descriptions.
Do not use word processing creation tools. And use txt or doc files to apply
online.
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