Just
when you thought you’d finished your resume, I came along and told you that you
need a another one.
That’s
right! If you have crafted a document that you just know will wow a hiring
manager, are
you sure he or she will ever get to read it?
Maybe. But maybe not.
If
it has to go through ATS parsing software first you may be doomed.
In
fact, if the format doesn't follow certain 'rules' the parsing software may not
be able to read it correctly, or in some cases may not be able to read it at
all.
“But
wait”, you tell me, “I’ve checked the job description and entered all the key
words that I can satisfy into my resume.”
Well
that's good. Key words are important. But unfortunately that’s not all there is
to consider when it comes to parsing software. What may be beautiful to the
human eye is not necessarily understandable to the computer, and keywords alone
will not do it for you.
If
you do not understand what parsing software ‘sees’ you may have created a
document it cannot read properly; it may see a lot of garbage it is incapable
of interpreting! The
computer may think you have just fed it a lot of last
nights' dinner.
So
you need at least two resumes; one you and I can see and another parsing
software can ‘see’!
So if you suspect your resume (and your cover letter) will be
scanned by ATS parsing software, you owe it to yourself to seek the help of a
professional to optimize it.
If
you like this blog, please follow me or leave a comment. I love encouragement
but I also respect different opinions. You can get more job search help by
visiting http://www.hoochresumes.com or by emailing me at kl@hoochresumes.com.
