It’s logical to ask, “Why should
I bring my resume up to contemporary standards if I am currently employed? The
answer is it is for the same reasons you buy any insurance. It is for recovery
from the unavoidable things that upset your life. You don’t think something
will happen, and then it does. You could be confident today that you will not
lose your job. However, change is inevitable and so are surprises.
Most people wait until they lose
their jobs to get their resume into shape and to become current with contemporary
tactics for conducting a successful search. Often they are in a panic mode when
it happens, worried about finances, about their family or loved ones well-being,
and they may already be financially stressed.
Everyone knows about what shape
the economy is in. Even if you believe that everything is getting better, it’s
hard to deny that the situation is still not healthy. The government publishes
unemployment numbers regularly, albeit with whatever political spin they want
to influence voters and Wall Street with. The bottom line is there are a lot
fewer jobs today than there were when the economy was very healthy. Employers
continue to be reluctant to create new openings; they are worried about making
new financial commitments. And there are more people searching for fewer jobs!
That means companies are overwhelmed
with many applicants, so they purchase computer programs, ATS specifically, to
help sift through the large number of applicants. The software is designed to
weed candidates out. Its primary objective is to help companies reduce hiring
costs by replacing the number of employees required to process the burdensome
resume load by implementing computerized screening. It helps control costs so
you can’t blame them for using it.
Therefore job seekers need to
craft a resume that it will pass through the ATS software and reach a human.
That is not a trivial task! The software is easily tripped up, not just by what
one writes or the lack of the “right” key words, but by the way word
processing software creates the resume. It is not just a matter of getting
the right key words into the document. It includes using the word processing
shortcuts that make document creation easy to do. There are over 40 different
word processing software features that can cause ATS problems! And there are
additional errors that can be made in addition to the 40 features.
There are very few people, including
many resume writers, who are truly knowledgeable about how the software works
and how to what I call a ATS-ready resume, one that will not cause ATS issues
and get rejected. And if you know you are not a good writer you need
professional help regardless of ATS. Since getting professional resume help is
a paid-for service there are two choices to make: do it yourself and hope you
are doing it right or bite the bullet and pay for good professional help.
This leads to one of two
conclusions: either get help creating an ATS-ready resume while you are
employed and can afford it, or find a resume writer who is competent regarding
ATS as one of the first things you do when you become out of work. If you
believe you can do it on your own you are very likely headed for an extended
search. The fact is, the cost of professional help is a fraction of the income
lost by extending the time to become employed again.
Karl has been reviewing resumes for
people at no cost since 1999. He has been counseling job seekers since that
time as well. If you would like his help, email him at kl@hoochresumes.com. And visit his
website, http://ow.ly/dgg2J.