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Dream Job, You and ATS. Why you don’t get the job you are qualified for?

Having completed my masters’, it’s been a while that I have been searching for my dream job. After applying for around 80+ vacancies, I still have no luck. It’s really very frustrating. All the advice from the HR “experts” for job seeks are just not working. Customize CVs and cover letter that I have spent hours preparing find its way to dustbins. This might be the story of many of you trying to change or start your career. Expert suggestion – no they are the story of the past. Something new is in the game.

 A Glimpse of the World
The world has become more competitive. More people are crossing borders to get their dream job. Thanks to globalization, people are mobile than ever. This brings pressure to the recruiters of a dream company. Just imagine piles of CVs stacked at the recruiter each day. Going through each CV is impossible.

The solution: Applicant Tracking System (ATS).

 What is an ATS?
An ATS is a software that enables electronic handling of recruitment needs, namely by sorting through thousands of CVs, to determine which ones are the best fit for the positions for which they were submitted.

ATS process CVs like recruiters’ glance at resume for certain criteria for inclusion. However, human recruiters often look for grounds for automatic rejection, such as spelling errors or lack of relevant skills, applicant tracking systems operate by searching resumes for keywords and skills, then calculates how much experience the applicant have in those skills. Finally, the ATS decides how well your application matches the job description and ultimately decides if your resume is worthy of being seen by a human recruiter. Hence, applicant tracking systems help employers save time and paper and help them stay organized.

 Problem with ATS
ATS kill 75 percent of candidates' chances of landing an interview as soon as they submit their resumes, according to job search services provider Preptel.

If a job seeker's resume isn't formatted the right way and doesn't contain the right keywords and phrases, the applicant tracking system will misread it and rank it as a bad match with the job opening, regardless of the candidate's qualifications. This entails, if a job-seeker follows the popular HR advice to make his/her CV standout to the HRM, he/she run the risk of being rejected immediately by the ATS – resulting to loss of time, effort and dream job.

 The way out
There are numerous free CV analysis and professional services that provide free analysis and suggestions to make your CV machine readable. Some of them are www.cvknowhow.com , www.cvnow.com .

However, since these websites provide only one free review, it is better to format a CV before applying for the analysis.

Following are some of the things to consider while preparing a CV for the machine:
  1. KISS
Keep It Simple, Stupid (KISS). While ATS is a machine, current technological development puts limit to its capacity. Different formats, designs, tables and boxes, italics and colors are alien to the system. Also, it doesn’t understand the creative headings or titles. Hence, using simple format, font (Times new roman, Arial, etc.) and classical headings (Personal Summary, Professional Experience, etc.) is the key.
  1. Keyword Stuffing
Though it may seem smart to identify the keywords in the job description and stuffing the CV with the key words, don’t overdo it. Some ATS are designed to identify repetition of in a CV. Any keyword repeated more then 3-4 times might lead to rejected CV. jobscan.co helps you in comparing your CV and the job description of the job you are applying for to find out matching percentage. tagcrowd.com helps to generate key words.
  1. Acronyms
Use complete/whole terms along with acronyms. Using only the acronym decreases the chances of good match.
  1. Job Title Matters
Having a job title in your CV matters a lot. For each job you apply for, tweak job titles to fit the role. Small changes to your job titles can make a big difference with an ATS. 

The job search process is frustrating. The advancement in the technology has made the process even more complex. ATS is the new norm in the world recruitment process and you should not let technology stand between you and your dream job. ATS make the recruitment process much more streamlined. Its use will ever increase. These are the basis the applicant of today must know.
Now that you have found out ways to get past the ATS, change your approach and you are sure to be successful in landing that dream job.

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