Beat the Bots! Insider Intel on how to get your Resume Seen by a Human.
Agencies and Companies are using a wide range of online application tools (AKA Applicant Tracking Systems) and 70% of applications never make it through the initial phase of their mission - hitting human eyeballs. This failure rate is due to not pleasing the ATS’s narrow filter requirements.
There are other challenges we need to overcome, but never fear, follow these quick steps and you too will be on your way to a live human.
Technical Tips:
Now let’s speak their language and choose formats that please the bots - I recommend having 2 for the Online Application Systems 1 word doc text only, 1 pdf text only - no graphics WHATSOEVER. And when you apply - upload both!
I know, I know, I am crushing all your creative joy in the resume creation process.
Please do create that beautiful version for when you make human contact and to live on your site/portfolio as we do want a clear representation of you - your brand to come through.
But by no means does this have to be ugly! Text driven design has its own beauty which we can use to lead the reader through your brand story.
Free Resume Template Examples:
https://resumekraft.com/downloads/simple-resume-template-free-download-2019/
Willing to throw a few dollars at the resume bots?
https://resume.io/ - paid but inexpensive - about 3 dollars
https://www.myperfectresume.com/ - paid but inexpensive - about 3 dollars
Just make sure the end product is a pdf or word doc (one of each is ideal) - png or jpg is a no go!
There are three most used resume formats, chronological, combination and functional. The first two are preferred by both recruiters and your system - I personally like a good chronological - it tells me the story of your journey - your curiosity and your initiative quickly and painlessly.
Clear start and end Dates on all roles - keep that formatting simple - no text boxes, columns, headers and footers, out of the norm headings (keep it classic - Education, Work Experience, Skills).
Do not use logos, graphics, or bars/charts/graphs, images of any kind as it ups your chances of being filtered out by the bots.
NO PHOTO (if they want to peep you, that is what LI and social is for - and yes we are looking so make sure your social reflects what you would want a workplace to see).
Include your URL and label it - Portfolio - the system may or may not pick it up correctly, but if it is labeled loudly on your resume, the recruiter will find it. If you make a recruiter hunt for it, more than likely, they will move onto the next candidate.
Tried and true fonts! Now is not the time to get wild (keep wingdings under cover for when we really want to impress) .
If you have to download the font - reserve that for your in person resume.
Instead, format using color, bullets, bold, italics and other text choices that lead the eye through your experience.
Pertinent Skills/Keywords called out loudly under roles and in a skills specific area. The ATS bots are skimming for the same keywords/phrases as humans.
For entry level roles this might be more degree/major focused whereas for more senior roles it could be specific types of software, platforms and mediums worked within, titles and key skills or responsibilities.
You are using the hard skills listed in the job description to create your keyword list for our resume as well as , especially those mentioned more than once (of course only if we own these skills).
Include software, certifications, awards, degrees, processes/methodologies and other keywordable skills.
And of course, the job title itself - integrate it! Exact language is what the bots can recognize so speak their language and don’t use acronyms unless the job description uses then - then use both.
Style and Substance:
Now back those keywords up - we aren’t just throwing them in there. Tell exciting stories with quantifiable value - what happens when you are on the job - don’t just laundry list your past duties. Your unique experience and achieved goals tells the story - get those metrics and numbers in there and help me imagine you in your job.
Do this with bullet points, with initiative/action words:
Lead, discovered, launched, oversaw, pivoted, initiated.
Start with overarching responsibilities (with a result of what happened when you took them on) - then drill down.
Do NOT do this:
My responsibilities included overseeing 3 teams on the Charmin account delivering best in 360 advertising where we rebranded their main product. (What happened? Who was on the team? Why are you leaving me hanging?)
Responsible for the rebrand of Charmin, managed a team, deadlines, client presentations and overall budget.
This is a list, no achievements, framing, numbers, result in sight. This doesn’t tell me what I get when I hire you - just that you can do the basic skill set. What makes you stand out from the 300 to 500 applicants per job posting? Tell your experience success stories in a way that makes me see it, as well as make me want to pick up the phone and hear about it!
Do this all day:
While overseeing the rebranding of Charmin’s main product line, my team discovered an untapped audience (X) so we shifted 20% of our budget to that segment and saw an increase of 40% brand awareness after just 6 months.
Brought together 3 disjointed teams, creative, engineering and accounts to work as a cohesive team, which cut our deliverable turn around time by 30%, and dropped the error rate by 40%.
Not sure on numbers? Use a range! Have a strict NDA? Don’t name the client, name the category.
WHAT HAPPENS WHEN YOU ARE ON THE JOB?
Results, frequency, scale, goals met, benefit to the team, company, consumer, client…. Quantify your impact so they can imagine you making those wins for them.
That said - keep it 2 to 3 lines per bullet - tell an exciting story - you did amazing things! But keep it social media short - all the juicy bits but not too much fat.
Write a custom intro to each role you are applying for - now I am talking about that space provided by the online application system. Sure, have a cover letter at the ready (keep it short and pointed - 2 paragraphs is probably too many), but not many folks are reading those.
Keep this intro to a tight 2-4 lines that tells them why you are valuable to them.
DO- With over 6 years of direct experience at two of your competitors, Google and Facebook, directing teams of up to 50 on brand awareness campaigns where I have increased audience reach of no less than 60% within the first quarter of being on the job, I am ready to take on your challenge.
DO NOT- Make the same cut and paste intro for every role. We can tell. Stop and customize, it will save you from being booted by the recruiter/hiring manager reviewing your resume.
Add your side hustle - once you have appeased the bots, pique your recruiter/hiring managers interest and give some talking points. Hang Glider, Master Sushi Chef, Queen Elizabeth Impersonator, Punk Band Drummer (more cowbell please!).
We all have aspirations and I want you to keep those, but we are building an image that we need to last throughout our career, and if you want a higher return rate, apply for roles you are really qualified for. Meaning you are able to cover 70% or more of the needed job skills. Get noticed for applying to reachable roles, not for being the person who applies blindly to everything (cry wolf and we will stop paying attention).
Do not apply to more than 2 roles at one company. If the 2 are close in nature then the same resume can apply, but you are still writing that custom intro and I would suggest tweaking the resume to call out skills that match.
If you apply to too many roles, the message you are sending is that you are unclear on what your role should be. How can they have confidence in your value, if you aren’t clear on it?
