ATS Scannable Resume: Applicant Tracking System

Creating an ATS-friendly resume is a highly effective way to increase your interview chances and shift the job search odds more in your favor. In this article, we’re talking about how to optimize your resume for applicant tracking systems (ATS) by including job-specific keywords and using a parsable format.

What is an applicant tracking system?

Before you can discover what an ATS resume is, it’s important to make sure you’re clear on what ATS means. An applicant tracking system (ATS) is a human resources software that allows employers to organize large numbers of applicant resumes. Recruiters and hiring managers can search their ATS by keyword to discover well-matched applicants. You can improve your chances of grabbing a recruiter’s attention by optimizing your resume keywords and ensuring your resume sections are easily identified by the ATS.

 

Applying to 1000 Jobs to See If There’s a Labor Shortage – RECRUITER REACTION!

 

Find engineering teams that share your values

I sat down to make a list of companies I might like to join, and let me tell you, it was overwhelmingly un-fun. I can’t think of a better way to describe it. It was the antithesis of fun.

I wanted to know about who I’d be working with, what my day-to-day would look like, and whether my values aligned with those of the engineering team. But careers pages and job descriptions were so unhelpful.

I got on the phone with several recruiters, and none of them could tell me if engineers were involved in shaping the product roadmap, or whether they favored speed or perfection when it came to shipping code. It suddenly made sense why so many engineers join companies where they already know someone.