Data Driven Resume Hack

Looking for your next role and don’t want your resume to get lost in the black hole of ATS (application tracking systems)? If so, don't worry, because in this article, I’ll be discussing how you can use a data-driven approach to optimize your CV and increase your chances to beat ATS system and get your resume reviewed by a real person

Included sources:

• LinkedIn premium resume insights - Link
• Resume worded - Link
• ChatGPT - Link

Lets get started:

2023 started with a storm of headlines filled with tech companies laying off employees across the world. With the job market being highly competitive, it's more important than ever to optimize your resume in order increase your chances of having your resume reviewed by a human being. That's why today, I’m giving you a recipe for a data-driven approach that will help you beat the ATS systems.

To create this recipe, I collaborated with a SHRM-CP certified Human Resource specialist .Gloria C. - SHRM-CP ,now Head of People at Woxer, who provided her unique insights and recommendations as someone who intimately understands ATS and how applicants can better their chances to get noticed. She said:

“If you are one of those job seekers that say: I’ve applied to a hundred jobs and never get a call back!” It’s time you understand how recruitment works: Recruiters receive thousands of applications per job post and recruiters do not have time to read each resume. Recruiters rely on the ATS to weed out resumes that don’t match the job descriptions. If your resume does not include the right buzz words/keywords, the ATS won’t select your resume, and your resume will go unnoticed. Learning this recipe is crucial if you want to land your dream job”.

This recipe requires approximately 3-4 hours of time investment, but trust me, it is well worth it. By following the steps outlined in this article, you can significantly increase your chances of success when submitting applications. I will focus on three specific tools that can help you improve your application's performance against ATS systems. However, there are many other data-driven tools available that you can use to achieve similar results.

You may be wondering why you should invest the time and effort when you could simply hire a professional to do the work for you. However, there are several reasons why this may not be the best option. First, hiring a professional can be significantly more expensive. Second, although a professional can create a great resume for you, they don't really know you as an individual. As a result, the content they create may lack context or miss out on particular experiences that are important to you. Lastly, online tools today are highly advanced and can provide valuable insights that even an expert may overlook.

Step 1: LinkedIn Premium Resume Insights

The first tool we recommend is LinkedIn's Premium Resume Insights, which is available to premium subscribers. If you're not a premium subscriber, you may be able to subscribe and get the first month free. If you can't get the first month free or don't plan to get a premium subscription, skip this step and move to step 2.

To access the feature, go to the >Jobs tab on LinkedIn and click on the >Premium resume insights link on the left of the page. This feature provides users with detailed analytics and insights on their LinkedIn resumes, using machine learning algorithms that analyze millions of resumes to identify patterns and trends.

Once you've clicked the link, you'll be asked to load your resume or allow LinkedIn to create a resume from your LinkedIn profile. You'll also be prompted to input your desired job title. Make sure to research applicable job titles to make the best use of the insights. When you type in a job title on LinkedIn, the platform will suggest recognized roles for you to choose from. For instance, if you type "business development ," LinkedIn will suggest related roles for you to choose from as can be seen in the next images:

After you hit the >Apply button on LinkedIn, the platform will scan your uploaded resume against the desired job title and provide you with a keyword check. This check essentially tells you which keywords were found in your resume that are recommended for the desired job title and which keywords are missing and suggested to be included.

To update your experience based on the provided suggestions, you can ask ChatGPT to help you with the creation of a new bullet point for your resume. You can provide ChatGPT with the following query:

"Please help me create a new career experience bullet point for my resume related to my position as {position title} where I {input the experience you want to add}. Include the following keywords {input missing recommended keyword/s} and make it impactful and actionable."

After you have incorporated your own information and made the necessary modifications to add the maximum number of keywords relevant to the targeted position, you have completed the first step. Your updated resume now contains recognized keywords for the position/s you intend to pursue.

Step 2: Resume Worded

The second tool we recommend is ResumeWorded. Powered by artificial intelligence, Resume Worded is a career platform that helps you optimize your resume and tailor your resume to the job you're applying for.

If you're a new user, you can sign up on the website and enjoy 10 free resume uploads, which will provide you with valuable insights into your improved resume from step 1. However, to take full advantage of all available insights, I recommend purchasing a subscription for 1-3 months, which will be enough to complete your resume optimization.

After registering on the website, select the >Score my resume option and upload your resume from step 1 to allow Resume Worded to analyze it. Within seconds, you will receive a resume score and a variety of insights on where your resume is lacking, enabling you to make immediate improvements.

You will spend ~1-2 hours in this step as you work through the suggested fixes and re-upload your resume to review how your score changed based on the changes you applied.

Similar to step 1, I would advise you to leverage ChatGPT to help with the content updates.

You will notice that improvements to your resume are not always proportional to the changes you make, and the tool may occasionally make mistakes in its analysis. Therefore, use your own judgment when implementing changes. After completing this step and achieving a score of at least 85, you can move on to the final and most crucial stage of creating targeted resumes.

Step 3 - targeted resumes

So you found a job you are super excited about, and you think you are perfect for it but you don’t have an insider that can get your resume pushed up the queue, then unfortunately you need to apply online and compete with hundreds of candidates. But how do you know your CV is optimized against the role requirements?

Resume Worded targeted resume tool is designed to compare the job requirements of a specific role with your optimized resume. It assesses how well your CV's keywords and other features match the requirements of the role. The tool also comes with an online editor that allows you to make changes to your CV in real time and see how the score changes as you modify the content.

Once you click on targeted resume you will be asked to paste the requirements of the role you want to apply to:

Resume Worded provides an assessment of your resume against the job requirements, giving you a score with insights on how to improve it, such as adding missing keywords or job titles. It's recommended to define the role types and titles you want to target upfront and then create optimized resume versions for those specific roles. Once you achieve a high score for a particular role title, you can use that resume for other roles with similar titles with more confidence that your resume will have higher chances to meet the requirements.

Don't forget that your job search requires a lot of time and effort, so it's important to make sure that effort is well spent by creating the best versions of your career experiences.

We are confident that by following the resume optimization process outlined, you'll increase your chances of beating ATS and catching the attention of a human reviewer.

Let me know in the comments if you found this technique useful.

Good luck!