Even The World's Best Cover Letter Won't Help Your Resume Get Through An ATS

Even if you send the world's best cover letter, it's not enough to help your resume get through an ATS and out of the black hole.

Why not? Because cover letters are almost never searched by Applicant Tracking Systems.

I interviewed CEOs and VPs of the top 10 ATS companies, and one of the questions I asked was "Does your ATS keyword search cover letters?"

It was interesting, because I got the exact same answer from each one of them: While ATSs have the capability to keyword search cover letters, employers almost never use this capability and just search resumes (not cover letters).

So that means even the best cover letters in the world won't get your resume on the ATS. It means that even when you show how you meet every criteria on a cover letter, you're putting that customization on the wrong document ... because cover letters are almost never keyword searched.

A better choice is to include that customization on your resume, the document that's always going to be keyword searched. Every second that you spend customizing a cover letter instead of your resume, increases the chances your resume remains stuck in the black hole.

Look at it this way ... The process employers use to evaluate resumes, rewards job seekers who put a lot of effort into customizing resumes for the individual job the employer is offering. And that process also penalizes job seekers who don't (or put little effort into) customizing their resume, even when candidates customize their cover letter.

So how can you prevent cover letters from keeping you stuck in ATSs?

What if you could learn a systematic approach to your resume and job search strategy that gets you past the ATS far more often? Do you think that would help you find your next job faster in 2023-2024?

I help people solve the most difficult job search problems, including job search acceleration, getting past ATSs, ageism, remote positions, product/job function/career/industry/ geographic change, unemployment, "bouncy" recent career path, job search turnaround, seeking raise/promotion, industry in decline/consolidation, long term gaps, family leave, or other of the most challenging job search issues.

Join me for my next free Resume Webinar (enroll at https://x.resumewebinar.com/register for no charge) and learn how to accelerate your job search, so you can find your next job faster in 2023.

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