Recruiter Lies About How Your Resume Is Screened By The ATS

There's a recruiter on LinkedIn who lies in her posts and comments about how resumes are screened by Applicant Tracking Systems.

She claims an ATS is a tool used by HR, but you can't get past, or around it ... that there's no way to get hired other than going through the ATS and through her. She claims you just have to be qualified to get through the ATS. However, it's simply not true.

While the ATS is a tool, it's also a process from the job seeker's point of view. Internal recruiters are the human part of that process. Along with a database, Applicant Tracking Systems screen out most candidates and only forward a small percentage of applicants to hiring managers.

This process, both automated and human, is intended to screen out unqualified candidates, people changing job functions, industries, and often locations. The ATS process often screens out candidates with "bouncy" resumes, unemployed candidates, job seekers with employment gaps over 6 months.

And the Applicant Tracking System process also screens out most qualified candidates too.

Then again, this recruiter portrays herself like "The great and powerful Wizard of Oz", that she controls the only avenue to get hired at this company and proclaims that she builds teams. Hiring managers build teams - Internal recruiters screen candidates, collect resumes into the ATS, and keep candidates away from hiring managers.

This overstatement of authority is just harmless self-important talk from someone who wants to appear more significant than she really is.

But it's unprofessional and damaging to try and make candidates believe that the only way to a job is through the ATS and through her. It's a lie that hurts candidates, by encouraging them to apply for jobs using a process that has the worst odds of success, and is intended to screen them out.

Good thing there really are ways to get through and around Applicant Tracking Systems ... to beat them, even if you're unemployed, changing career/industry/location, have a "bouncy" resume, or long unemployment gaps.

Because there are people who actually do make hiring decisions - Hiring managers.

I teach job seekers proven methods to both get through ATSs more often, get around them, and how to make a hiring manager think "I want you on my team", overriding ATSs and recruiters.

I help people solve the most difficult job search problems, including getting past ATSs, ageism, remote positions, product/job function/career/industry/ geographic change, job search acceleration, 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 Revolution! webinar (enroll at https://x.resumewebinar.com/register for no charge) to learn how to overcome tough job search problems, and accelerate your job search.

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