Stop Applicant Tracking Systems From Screening Out Your Resume

Every day, you lose opportunities when you're qualified, because you're being screened out by an Applicant Tracking System.

It's a big mystery to most job seekers, who think they've made their?resume?ATS-friendly, gotten help from outplacement, or paid to have their?resume?written by a certified professional?resume?writer, high volume "resume?mill" that you found on Google, or job board?resume?service.

But there are a few basic changes you can make to stop ATSs from screening out your?resume:

1. Recognize That Job Descriptions Are Obsolete:?Job descriptions for replacement positions are almost always recycled, especially when a hiring manager is dealing with staff shortages due to many of their team being laid off. New position job descriptions were written when the position was approved in the budget (in most cases, that was a year ago). Criteria have changed since the job description was written. Plus, ATSs match exact words and phrases, not synonyms nor common meanings, so you need to anticipate search criteria that aren't in the job description.
2. Show You're Better Than Qualified:?You're competing against an average 10 qualified candidates for every interview spot. When many are qualified, you need to do more than just show that you're qualified.
3. Customize To Audience Of 1:?Standard resumes or those with little customization always get screened out - because they match few criteria, and match even fewer with the exact terminology. Human reviewers can tell in an instant if you're sending a standard resume or one with little customization, so these resumes almost always go to the discard pile.

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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