Why You Want To Apply Online – Even If There Is No Open Job

Job seekers really don’t understand how AI works within the ATS and recruiting in general. All the misconceptions you have revolve around capabilities generative AI has (and doesn’t have).

• So, again, let’s get something straight. Due to HR/employment laws and rigor, and the still-present bias in AI, NO ATS is automatically screening you OUT of a role without a human (that would be a RECRUITER) ever laying eyes on your application.
• Yes, many (but not ALL) Applicant Tracking Systems have potential to OFFER “ranking” of applicants based on keywords. BUT: most recruiters I personally know ignore those rankings for the simple fact that they are WILDLY INCONSISTENT – because RESUMES are not standardized. (Go dig into Boolean search if you want to understand keyword matching – which has been around since the 90’s.)

Where recruiters MOST use keyword matching is when we are proactively searching for candidates for a specific job. That would be where your LinkedIn profile comes in; it also comes into play when we first open a job in our ATS – then we search ALL THE PAST APPLICANTS that may match up with the skills we are looking for.

This is one area where AI does come heavily into play. There is an actual function called “talent rediscovery” (which has been around for a number of years, I started hearing about it around 2016), which has now become a very useful search tool. It basically AUTOMATES a process that recruiters have been manually running since the dawn of the ATS (~1995 or so.)

Like me, I am sure you have seen an upswing in a type of job posting called “talent communities” (they have also been around for a long time.) These are basically an equivalent of a CRM inside an ATS. This is where you create your account, and upload your general resume.

You are probably sitting here thinking: WHY would I want to do that? And here’s the answer:

If there is no open role at an employer you want to work for, the Talent Community IS the open role you will apply to.

For your target employers – the ones that you REALLY want to work for – the Talent Community allows you to create your profile and the next time a relevant title comes around, AI will automatically present you as a candidate to the recruiter. Before people start applying for the job.

If you have not been following along, you need to be QUALIFIED and one of the first applicants to a job when it opens. Being considered BEFORE the job is officially opened, is your secret weapon.

A couple of quick notes:

• With the advent of AI, a lot of employers allow opt-in/opt-out when you first apply. *This is the meaning of the AI enabled evaluation, NOT rejecting your application off a specific job. If you opt out, you will never be presented for future roles – meaning you will need to apply WHEN you see a role.
• If you have already applied to that employer in the past, you don’t need to join a talent community – your resume should automatically be part of the returned results.

This is part of a longer term job-search strategy and not every employer offers Talent Communities, but it is something for you to think about. Earlier this year, I hired someone that had applied to a previous job; they came up in a talent rediscovery search before I even opened the job on our careers site. And I guarantee you, plenty of recruiters have similar stories.