Your Job Search

To all the job seekers out there: I've said it before, I will say it again. There are a LOT of pieces of advice about your resume, your job search, networking, "LinkedIn optimization", etc. Only you can judge what is the best path for you, personally - including cost. (I personally charge $300-$800 on average for a resume - and that depends on how much editing and research I have to do, as well as a $75 flat-cost resume review with inline suggestions. If I need to write a complete new resume from the ground up for an experienced professional it will obviously cost more, and I NEVER farm the work to anyone else unless I actually REFER you to someone I know and trust and then it is an intro. That isn't the case with a lot of the "influencers" out there - this is a qualifying question YOU should ask if you are shopping for a resume writer.)

• I've said it before and I will say it again: you have choices. If you are looking at making a career pivot and looking for a career coach, I personally would recommend someone that EITHER has formal training (psychology/organizational development/executive coaching) in conjunction with either a hiring manager, people leader, or HR/Recruiting background, OR someone that has actually made that transition successfully and now coaches that specific type of pivot. Ask your network for resources/referrals.
• If you are trying to explore your options in your current career, or develop a job search plan, there are a LOT of really good coaches/counselors out there (I define a "counselor" as someone with an advanced degree like a MS/PhD in Psychology or Organizational Development and the focus of their services is career services.)
• If you are looking for a LinkedIn refresh/optimization, a marketing or sales background may give you as much value as someone in a coaching role.
• For interview practice, I would make sure that whomever you are working with has experience actually interviewing people - that could be someone in HR, Recruiting, a Usability/UX researcher, a former hiring manager, a journalist or radio DJ. You want them to understand how to structure questions and give you actionable feedback on improving.

Now let me share some information with you specific to the ATS:

• Recruiters (internal/corporate) and hiring managers use the ATS all day, every day, to manage the recruiting process. Many senior recruiters have also been part of the implementation process, meaning "hooking it up and turning it on", of one or more ATS' brands. I personally have been part of 3 implementations, the most recent from inception to rollout - including research, contacting the brand (Lever), and then working with IT to get it integrated with our systems and importing the data from the legacy system. That means I set up the processes, the users and their permissions, I worked with my Lever Account Manager to make changes (ie adding a portfolio review workflow step at the request of our product team). So - that means we really DO know "how the ATS works". Anyone that does not have that experience is giving you advice on hearsay, NOT first hand experience.
• Product Managers, Account Managers, and Trainers AT ATS' software companies ALSO know the ins and outs of how an ATS works. Here is a link to a list of specific Applicant Tracking Software software brands.

A few years ago, the website theLadders had a series of Q & A sessions with the CEO's of several leading ATS software companies.

Lever

Oracle/Taleo

Greenhouse

SmartRecruiter

iCIMS

A lot of people wonder why there are SO MANY different brands. There are a few answers.

1. Larger, international companies need a lot more functionality than a small company with only 300 employees. Enterprise companies need to be compliant in EVERY country where they have a business presence, and often the ATS needs to have a lot more functionality; that often includes additional fields and steps to potentially fill in. Amazon, Procter & Gamble, Kraft, and Activision have much different needs than a 500 person mobile app company or a research non-profit that hires a couple of dozen people a year.
2. In the US (and other countries with different laws) there are additional factors such as being publicly traded, OFCCP compliance, USCIS (for visa sponsorship), SOX, PCI etc. These are all organizations that impose some sort of requirements impacting hiring processes, documentation, etc. that can impact the system chosen.
3. Many ATS' are part of what is known as an ERP -Enterprise Resource Planning - suite of software modules that integrate *all* the financial functions - recruiting, HR, payroll, billing (AR/AP), even supply chain (parts) management for manufacturers. These various modules are designed to work together, and often the software vendors charge a lot less in subscription fees for bundled systems. Usually an ERP starts with one or two fabulous products and then "adds on" additional modules - and they may not have expertise in those additional areas. For example, WorkDay HRIS (human resources - payroll, performance managements, benefits administration, headcount) is a fabulous module - but I often doubt that their product managers talked to any on-the-ground recruiters when they decided to develop an ATS.
4. Speaking of finance - EVERYTHING HAVING TO DO WITH HIRING and onboarding is based first and foremost on BUDGET and finances (and yes, than includes layoffs).
5. Just because an ATS HAS a feature, that does not mean it is USEFUL. Lots of TA (talent acquisition = recruiting) leaders choose to include features that seem really good when they are being pitched by 3 different ATS vendors. But once the implementation is over, front-line recruiters and hiring managers may find that those features detract from the actual effectiveness of the process. An example is the "scoring" you may hear about. Many ATS' offer "scoring" of resumes based on the keywords in the job description against the incoming resumes. But here's the thing: no two resumes are written in the same way, and those "percentages" generally don't return accurate results. So recruiters tend to ignore those percentages. Sure, it sounds great, but the way Boolean logic ("keyword matching") works means they score resumes higher based on keyword repetitions because they cannot QUANTIFY the information in terms of years and depth of experience.
6. *HERE IS THE BIG ONE: Artificial Intelligence is all the rage with ChatGPT, Bard, etc. right now. AI has is GREAT for *automating tasks* such as scheduling, outreach, and talent rediscovery (identifying EXISTING prior applicants that may be a fit for a new role). The BOT is a CHATBOT and I have a whole article on how it works. There are INHERENT FLAWS when it comes to Applicant Tracking Systems based on UNCONSCIOUS BIAS that mean it will be a LONG TIME (if ever) that AI will "screen" incoming resumes without a PERSON reviewing ALL THE APPLICANTS. So - it's NOT A THING that your resume is being "rejected by the system". (With one exception below).

That being said...let's look at a few more misconceptions/misinformation:

• There is an automated utility known as "knock out questions" that are set up by the recruiting team (and it may have input from the hiring managers) based on a simple yes/no flow chart. There are questions, usually after you have completed your application, that are predicated on the basic qualifications. These knockout questions have NOTHING TO DO with your resume - they are based on YOUR ANSWERS. And yes, you may be "rejected" right after you complete those questions - because based on the information you provide, you are not qualified (an example is requiring a visa to work in a specific country). But the reality is, you are STILL an applicant on the opening, the recruiting and hiring manager can STILL see your resume/application. You haven't been "shunted out of the system" - that is a legal requirement. And *most* recruiters DO check those applications as part of their regular resume review activities.
• Knockout questions MAY be in a more interactive form, namely a chatbot. Oh, yes, the BOT in the ATS. *NOT A ROBOT. (And the whole concept of a "robot" in an ATS makes NO sense, as a robot is generally an object to automate physical tasks being performed, and there IS no physical manifestation to undertake in an ATS. It's a database which is 100% digital.)
• The "six second" resume review rule: "you only have 6 seconds for a recruiter to look at your resume". So let me tell you what that means: when I (or many recruiters) review a group of resumes, we generally are going through the applicants 2 times. The first, the "six second" review, is to cull those applications that are CLEARLY not a match. That means we are checking titles, years of experience, education, and skill set. If I have a Senior Software Engineer opening requiring a SDE with 7+ years developing in Python or Java, if you just got out of school or finished a bootcamp and you don't have relevant prior experience, then you are not qualified. That is EASY for me to see. I will move you into a workflow where you are not under consideration, and (hopefully) send you an email to that effect. Once I have a manageable list of viable candidates, I will go BACK over them and read more in-depth before I share them with the hiring manager for review (or set up phone screens). If I am not sure, I personally always send to the hiring manager for feedback, and that is pretty standard for most internal recruiters.

Before you nod along with the "experts" and "influencers" in the career services industry: MAKE SURE THEY HAVE THE INDUSTRY EXPERIENCE to actually make claims about how recruiting works. I guarantee, most of them do NOT. And here is another clue: if actual industry recruiters are commenting and dissenting with what they have to say, they probably are not as knowledgable as they claim. A LOT of "influencers" are blocking (or being blocked by) industry recruiters and former recruiters because of the sheer amount of misleading information they are sharing. Check out some of the industry leaders out there (I have list in the article I linked in this paragraph) and see if they are connected/following the influencers.