Job seekers face multiple challenges on their way of getting the desired job. This way is full of obstacles as well as there are many competitors who want to get the same position you are pursuing. Most people are focused on how to look better in the eyes of hiring authorities. And it is absolutely fine because hiring managers look at resumes to compare and decide which candidate should be invited for an interview and which one should be just ignored. So the primary attention of job seekers should be rightly directed at a resume and accompanying job application documents. However, there are other things that require the attention of job hunters because sometimes your resume has chances it will never be on the table or computer of a hiring manager.
Resume and Applicant Tracking Software
Most people today apply for positions online as it is the most convenient way available nowadays. You don't have to go anywhere further from a computer. Despite the benefits of such methods, there are some downsides as well job seekers have to be aware of. If you are an experienced professional or executive trying to get a job at a big corporation it is very likely that your resume will go through an applicant tracking software (ATS). This system sorts through thousands of CVs and resumes they receive to pick out only those papers that it considers belong to the most qualified candidates. It makes the work of hiring authorities easier by sending to the employer's inbox only those resumes that deserve their attention. This way they don't have to waste their time on reviewing tons of CVs that they will throw away anyway. So before competing with other candidates, some job seekers have to compete with this applicant tracking system. Because if this battle is lost, the rest won't matter.
As you understand ATS along with the rest technological developments isn't error free and sometimes it singles out strong candidates who could have become a great asset for the company. So if you are a professional and you are confident that you are a good match for the position your resume can still be discarded because of spelling mistakes or use of keywords. It may seem not fair but that is a reality when you apply for big corporations. Today you can know when you will be sending your application documents through an ATS (there are articles on the Internet on how you can identify it). Even big online career services use similar systems to match job seekers with jobs so you better make sure your resumes successfully gets past such electronic gatekeeper. Therefore, before submitting your application online take time to do several things in order to make sure your resume doesn't get blacklisted.
Check it for spelling errors. You might have misspelled some of the important keywords that won't be identified because of your mistake. Make sure you use enough keywords in your resume for the position you apply. Revise your resume to exclude complicated headers, images or tables; simple formatting is what you need. List all of your employment dates on the right side of the job description. And it is better if you stick to one of the classic fonts.
