What Career Advisors Don't Tell You About Applicant Tracking Systems...

There is an old misconception out there that Applicant Tracking Systems (ATS) have algorithms which automatically disqualify candidates when they apply to a role. My experience as a Recruiter that has worked for four different companies and have used five different ATS systems that this is not the case. Recruiters/Hiring Managers disqualify candidates, NOT ATS Systems. Many Resume Writers and Career Advisors advertise as part of their services to create a resume that will get get your resume past the ATS system and into the Recruiters queue. The fact of the matter is that Recruiters and Hiring Managers are already seeing your resume and disqualifying you based on your skill set, experience or resume structure.

ATS systems are ultimately used for tracking candidate’s resumes as well as being used to report data on candidates such as gender, location, years of experience and other information you submit when filling out an application. As a Recruiter and Career Advisor my advice is to target keywords in the job description that fit your background and putting them in the summary or attributes section of your resume. That way Recruiters, not ATS systems, will move you into the next phase of the hiring process. The screenshot below is typical of many ATS systems. For a candidate to receive a decline/reject email someone would of had to view their resume and reject them in the system.