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Putting All Your Eggs in One Career Basket?

Applicant Tracking Systems, commonly called ATS, have become a major part of the modern hiring process and they are a hot topic.

And along with them has come an enormous amount of discussion about keywords, résumé formatting, matching scores, and getting past automated screening.

But there's something important that often gets overlooked.

Getting a decent ATS score is not the only piece of the puzzle as far as getting an interview. 

You read the job description carefully and see that you have a majority of the qualifictions required, along with experience, skills, education and certifications.

Great. You decide to apply because you feel you are a good fit.

However, before you do a Happy Dance.............

Understand that the Applicant Tracking System - ATS for short - is primarily a system for managing applications and recruiting information. Depending on the platform and how the employer uses it, the system may also help recruiters search, organize, filter, or evaluate candidates.

Also understand there is no universal ATS matching score that determines who gets hired.

Different employers use different systems, different screening methods, and different criteria for reviewing applications.

And eventually, hiring decisions involve comparisons between actual candidates.

Then, there is the human factor.

Let's say there are two applicants who both meet every major requirement for a position.

One has ten years of relevant experience. The other has twelve.

One has worked primarily in a related industry. The other has spent most of their career working in the employer's exact industry.

Both are certainly qualified.

The employer may prefer one background over the other.

That's not an ATS problem. It's a hiring decision.

And then there is the job description issue. 

A job description doesn't always reveal every consideration that influences the final selection.

An employer may place greater importance on a particular type of experience, management responsibility, technical system, or industry background than the job posting initially suggests.

Applicants have no way of knowing every factor being considered behind the scenes.

Also, job descriptions are frequently written poorly - not crystal clear, not clearly delineated between requirements and must have's and nice to have but not necessarily a deal breaker if you don't have.  

When you, the applicant, take all of these variable factors into consideration, it's easy to see why you would wonder why you didn't even get an interview.

There is an unrealistic expectation placed on putting all your eggs into the ATS system basket.

Once you realize the ATS system is basically a filtering system, used differently by different employers for different purposes, your overall emphasis should change.

Make sure your keywords and language in your resume first and foremost reflect YOU, your achievements, and what you have done.

Read those job descriptions much more carefully.

Do not judge a position being offered by it's title. Employers use different titles and often use them inconsistently.

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If you are stuck in your job consideration process because of all the variables, we offer a service that does a matching between your resume and up to 10 different job descriptions.

This has helped many of our clients hone their skills much better as far as selected jobs to apply to.

Once they have used our system, they have been able to pick and choose which job to apply to with greater precision and end up getting interviews.

Find Out More About Our Resume Job Match Review Service

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Maureen McCullough is a veteran resume writer with over 25 years experience in the field, serving clients nationwide. With a deep understanding of hiring, job searching, nationwide job markets and candidate needs - she offers resume writing for all levels from entry level to executive and C-Suite.

In addition, she offers candidate value proposition services which improve what candidates bring to the table. These include career strategy, career transition, career development, executive coaching and consulting, interview preparation and LinkedIn profile optimization.

She is the creator of the exclusive FAR → Foundation → Accomplish → Rebrand™ executive career strategy framework which gives executive clients our best possible flagship service for their career advancement.

She is also the creator of the Resume Job Match Review, a sophisticated yet extremely practical structured analytical framework based on her own proprietary software which compares your résumé against job descriptions you wish to apply for, helping you cut down on mismatches.

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