Melissa Weaver was recruiting for a technology consulting firm when she spotted something promising on a man’s resume: He had worked at a pizza restaurant all four years of college.
“He started as a dishwasher and ended up being a manager,” she told Business Insider.
Although the recent graduate had no experience in technology, for Weaver, he had demonstrated longevity within a company and a desire to take on more responsibility.
“It’s definitely worth discussing,” Weaver said. The man eventually got the job and has since been promoted several times, she said.
It’s the kind of feel-good story that seems impossible to repeat in a job market that can play out like an obstacle course — one where the obstacles are the technologies that many companies use to filter and reject resumes.
Yet for all the fear over so-called applicant tracking systems, it’s often not a robot that starts, it’s always people.
“The ATS doesn’t care”
Mark Jensen, a recruiter at Upswing Talent Acquisition, told BI that job seekers often focus too much on sneaking past an ATS to be seen.
“They all think the applicant tracking system is some magical technology that weeds out applicants by itself,” he said. “The ATS doesn’t care. It’s just a repository.”
Instead, recruiters often filter with keywords and other variables to narrow down piles of resumes, Jensen said. So it’s a good idea to tailor yours and your cover letter to make sure it matches a job description.
Indeed, like many others who feel overworked, recruiters often are too, he said.
“They don’t have time to really analyze a resume and determine whether or not someone might be a good fit. They need that resume to jump off the page,” Jensen said.
Weaver agreed. She recommends people list their specific accomplishments and skills and not just focus on keywords in a job description.
“Put in any specific statistics that show, ‘I know what I’m talking about,’” she said. “It’s really important to attract the human eye.”
Weaver said that by taking these steps, it is less likely that a resume will be tossed aside when a recruiter sorts through certain attributes.
Don’t fear the ether
It’s understandable that people are concerned about whether an ATS would block their resume. Nearly every Fortune 500 company, for example, deploys systems to ingest resumes.
And the only thing worse than having a recruiter spend only six or seven seconds scanning your resume is having no one read it. Online, people debate strategies for overcoming an ATS. Individuals and companies have even made a business out of creating ATS-friendly resumes.
Weaver sees the value in using technology to screen candidates, but worries about those who might be overlooked – like the pizza delivery guy – because they don’t have the experience that directly matches a job offer. ‘job.
“Do they have relevant experience? Not in a way that an applicant tracking system would tell you they have. But their experience, which may not be related to your field, can still be relevant. apply,” she said.
The fear of being ghosted by an ATS is why some people resort to what recruiters call “spray and pray.” It’s basically applying to as many jobs as possible to break in somewhere. AI tools can now also help you become a serial applicator.
An ROI of 3%
Even though it’s easier than ever to apply for a job, that doesn’t mean you should go wild. Applying to more than 1,000 positions, for example, does not guarantee success.
Aaron Cleavinger, managing partner of the Murdoch Mason Executive Search Group, told BI that his firm’s research shows that when candidates apply for a position, that effort translates into “meaningful conversations” only about 3 percent of the time. He added that this doesn’t mean people shouldn’t look for jobs, but that they will likely need to limit how often they focus on the submit button.
“If the value is 3%, maybe you should only spend 3% of your time on it,” he said.
So what else should job seekers do? Cleavinger said it’s about constantly challenging yourself to appear different from other candidates who are just as qualified, or more so, than you.
“How do you stand out so that, faced with a big pile of CVs or a giant list of LinkedIn profiles to go through, you are the one who comes out on top?” he said.
Jensen, the Upswing Talent Acquisition recruiter, said the power also lies with those recruiting to make wise decisions about how to use an ATS.
“It’s the recruiter and how they choose to filter to push the most relevant candidates to the top, so they don’t have to look at all 400 or 1,000 resumes,” he said.
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