7 Ways to Get Your Resume Past Applicant Tracking Systems

7 Ways to Get Your Resume Past Applicant Tracking ordnungsprinzips7 Ways to Get Your Resume Past Applicant Tracking SystemsWhat is an applicant tracking system and why is it so important to format your resume and get it past this robot after a job application?Here is the definition of an ATS to startApplicant Tracking System/pl?k?nttrk??s?st?m /nounTrickster robot designed to thwart job application efforts and deflect resumes into the recruitment black hole.Ok, I may have made that definition up. But if youve been a job seeker applying online to advertised positions with no luck, chances are an Applicant Tracking System is what youre coming up against.Unfortunately, in the modern job search world, the ATS has become a necessary evil helping recruiters narrow the influx of applications to only those that are relevant to the job. Here is an explanation on how to get around it.What Applicant Tracking Systems do to job seekersAn ATS scans your document and only highlights those who match a predefined list of keywords, so the recruiter can find applicants with very specific skills for a very specific job.How do I know my resume will be read first by an ATS?If you are required to make a login ID, upload your resume, or fill out an online application, you can assume your resume will go through initial screening by a robot.With approximately 60% of medium and 75% of large companies using ATS, which eliminates up to 98% of applicants at the initial screening, its important you understand how to optimize your formatting and content to increase the chances of it being read by a pair of human eyes.Resume formatting fundamentals1. When listing your employment experiences, lead with the company name, followed by your job title, then a description and bullet point your key achievements. The date should always appear to the right of the company name for optimum reading by the ATS.2. Dont put your contact details in headers or footers. The ATS doesnt like this. The information can disappear and you can become destined for application exile.3. Keep the typeface simple on your resume. Stick with Arial, Calibri or Cambria and use the saatkorn throughout (forget Times New Roman though. It is super outdated)4. The file naming convention should be your name and a keyword or two. For exampleBec OConnor.Civil Engineer.ResumeHeres how to pick up on clues in the content5. Mirror the job posting language in your resume. A good starting point is to copy and paste the job advertisement/description into a Word document.Highlight industry terms, buzzwords, skills, and jargon the hiring manager uses most frequently in the description.Pepper your summary, skills section and experience with the same, as long as its in the context of your true skills and experience as they apply to the role. Dont be telling porky pies6. Spell-check and spell-check again Reading your resume backward is a weird and wonderful way to pick up on errors you may otherwise miss.7. Tailor every sing le resume whether its going through an ATS or leidMy final piece of adviceWith all that said, my final piece of advice, which might render everything I just told you pointless, is thisDo not invest your time and energy into responding to advertised job postings onlineJob postings can be a useful research tool in your job hunt but if you rely on them as your sole strategy, you will be sorely disappointed.Why did you need to know all about the ATS?Knowledge is power. And if youre not getting any bites lately in your job search, I want you to know why and how to adapt.To truly take control of your search, youll need to define and narrow your target. What does your ideal role look like? What are your coveted companies?Once thats clear, you can tailor and create a powerful professional brand through your resume and LinkedIn, and redirect your time and energy into engaging your network.

Write an Irresistible First Resume in 5 Easy Steps

Write an Irresistible First Resume in 5 Easy StepsWrite an Irresistible First Resume in 5 Easy Steps Writing aresume is easy - writing a good first resume, however, is something else entirely, especially when its your first time putting one together. While anyone can pull up a Word document, slap on the names of the past few companies theyve worked at, and add a handful of bullet points about what they did while they were there, that aloneisnt enough to capture the attention of recruiters . With recruiters reviewing dozens of resumes at a time (often for only six seconds or fewer ) yours needs to clearly stand out from the pack.But having a resume that stands out isnt about fancy templates, or an eye-catching design . While those may be icing on the cake, what recruiters really care about is the substance how well you present the information they care about in a clear and compelling way. Few people know this better than J.T. ODonnell, Founder & CEO of career a dvice site Work It Daily , whos spent the better part of her career advising candidates on how to find and land their dream jobs. Shes pored over thousands of resumes throughout the years - and as a result, she knows what works and what doesnt.ODonnell gave ussome insight into the top resume trends and best practices of the moment. With these tips, yourresume can go from regrettable to unforgettable - a sure-fire way to start your career off on the right foot.Adding an objective statement to your resume is a recommendation given at career centers around the nation, but according to ODonnell, its largely a relic of the past. Recruiters dont want to hear what you want as your next job - instead, its much more about convincing them that youre the right fit. What we have job binnenseekers do is put two columns at the top of key skill sets whatever the skill sets are that you see these companies are hiring for, whether its marketing, or theyre looking for Microsoft Office, you just have two columns right at the front and center with your top six to eight skills, ODonnell recommends. Make sure to include any relevant degrees or certifications as well, she advises. A lot of recruiters are told to consider somebody with this degree, this certification, this skill set, so making me hund all over the resume for that is annoying . If I see that right at the top of the resume, youve just inspired me to want to keep reading, ODonnell says.After your skills summary, its time to detail your work history and experience. List each company youve worked for (you can also list your involvement with school organizations, like a team sport or campus newspaper) along with your title, the dates you worked there, and several bullet points that describe your key accomplishments and responsibilities. Wherever possible, you should attempt to quantify that experience , ODonnell says.Numbers make a huge difference. If you can quantify what you did in any way, you should. We know th at the human eye processes numbers faster than words and they help me as a recruiter give context to the size and scope of the work that you did, she explains.Dont be discouraged even if, as someone whos relatively new to the workforce, you dont have a lot of experience directly related to the position youre applying for. Quantifying your experience works just as well for a summer gig in foodservice or retail as it does at a high-profile internship .For example, if I worked in an ice cream parlor for the summer, I would say Served 50-100 customers per day and handled a cash register that totaled over $1,000 a day in sales. Those two numbers give me an immediate impression that you probably werent at a single ice cream stand by yourself, and its probably a big organization. Not to mention, it sounds a whole lot better than just saying something like, Scooped ice cream for customers belastungsummer.Facts and figures are a must-have, but its nice to balance those out with afew persona l detailsas well so recruiters can get a sense of your whole self. ODonnell suggests including this information in an additional experience section at the end of your resume.Additional experience is a catch-all section in the end where you talk about volunteer experience , awards youve won, or maybe there are special things youve accomplished - you do Iron Mans or marathons or some kind of thing like that, she says. You certainly dont want this information to be the primary focus of your resume - skills and experience should always be front and center, since theyre ultimately what recruiters care about the most - but leaving theextras out means you might miss an opportunity to showcase some of the qualities you want highlighted, demonstrate culture fit , and bond with recruiters (you never who might have the same hobbies and interests that you do).Once youve written the bulk of your resume, its time to refine it. Go through and check for spelling and grammar as well as formatti ng. One critical element is making sure that you have enough white space on your resume, ODonnell says.Your resume is going to have a lot of white space and it might look really basic, but it should because recruiters spend six seconds on it. The eye works in a Z-pattern, so remember that and dont think that you need to fill the page and pretend youre something that youre not , she explains. A few things to avoid, ODonnell adds, include full justification - its a big no-no, really hard to read. The other big thing is fancy fonts or curly tail fonts. Theyre very hard to read, and studies show that the human eye cant absorb them as fast as clean-line fonts. Beyond that, ODonnell says, fonts lower than 11 point have no place on your resume. 10 point or smaller is just too hard to read. And the last piece is margins. You should never have a margin smaller than .7 inches on either side if you held it away, youd go Oh look, its pretty, its organized, but it actually works against you wh en the recruiter is reading it up close.When trying to show why youd be the best fit for the job, its easy to get a little overzealous and list every minute detail you think might be relevant to a recruiter. But keeping your resume to a readable length is a must , or else many recruiters will simply gloss over it . You may have heard in the past that resumes should be kept to no more than one page, but ODonnell says theres a little more wiggle room now.The reality is that you can go to two pages as long as you create white space . When I see a one-pager but theyve got half-inch margins, nine-point font, and theyve tried to stuff everything on the page, its awful. So Id rather see you go to two pages as long as youve really created that white space since its easier for me to read, she explains. The exception to that is usually people in academia or science have a lot of papers and things that they have to cite and that can take up some bulk but aside from that no more than two.A g ood rule of thumb is keeping your resume long enough to convey all of the important details, but short enough to maintain a recruiters interest. If youre having trouble with length, avoid repetition and flowery language , and make sure that each word and sentence on the pageserves a clear purpose. After a round of revisions or two, you should be able to strike the perfect balance.

More Offices Embrace a Casual Dress Code

More Offices Embrace a Casual Dress CodeMore Offices Embrace a Casual Dress CodeDressing for success runs the gamut in todays workplaces, from pinstripe jackets and slacks to humble hoodies and jeans. Traditionally, finance and accounting has been mora buttoned up and high-heeled than other professions, but offices are welcoming a more casual dress code.CFOs were asked their opinions about workplace attire in a new Robert Half Finance Accounting survey, and they confirmed that dressing up for work is going out of style 61 percent said their employees abide by a somewhat casual dress code - khakis and polo shirts or sweaters, for example - and for 13 percent of them, jeans and T-shirts are the norm.As for the rest of the respondents, 4 percent said their offices are still very formal, as in suits and ties, and 21 percent describe the outfits as somewhat formal - dress slacks or a skirt with a button-down shirt. See the infographic, below.So what should you do about your wardrobe i f youre a job seeker preparing for an interview, or an employee traversing an accounting career path and making an inventory of your clothes closet?Its better to dress on the formal side for the interview, says Clint Ahlgrimm, who coaches candidates as a division director at Robert Half Finance Accounting. However, its important not to appear out of place. For example, if you interview with a tech startup, its probably best not to wear a full suit.And once youre hired, Ahgrimm suggests you model your dress code after the person who holds the job you want in the future.If youre a staff accountant, take notice of how the CFO dresses each day.Here are three more suggestions to guide your style and formality decisions in this era of increasingly casual dress codes in finance and accounting jobs.1. Study the corporate cultureEvery workplace has its own set of unwritten rules. Once youve been with a company for an extended period, youll find it easier to differentiate what business dress code the office culture will tolerate and what fellow employees and customers will find appropriate for dress. Until that time, err on the side of conservative when getting ready for work. Some colleagues may not be so strict when following the dress code policy, so try to mirror upper management with your wardrobe choices.2. Follow good etiquetteEven in this more relaxing atmosphere, you should keep in mind some of these potentially distracting etiquette breaches and faux pasDont show too much skin.Dont wear dirty/wrinkled clothing.Dont wear too clothes that are too big/small (and no shorts).Dont wear shoes in poor condition (and no flip flops).Dont go over the top with accessories (or hats).Dont wear graphic tees or neongas colors.3. Dress for your dayAre you meeting with others? If youre going to see vendors, external partners, customers, clients or coworkers, odds are youll want to dress up more than if youre not leaving your desk.Do you work at a cubicle? It depends on your co mpanys guidelines, of course, but if youre given the flexibility to dress for your days responsibilities, you can probably opt for a more casual attire if youre relatively isolated in your work environment.Are you interviewing for a job? Dress up.For men Even if the firm youre applying to appears to have a business casual dress code, its best to wear a suit to your job interview. Choose a dark color like black, navy or charcoal. It might seem counterintuitive to stick to more conservative colors and designs when youre trying to stand out, but youll make a much stronger impression if you keep things a bit more muted.A crisp white or light blue shirt and simple tie (aim for no more than two colors or an uncomplicated pattern) will give you a polished, professional look. Complete your look with an unadorned belt and matching shoes that are well-shined. For women The ideal interview attire is a well-tailored suit with a button-down blouse. There are many stylish silhouettes available to choose from, whether theyre pants, skirts or dresses. Choose a high-quality fabric in a low-key color - today is not the day to rock a dressy, pink Jackie O suit, even if it is Chanel. You can dress up your look with a necklace or earrings, but its advisable to keep accessories simple. Closed-toe shoes with a modest heel will pull everything together.While clothes and fashion might seem inconsequential, appropriate attire does carry weight in the workplace. If youre unclear of your companys guidelines or youre unclear about what outfit to wear for a specific situation, its smart to check with your manager, coworkers, human resources or recruiter. Subscribe to our newsletterWhen you subscribe to the Robert Half newsletter, youll get articles and resources to help you build a successful career in accounting and finance - all sent directly to your inbox. Click the button below to sign up todaySUBSCRIBE NOW