An Introduction to an ATS friendly CV / Resume
[A] BACKGROUND: CV writing has been traditionally taught in B.Com, BBA and MBA courses, where the focus is on the format, spelling errors, number of pages, content to be included into the CV etc. The focus is on helping a student write "one perfect CV" that s/he can use for all the jobs, to which, s/he will apply. It is a kind of "one size fits all" approach, where the CV, once prepared, typically in a word file, may just need to be revised, whenever the concerned person adds any qualification
experience. But then, things have changed. Many companies receive hundreds, sometimes thousands of CVs, per month, which are unsolicited, at times. No manager has time to scan through all these CVs. Hence, the companies have started using Applicant Tracking Software (ATS), which find "the right" CV for each job.
[B] What is an Applicant Tracking System?: In simple terms, an Applicant Tracking System (ATS), is a software that scans through the CVs to look for "keywords" that "match" the job description of the job. For example, a skill required for the job is "MS-Excel" that it will look for the same word in CV. It may sound like Search Engine Optimization (SEO) to some of you. In a way, that is not wrong either. But then, the problem is, that the software will have its own mind. So, even if you are fully qualified for the job, if your CV does not contain the kind of key words that should match the job description and specification, you are unlikely to be considered for that job. ATS
[C] How does an ATS scan the CVs?: Generally, the ATS will scan entire CV and then will produce results like candidate X's CV has an 85% match with a particular job's description. The logic is simple, the keywords that appear in job description, must also appear in the CV! So, one should not think that including only one key word will do the trick. Such random efforts are unlikely to yield any results.
So, the only shortcut to deal with this is to take a LONGCUT road. It requires to read the job description carefully. Especially the skills, experience and other critical dimensions of the job. Then, the applicant has to make sure that these key words appear in his/her CV.
The other problem is that all the ATS have their own engine or logic to scan the CVs. Some may be able to read the singular / plural keywords, other may not. An applicant can't do much to deal with this problem, unless s/he knows which ATS is being employed by a particular employer.
[D] Some tips to make your CV ATS friendly:
- Left align the CV
-Submit Word file and avoid PDFs (unless specifically asked for by the employer)
- Use the font size of more than 10
- Avoid adding stuff like "positive attitude", "great learner". Keep your CV to the point
- Do not use uncommon words. Use proper jargons. Proper usage of vocabulary will make your CV more ATS friendly.
- Write proper job titles that you are holding / were holding in the past.
- Write your degrees and qualifications properly like M.B.A.
- Last, but not the least, some advanced ATS can read your social media profiles. So remove " embarrassing" words and jargons from your social media profile.
[D] Conclusion: The article was only aimed at creating the basic awareness about the ATS friendly CVs. I am sharing some more resources here that can help you develop more insights in this area:
How to Create an ATS Resume (jobscan.co)
What's an ATS-Friendly Resume? And How to Write One | TopResume
How to Write an ATS Resume [16+ Templates Included] (novoresume.com)
Beat the bots: 6 tips for writing an ATS-friendly CV | TopCV
