ApplicantTrackingSystems - Grow Careers · job advertisement and rank résumés on this basis. This...

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Applicant Tracking Systems

Learning OutcomesThe information in this career resourcewill develop your:

Knowledge of applicant tracking systems.

Understanding of how applicant trackingsystems work.

Knowledge of factors to consider whenpreparing a job application for an applicanttracking system.

What is an Applicant TrackingSystem?Before the Internet and online applications, jobapplications were opened, read and sorted byhumans. Nowadays, 75­80% of job applications arescanned, and ranked by an applicant trackingsystem (ATS), or a robot. The ATS is programmedto “read” and rank applications in terms of how wellthey meet the criteria set by the recruiter oremployer. Applications that do not meet the ATScriteria may never be read by a human and theapplication will not go any further in therecruitment process.1

In recent years these systems have becomecheaper and free cloud based ATS options are nowavailable. This means that large, medium size andeven smaller organisations may use an ATS toassist with hiring staff.

When you complete an online job application andup load your résumé, cover letter and any otherrequired documents, it is highly likely that your

application will be processed by an ATS! Yourchances of being selected for the next stage ofthe recruitment process may depend on how wellyou:

Tailor your application to the job that youare applying for.

Format and write your job applicationdocuments to minimize the risk of rejectionby the ATS.

How Does ATS Software Work?The ATS will undertake a process called résuméparsing. This is where the ATS scans résumés forinformation, extracts it and enters it into astandard form, making comparison of résumésmore efficient.The ATS willsearchapplications forkeywordsspecified in thejobadvertisementand rank résumés on this basis. This is why it iscrucial that you tailor your job application byincluding keywords in the job advertisement withexamples to back up your claim to the requiredskills, knowledge and experiences. Unqualifiedapplicants may be eliminated by the ATS.

Minimizing Your Risk of Eliminationby the ATSYou need to prepare your résumé and other jobapplication documents using standard résuméheadings and keywords from the jobadvertisement.

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