Have you ever submitted a resume and received no response? I remember a time in my life when I was trying to get a job with Leidos as a Logistics Management Specialist. I had all the skills and qualifications to perform the job functions; complemented with education but I didn’t even get a email. There were three things missing and I will share it with you.
1. An ATS Ready Resume – an ATS ready resume is a resume that is ATS friendly. ATS is an Applicant Tracking System or recruiting software that manages job applicant resumes. It helps recruiters decrease the number of resumes to read that are sent to them. A major function performed by ATS is to scan resumes for keywords; ranking/disqualifying resume applicants based on resume content (keywords). Normally, ATS systems do not read PDF submitted resumes or DOCX resumes or resumes with border lines and all the extra pretty characters/colors candidates use.
2. Keywords From The Job Announcement – keywords directly from the job announcement need to be used in your resume so the system can pick up on them during the scanning process. For the particular job I was trying to secure at the time, one statement from the announcement was as follows – “The candidate will be responsible for ordering, building and configuring the Commercial Radio Case, activities may be conducted at the Stafford, VA facility or on-site as required”: keywords being – ordering, building and configuring -OR- Commercial Radio Case. These keywords definitely needed to be in my resume, which it wasn’t.
3. Make The Resume Scannable – recruiters and HR reps are lazy let’s face it. They have other duties to accomplish throughout the day and they have an overwhelming number of resumes to review daily, so making your resume scannable to catch their attention include catching their attention from the beginning. This is accomplished by creating a skills section, summary of qualifications, or a strong experience statement in the first section of your resume – following the basic demographic information. For example, in my situation, “Logistics Management Specialist with over 5 years Experience”. This will let the readers know right off the bat that you have what it takes; consequently, influencing them to read further.
Good luck to you and of course, Ready To Go Resumes is here to help you secure your dream career!!
