Appendix F
Getting Noticed on an ATS Query
One of the great frustrations that job seekers encounter with larger employers is that their resumes are uploaded into an applicant tracking system (ATS) and stored in a database that is queried to match applicants to job postings. The end result is that the resumes of well-qualified applicants may never be seen by human eyes because the key word search program within the ATS did not identify a particular resume as matching the job posting. The secret to getting picked up in an ATS query is having a resume that contains the appropriate key words and phrases, so the ATS will identify a particular resume as a match to the job posting. If selected, a human being will then look over the resume and determine the qualifications and, potentially, contact the respondent for an interview.
It takes a bit of work and patience, but there is a way to beat the ATS and get noticed. Find several job postings that are similar to the kind of job you are trying to win on a web-based job postings site. Copy and paste the job descriptions and duties of those postings into a word-processing program and follow the steps and example that follows.
Step 1
Copy several job descriptions of good opportunities within a specific narrow field into a word-processing program. The following list includes language from several different job postings, to give you a sense of what an ATS might be looking for:
This position is responsible for providing hands-on leadership in the design, development, implementation, and evaluation of the company's talent programs, including succession planning, performance management, development initiatives, change management, organization design and effectiveness, and employee engagement.
This position plays a key role in supporting the learning and organizational development function by developing and delivering solutions that drive organizational and individual performance to achieve key company strategies.
The effective candidate will interact with and support key business units across the company, and will build and maintain strong collaborative relationships with all areas of the company. Works with management on succession planning, leadership development, and effective utilization of talent to ensure an adequate talent pipeline.
Identify training and development opportunities to address individual business needs and gaps. Develop and implement a framework for leadership and functional competencies to include assessments.
Designs and develops training organization, management, and leadership development content to support learning and organizational development programs that promote and enhance overall individual and team performance.
Conduct and deliver leadership, management, and professional training. Evaluate and monitor the effectiveness of leadership training and development programs by analyzing data and providing feedback and/or modifications as needed.
Primary liaison with academic and professional organizations where needed to enhance the performance and talent management programs. Serves as organizational knowledge resource for change management. Develops and uses quantitative and qualitative methods and metrics to measure effectiveness of management and leadership development programs. Responsible for coordinating companywide engagement surveys and developing action plans and keeping departments accountable to those action plans.
Assist in developing companywide succession planning and leadership development. Oversee and administer the companywide recognition program.
Leads and actively participates in meetings and/or committees, as required. Performs additional duties as assigned. Delivers training via e-learning technology, classroom presentations, webinars, interactive approaches, social media, and interactive job aids.
Responsible for researching, developing, and implementing sales training and resources/tools that facilitate selling, in-servicing/presenting, negotiation, product evaluation and closing skills. Evaluates and recommends use of external sales tools and/or programs as appropriate. Determines learning effectiveness using follow-up and analysis of sales results, enhances as needed. Coordinates logistics and resources; conducts training sessions for individuals, groups, distributors, and division personnel; and coordinates field training activities of new and tenured territory sales managers and regional clinical specialists.
Step 2
Carefully review the language you've collected in Step 1, then use bold to highlight what you consider to be the key words, as shown in the example here:
This position is responsible for providing hands-on leadership in the design, development, implementation, and evaluation of the company's talent programs, including succession planning, performance management, development initiatives, change management, organization design and effectiveness, and employee engagement.
This position plays a key role in supporting the learning and organizational development function by developing and delivering solutions that drive organizational and individual performance to achieve key company strategies.
The effective candidate will interact with and support key business units across the company, and will build and maintain strong collaborative relationships with all areas of the company. Works with management on succession planning, leadership development, and effective utilization of talent to ensure an adequate talent pipeline.
Identify training and development opportunities to address individual business needs and gaps. Develop and implement a framework for leadership and functional competencies to include assessments.
Designs and develops training organization, management, and leadership development content to support learning and organizational development programs that promote and enhance overall individual and team performance.
Conduct and deliver leadership, management, and professional training. Evaluate and monitor the effectiveness of leadership training and development programs by analyzing data and providing feedback and/or modifications as needed.
Primary liaison with academic and professional organizations where needed to enhance the performance and talent management programs. Serves as organizational knowledge resource for change management. Develops and uses quantitative and qualitative methods and metrics to measure effectiveness of management and leadership development programs. Responsible for coordinating companywide engagement surveys and developing action plans and keeping departments accountable to those action plans.
Assist in developing companywide succession planning and leadership development. Oversee and administer the companywide recognition program.
Leads and actively participates in meetings and/or committees, as required. Performs additional duties as assigned. Delivers training via e-learning technology, classroom presentations, webinars, interactive approaches, social media, and interactive job aids.
Responsible for researching, developing, and implementing sales training and resources/tools that facilitate selling, in-servicing/presenting, negotiation, product evaluation and closing skills. Evaluates and recommends use of external sales tools and/or programs as appropriate. Determines learning effectiveness using follow-up and analysis of sales results, enhances as needed. Coordinates logistics and resources; conducts training sessions for individuals, groups, distributors, and division personnel; and coordinates field training activities of new and tenured territory sales managers and regional clinical specialists.
Step 3
After you've determined which words to bold, delete the rest of the descriptions, leaving only the key phrases. This gives you a good overall sense of the types of things you should include in your resume. What follows is an example of what you will have left, using the text from Step 2:
leadership design development implementation evaluation talent succession planning performance management development initiatives change management organization design employee engagement learning organizational development solutions individual performance key strategies collaborative relationships succession planning leadership development talent talent pipeline training and development framework leadership and functional competencies assessments training organization leadership development content learning organizational development programs team performance professional training Evaluate leadership training and development data feedback modifications liaison academic talent management organizational knowledge resource change management quantitative qualitative metrics management leadership development engagement surveys action plans succession planning leadership development recognition program training e-learning technology classroom presentations webinars interactive approaches social media interactive job aids learning effectiveness analysis
Step 4
Alphabetize the key words in a list, and then track the number of times that the word or phrase occurs. Use bold to help words that appear multiple times stand out. You will have a table like this:
| action plan |
| analysis |
| assessments |
| change |
| change management (2) |
| classroom presentations |
| collaborative relationships |
| content |
| data |
| design |
| development (3) |
| e-learning technology |
| employee engagement |
| engagement survey |
| evaluate |
| evaluation |
| feedback |
| framework |
| functional competencies |
| implementation |
| individual performance |
| initiatives (2) |
| interactive approaches |
| interactive job aids |
| key strategies |
| leadership (2) |
| leadership development (4) |
| leadership training |
| learning (2) |
| learning effectiveness |
| liaison |
| management (3) |
| metrics |
| modifications |
| negotiation |
| organizational (2) |
| organization design |
| organizational development (2) |
| organizational knowledge |
| performance (2) |
| programs |
| planning |
| qualitative |
| quantitative |
| recognition program |
| resource |
| sales training |
| social media |
| solutions |
| succession |
| succession planning (2) |
| talent (2) |
| talent management |
| talent pipeline |
| team |
| training (3) |
| training and development |
| webinar |
Step 5
Now you have a list of words that are important to include in your resume—especially if you want to get through the ATS. At a minimum, use all of the bolded words and phrases in your resume, and include many of the other words and phrases as is appropriate given your experience and career HDD.