I was cleaning out my office files recently (you know the manila folders in hanging files that you put something valuable in then forget about it) and came across a dogged eared copy of a FORTUNE article from 2009 titled “Secrets of the Resume Gatekeeper”. I recognized it immediately and decided to read it again because it is applicable now more than ever!
The article discusses how many companies were adopting resume scanning and applicant tracking systems and that you job hunting candidates needed to be sure that your resume catered to both the “keyword stacking techniques” required to match the keywords of the job description to the keywords on your resume and the human reader. For example if you are an Accountant, your resume needs to have the words accounting, accountant, etc. in addition to relevant keywords from the company specific job description. Seems pretty simple… right?
However, most people don’t take the time to tailor their resume for the Applicant Tracking System “Cyborg of Doom” screening software. If you are going to submit your resume through an on-line application system this is critical, focus on this step. A few key things to remember to support this:
- Use standard industry terminology to describe your experience: For example if you are in purchasing and your title is Buyer use that title. Don’t call yourself a Sourcing Process Expert, the scanner won’t recognize that phrase, it will be looking for Buyer and you will rank lower.
- Include Specific Terminology/Keywords from the Job Description: For example if the job description says “Strong financial knowledge, including how purchasing activities impact both the balance sheet and income statement”, then as a Buyer you had better include statements of responsibility and results that clearly tie your accomplishments to balance sheet and income statement!
- Write to Make Sense Both to the Resume Screening Software and the Human Reader: As a recruiter I would see resumes that were so stacked with keywords and looked like they were written by a robot that I would shake my head in disbelief. You need to rank high with the scanning software, but more importantly have a resume that grabs the attention of the reader and makes them want to have a conversation with you about your experience and fit to the open position.
If you plan to apply on-line in today’s technology driven candidate screening world, then you need to follow the rules of the game to rank highly. However, if you plan to get your resume directly into the hands of the hiring team without going through the on-line “Cyborg of Doom” then this is less of an issue. How does a candidate circumvent this system?…well that’s a discussion for another day!
If you wish to contact me directly, here is my email address MarkL@jumpuptheladder.com