Applicant Tracking System (ATS) Tips

Q: Why do employers use an Applicant Tracking System (ATS)? 
A: To manage applicant volume and filter applications to find qualified candidates

7 Tips for ATS Success

  1. Many of the rules for ATS are the same as basic resume formatting. Things like keywords from the position description, having and easy-to-read format, and avoiding grammatical/spelling errors are important for both ATS and the human eyes that review resumes!
  2. Apply for the right role. Do you have the core skills? Education? Experience? If yes, apply! If not, the ATS knows and will not move your application forward. Unsure? Ask the Career Center for advice.
  3. Don't apply for all openings. Employers can see all the roles you applied to at their company. Only apply to multiple roles if they are closely related and at the same experience level. Limit yourself to a maximum of 2-3 positions to show interest in the company but maintain a clear professional focus.
  4. Make your experience count. Use the word "Experience" in your section headings (e.g., Work Experience, Research Experience, Project Experience). All experiences should be quantified by month/year date range (e.g., Month/Year - Month/Year).
  5. ATS tricks = cheating. Avoid advice online recommending tricks to get by ATS. Keep in mind resumes can get flagged fi they sound to AI-like. Plus, using tricks makes a negative first impression that will be flagged by HR.
  6. File type matters. Use a Google or Word doc to create a resume and avoid complex or overly-designed templates. Save the document as a text file .pdf when submitting it to an employer (unless another file type is specified).
  7. Skips the graphics. Avoid using pictures, graphics, logos, tables, text boxes, columns, headers, footers, uncommon fonts, and unique bullet points.