Do you have an ATS friendly CV?

We've all come across HR technology systems when applying for jobs. But is your CV carefully tailored to the role in question, and more importantly, have you included the right keywords and phrases that match the specifications of each job you're targeting?

You've got to impress more than just the hiring manager. I asked award-winning CV writer +Sandra Ingemansen for her top five tips to beat online ATSs.

1) Formatting
Make sure you have a CV with simple formatting, meaning no use of fancy tables. This should be in Word or a plain text format. Although some technology nowadays does read and parse PDFs, it’s a hit or miss because you don’t know which ATS a company is using.

2) Section titles and position listings 
Only include standard titles e.g. Qualifications, Professional Experience, Education, Skills, not titles like Career Narrative, Affiliations, Publications etc. as your CV might not be parsed correctly. There is a very specific order for writing positions and employment listings as well. If not done correctly, ATSs may not identify this correctly.

3) Spelling/typos
One of the silliest reasons jobseekers have their CVs discarded is due to spelling mistakes. Why? ATSs are sophisticated, but they’re not smart enough to understand contextual meaning if your CV is riddled with spelling mistakes and typos.

4) Keywords 
It’s not just a matter of sprinkling a few keywords but the right keywords since ATSs mathematically score CVs for relevance. If you need help going about this, you can use Wordle or TagCrowd to input the job descriptions and help you figure out which keywords to incorporate. Remember to include relevant responsibilities, skills, licenses/certifications and software. Contrary to what many job seekers believe, ATSs don’t rank your CV higher because you’ve stuffed an abundance of keywords into your CV. Use skills related keywords two or three times on your CV, beginning with your qualifications summary, and that’s all.

5) Follow-up
Most importantly, don’t count on landing an interview by simply submitting your CV through an ATS. If you’re applying to a job you really want to interview for, do some company research on who the decision maker/interviewer is for that position. Call them, email them, connect with them somehow to get more information. 

"Your chances for landing an interview are far more likely by using this two-pronged approach than by simply submitting your CV to the ATS 'black hole' hoping for a response," stresses Sandra.

You can find out more about Sandra a www.resume-strategies.com or follow her on Twitter @Resume911.