{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org\/","@type":"BlogPosting","@id":"https:\/\/recruiterready.com\/career-coaching-and-getting-past-applicant-tracking-systems\/#BlogPosting","mainEntityOfPage":"https:\/\/recruiterready.com\/career-coaching-and-getting-past-applicant-tracking-systems\/","headline":"Career Coaching and Getting past Applicant Tracking Systems [2023]","name":"Career Coaching and Getting past Applicant Tracking Systems [2023]","description":"\u00a0 Career Coaching and what does it mean to be Recruiter Ready? The rules of job seeking have changed! Career coaching ensures you’ll have a resume that recruiters and hiring managers love, LinkedIn profile that attracts views, job search tactics that will save you hours of time and grief, and interview coaching to ace the […]","datePublished":"2022-10-19","dateModified":"2023-01-19","author":{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/recruiterready.com\/author\/timothy-thomas\/#Person","name":"TimothyThomas","url":"https:\/\/recruiterready.com\/author\/timothy-thomas\/","identifier":1,"image":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/61b946fe5aba06f5baa67d9522820bc555eb3087bb84b0d7a68c98e974ec047d?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/61b946fe5aba06f5baa67d9522820bc555eb3087bb84b0d7a68c98e974ec047d?s=96&d=mm&r=g","height":96,"width":96}},"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Timothy Thomas - Coaching Technology Group","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/recruiterready.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/CTG-logo-horizontal-schema-friendly.png","url":"https:\/\/recruiterready.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/CTG-logo-horizontal-schema-friendly.png","width":600,"height":60}},"image":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/recruiterready.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/SEO-for-Resumes.png","url":"https:\/\/recruiterready.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/SEO-for-Resumes.png","height":"280","width":"934"},"url":"https:\/\/recruiterready.com\/career-coaching-and-getting-past-applicant-tracking-systems\/","about":["Career Coaching"],"wordCount":1113,"articleBody":"\u00a0Career Coaching and what does it mean to be Recruiter Ready?The rules of job seeking have changed! Career coaching ensures you’ll have a resume that recruiters and hiring managers love, LinkedIn profile that attracts views, job search tactics that will save you hours of time and grief, and interview coaching to ace the face-to-face. Using a Search Engine Optimized (SEO) and language focused approach can get your resume past any Applicant Tracking System filtering so a human recruiter can review it. You\u2019ll want a LinkedIn presence that speaks directly to professional recruiters and genuinely improves traffic to your profile, and the preparation to address questions in a behavior-based interview setting.Robots Are Screening Your Resume (before a human does)Although not strictly true, you may have read that within the last two to three years humans stopped reading your resume. Advances in technology have allowed computers to effectively scan your resume and calculate the likelihood you are a good candidate. These recruiter tools compute your keyword density, check if you have essential skills and tools, and are unable to impute your potential contribution – this is for the human. Your resume is getting uploaded to an Applicant Tracking System to capture your contact information to get it into a manageable data format and are likely simplifying your resume down to straightforward text for a recruiter to review.Since this is the truth of the matter, it is essential to create a resume that speaks to keyword filtering and can also be read and reviewed by a Recruiter or Hiring Manager. The graphically pleasing resume that was impressive to a Recruiter in 2014 is simply confusing to an Applicant Tracking System. To get the interview you\u2019ll need a whole new way of going about job search.Enter Recruiter Ready Career CoachingAfter helping hundreds of people get new roles as a career coach and consultant, I have developed an approach that has helped every single one of my clients work with the tools and techniques modern recruiters are using so they can get to human and move to the interviewing stage.To get your resume to a decision-maker, you will need the right tools. In my free seminar The Keys to Unlocking a Job in Tech in 2020, I share what you need to know to win at modern job seeking.Just want to watch a video about it? Check out this full resume optimization webinar video.Here are the crucial takeaways:Avoid ATS LimboGet Seen By a HumanDevelop Sourcer, Screener, Recruiter, and Hiring Manager RelationshipsHave Great Stories and Know How To Share ThemKnow Your Worth Negotiate As NeededAnd ultimately, GET THE JOB!In this article, we\u2019ll talk about escaping Applicant Tracking System Limbo.\u00a0Applicant Tracking System LimboJob seekers are overwhelming Recruiters. The Recruiter’s role is to find the right people for the right job and offer those candidates to hiring managers (who might say no). They are adopting tools to become hyper-efficient and keep their jobs.Recruiters rely on an Applicant Tracking System, or ATS. These systems are collecting applicant information such as data from web forms, resume, LinkedIn profile information, and interview notes. This data is all recorded \u2013 including whether or not a decision was made to hire, and whether to reach out again in the future (hot take about that \u2013 they aren’t reaching out to you later).These systems simplify the process for finding viable candidates from the Recruiter\u2019s point of view. To get seen by a human, we first have to understand their robot gatekeepers.The Old-Fashioned Job SearchWhat ever happened to having humans look at resumes? I’ll share a real-life story of a client who used the \u201cspray and pray\u201d or \u201cthe shotgun method.\u201d This client had a resume and without making any changes sent it out to 1000 job postings across the U.S., from that effort he got six callbacks, two interview loops and one job offer. That offer required he relocate more than 2200 miles to his new job. That took months, was very stressful, and was very inefficient. His effort-to-offer success rate was .001%. For most job seekers, this approach would yield ZERO results and be very frustrating.Recruiters are inundated with resumes from job seekers using this approach. They can\u2019t meet their goals if they look at every single one of these relatively generic resumes. To get a job, we have to work in harmony with the systems Recruiters use.\u00a0We need to learn to \u201ctalk to computer\u201d <- I like saying this in an Arnold Schwarzenegger impression, it makes it more fun.Modern Resumes Using JobscanI recommend Jobscan (https:\/\/jobscan.co\/) \u00a0to all my clients who want to break out of ATS limbo. Jobscan is a constantly evolving tool that compares the requirements in a job listing with the language in your resume. Robots can\u2019t say \u201cclose enough,\u201d so it\u2019s crucial that the language in your resume be customized for every job you are applying to. If that sounds like a lot of work, it really isn\u2019t, because many of the changes you will make will be minor (and essential) changes.When I work with clients on their resume, we are aiming to have a design that is easy to scan by both robots and humans, and easy to modify for each possible job role. Using Jobscan is very helpful. Here are the key things to know about using that tool.Jobscan only has a limited number of free scans. It’s worth paying for Jobscan while on a serious job hunt. Note: I am not affiliated with Jobscan – the product is useful and I get no compensation from them.The tool says to aim for an 80% match rate. I think that can be crazy-making. Recruiters are contacting job seekers when a resume hits the much more realistic 55% match rate.Focus on matching the Hard Skills requirements of the job. If you have the skill requested, get that in your resume. I have specific sections that are modifiable to make this a bit easier.A resume optimized to at least 55% through Jobscan has improved my clients interview opportunities immensely. I can\u2019t offer you hard stats, but I stand with my heuristic evidence and my clients\u2019 99.9+% job landing rates.Hiring An Expert Career CoachAre you interested in finding a new role? I work with clients as they navigate a career transition, planned or unplanned. Schedule a complimentary 20-minute call to discuss your current situation and where you might find coaching or job search consulting helpful.Schedule with me using this link: https:\/\/calendly.com\/coachtechgroup\/20-min-intro-by-phone"}