3 Ways To Beat The Evil Applicant Tracking System (ATS)

It's no secret todays job market is unforgiving. Tell me if this sounds like you. You wake up at the crack of dawn, spend hours at a coffee shop applying for hundreds of jobs, each time you tweak your resume and cover letter until you hit that sour point where you realize, “Looking for a job, IS a job in itself." It makes zero sense. You're qualified. You have experience. And you're passionate. Related:What's An Applicant Tracking System?

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Why is so hard to get your foot in the door?

The gatekeeper blocking your resume is HR software called ATS. This stands for Applicant Tracking System and Mike Glezos from Seo Your Resume calls it: EVIL HR Software. It's evil software preventing 72% of ALL resumes from being seen by human resources eyeballs.

How does ATS do it?

ATS runs your resume through a resume parsing system and if your resume is not properly formatted and keyword optimized it may never be viewed by an actual HR person. Now, before you get any ideas, you will also get rejected if you stuff your resume with too many keywords. Crazy right?

The Key is to Keyword Optimize Your Resume

By using proven SEO techniques, keyword research and proper resume formatting you not only gain an edge on ATS but increase your chances of landing that job. Here are three ways to keyword optimize your resume and beat the evil HR screening software!

1. SEO Your Resume

Seo Your Resume is priced at $19 and offers CAREEREALISM readers a 50% off discount with the coupon code "ResumeSEO50." Within an hour you'll cover the perfect Word .DOC resume template, SEO checklists, learn about Black Hat SEO, SEO for LinkedIn and more. Their objective is to ensure your resume will never be blocked by ATS again. They accomplish this by teaching you how to build a Super-SEO Resume from start to finish.

2. Run Your Resume Through Resunate

Resunate offers three packages starting as low as $49.95. It's a web based software that reads your resume and compares it to the job description then offers you advice and a score. This is what ATS does except in this case you can peak behind the curtain and see how all the gears turn. The best way to understand how this product works is comparing it to a Google search – you want to be on page one. Resunate breaks down your resume to ensure when you submit for a job HR doesn't find your resume on page 13.

3. The Power Of Paying For LinkedIn

LinkedIn is the new Monster, Craigslist, Newspaper Job ad. The networking opportunities are endless. They offer a ton of options from free, to the Job Seeker deal for $19.95 a month, to the Personal Plus Premium account at $7.95 per month and more. The advantage of paying for their services really comes into play AFTER you SEO your resume and LinkedIn account. Paying allows your profile to get ranked higher in searches, contact any user, see who's viewed your profile, introductions and a few more perks. All of these are great tools you can really take advantage of once your resume is SEO foolproof.

What solution is best for you?

A college degree is not enough. Real world experience is not enough. The Internet has revolutionized our job market. The number one thing you have to ask yourself is NOT, “Do I want to pay for any of these services?" The question you should be asking is, “How can I optimize my resume for the job I want today?"